Just a few images of Fairfax Stone, one of the oldest markers in the US. It marks the headspring of the Northern branch of the Potomac River that forms the border between the states of West Virginia and Maryland. It has an interesting history and besides marking the headspring of the branch of the Potomac that marks the border between the 2 states mentioned above, it and the northern branch of the river were the cause of much contention between Maryland and Virginia. When the south branch of the Potomac was mapped and discovered to be longer than the northern branch Maryland claimed that since the southern branch was longer it should have marked the border between the 2 states which would have given much of West Virginia and parts of Virginia to Maryland. The reasoning was simple (in the eyes of the Maryland state legislature) in so far as the wording of the original land grant to Lord Fairfax. this grant gave everything south of the Potomac to Virginia, leaving the northern side to Maryland, since at the time of the grant West Virginia did not yet exist. As the grant did not identify which branch of the Potomac the grant referred to, Maryland's argument was that the LONGER branch should be used, even though the southern branch had yet to be mapped at the time of the grant. It wasn't until the early 20th century that congress finally settled the matter by stating that since the current border had been in place for so long changing it would be too involved a task and would be too disruptive so it was to remain as it was, using the northern branch. So thus the border has remained as originally mapped and West Virginia and Virginia retain the areas they have always had. See the photo albums "Ride Thru WV" and "May 30 2003" for more pictures from the area around Fairfax Stone.