Recently my wife and I travelled through West Virginia, and we stopped at the Mason Dixon Historical Park on the return trip home. This park was created in honour of the surveyors Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon, who were tasked with settling a border dispute between the colonies. Here, they stopped 13 miles short of their goal at this park.
The Mason Dixon Line has been used throughout American history in that it now is the border of four states and, more controversially, the border of the free North and Slave States in the South. This line would play a part in the American Civil War.
We would hike through this park and stumbled upon the border of Pennsylvania and West Virginia. I was surprised by this because I thought the park was entirely in West Virginia; this was a bonus that I could stand in both states simultaneously.
Inside the park is the border marker that Mason and Dixon placed, along with a waterfall, a river that was quite popular for fishing on the day we were there, but what drew us here was fairies!
I am unsure how these started, but I enjoy the results. Fairy gardens are a fun reason to explore an area. We appreciate this growing trend.
Mason Dixon Historical Park is the best fairy garden. The path is wide, well maintained, and pretty flat until reaching the trail with fairies. The fairy path starts with minor hills and wind through the forest. There is a large number of fairy homes and gardens to make the trail worth the walk. Had we been there in April, we would have seen the bluebell flowers blooming alongside these displays.
Creating your own fairy gardens and homes is encouraged. There is a wide range of styles, some of which are well put together. It is a fun activity that was why we visited this park. No matter which garden we looked at, we knew that those that placed it enjoyed it.
I hope more fairy gardens and homes pop up when we are hiking through the woods. It is a pleasant surprise coming across these.
- Website for Mason Dixon Historical Park
- Wikipedia page about the Mason Dixon Line.
- This location is on a map I created called Featured. It shows all the locations that I have discussed on this website.
