Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, much of the land in the park and surrounding area had been altered from wildneress conditions by agricultural activities. Theįirst parcel was purchased in October of 1973 for the establishment of the park, and by March of 1975, over 2,200 acres had been purchased. In 1972, the Division of Parks and Recreation surveyed a five-county area for a suitable site and recommended Medoc Mountain and the surrounding land. In 1970, citizens proposed the creation of a state park in the area. Numerous old roads and trails passing through the woods are evidence that these forests have long been enjoyed. For many years, local residents used the area for hunting, horseback riding and hiking. Exploration of the site occurred then and again in the late 1960s, scarring the land though no significant mining operations took place. In the early 1930s, a deposit of molybdenum was discovered near the summit.
In the 1920s, a Boy Scout camp was built on the summit of the mountain and, a few years later, lumbermen cut the mountain forest for timber. A grist mill operated in the area until the late 19th Century. The high ridge and the slopes of Little Fishing and Bear Swamp creeks are the only places in the area that have not been extensively cultivated. The vineyards disappeared, and little trace of them remains. The vineyards continued to produce into the early 20th Century, but the land was later subdivided, sold and used for the production of other crops. Weller organized and operated an academy for area children and assisted with the development of the first North Carolina state fair in 1853.įollowing Weller's death in 1854, his land was sold. It was Weller who named the mountain "Medoc," after a province in the Bordeaux region of France famous for its vineyards. Weller produced a highly acclaimed wine known as Weller's Halifax and is credited with developing the American system of grape culture and winemaking.
Once the property of Sidney Weller, a noted farmer and educator, the area was used for the cultivation of grapes in the 19th Century. The mountain and surrounding land have long been used for agriculture. Such rugged terrain is unusual for the eastern piedmont. The northern and western faces of Medoc Mountain have very steep slopes, dropping 160 feet over a distance of less than a quarter mile. The park sits near the fall line, an area where the hard, resistant rocks of the foothills give way to the softer rocks and sediments of the coastal plain. The eroded peaks were formed by volcanic action during the Paleozoic Age, about 350 million years ago.Īn elongated structure of biotite granite, Medoc Mountain has effectively routed the streams of the area around itself and has resisted the erosion typical of the surrounding lowlands. It is, rather, the core of what was once a mighty range of mountains - Medoc Mountain is what remains after millions of years of erosion. Located in North Carolina's eastern Piedmont, Medoc Mountain is not really a mountain at all: its highest point reaches an elevation of only 325 feet above sea level. See also: Exploring North Carolina: North Carolina State Parks, Trails, Lakes, Rivers & Natural Areas
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