“Just a Little Bit of History”
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| Most people who visit the Fairfax Stone Historical Monument do so simply because the brown sign at the ghost town of Forty-Three on U.S. Route 219 points them to it. Although the stone officially resides in Tucker County, it marks the spot where Tucker, Preston, and Grant counties converge, near the Garrett County, Maryland line. Some come here with a vague idea of the stone’s greater historical significance, but most are just in search of one more photo opportunity for the family vacation album. “We have no idea what this is all about,” admits Janice Newton, an Amarillo, Texas, resident who, in the fall of 2008, was visiting the state with her husband, “Wib,” a Northern Panhandle native. “It’s a historic place, that’s for sure,” Wib says. “I didn’t know it existed. It’s just a little bit of history.” Like most visitors, the Newtons read the bronze plaque on the monument, looked at the little trickle of water that emerges from under it, returned to their car, and drove away in search of more scenic fare. Shortly after the Newtons left, Pete and Jane (Close) Natale stopped to walk around the monument and reminisce. Jane, a Thomas native, and her husband, a native of Coketon, were visiting their old stomping grounds as they prepared to transition from life in St. Louis to a new residence in Florida. “This is the first time I’ve ever been here,” says Pete, who grew up just four miles from the stone. “I knew it was here, but I didn’t know exactly where.” For Jane, the stone was a nostalgic tug to her memory. She recalls an outing here during the World War II years with her parents. Her dad snapped a picture of her and her mother, Marion Close, standing next to the stone, which was much taller and more pointed than it appears today. “My dad liked to visit places, and we were out riding around when we stopped here,” Jane recalls. “I got up on the stone, and Dad took my picture.” The concrete marker Jane and Marion stood next to that day was actually the fourth “Fairfax Stone” to be placed here. Owned, managed, and operated by West Virginia State Parks and Forests, the monument is located in the middle of reclaimed strip-mining land. Part of the Blackwater Falls State Park operation, Fairfax is a petite and minimal entry in the system — just four acres, a trash can, and parking lot. There are no restrooms, paved parking lot, or souvenir shop. The last item is somewhat debatable. Over the years, furtive souvenir hunters have chiseled away at the stones erected here to mark what is one of West Virginia’s most historic spots. There have now been five stones at the location, and all but the last one, a boulder, have fallen victim to visitors who wanted to own a piece of the rock. Robert “Rob” Gilligan, Blackwater Falls State Park superintendent, says vandalism or souvenir gathering is rarely an issue at the site these days. The biggest nuisance he and his staff must deal with is the occasional overflowing trash receptacle. Rob says there were an estimated 3,157 visitors to the monument during the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2007, down about 700 from the year before. He attributes the drop to logging activity that closed the access road for a while. The numbers are estimates only. There’s no gate, no registry, and no one to actually count cars and bodies every day. The estimates are based on anecdotal observations of park system employees doing maintenance at the site. Rob confirms that the majority of the visitors are the curious, who really don’t have any idea what the marker is all about. A smaller class consists of serious history buffs who have a grasp of the spot’s significance in determining the borders of West Virginia and Maryland. “We’ll get groups, people who are interested in the history of it,” Rob says. Those groups are often out of Virginia because the border issues generally predate West Virginia’s formation. Rob also recalls a conference held at least a decade ago by a fledgling historical group, Society for the Preservation of the Fairfax Stone, but, to his knowledge, nothing more came of it. The weathered plate on the monument states that the original stone, set in 1746, marked the source of the North Branch of the Potomac River. However, as with most history, there’s a great deal more to this story of exploration, geography, and conflict than what will fit on a bronze plate. You can read the rest of this article in this issue of Goldenseal, available in bookstores, libraries or direct from Goldenseal. |
