Most visitors to Fairy Stone State Park try their hand at hunting the stones that serve as the park's name. Just like visitors who seek shark's teeth along the river banks of some of our eastern parks, sometimes you stumble on great finds and sometimes you come up dry.

Over the holidays, a hiker hit the fairy stone jackpot and shared his finds with us.

An example of a Roman Cross shaped fairy stone

An example of a Maltese Cross fairy stone

In case you are unfamiliar with Fairy Stones, there is a legend and these unique "stones" are rare and only found in a few places across the globe. They are plentiful in Patrick County and if you have time and patience to do a proper hunt you will find some. They have been considered good luck pieces and it is rumored that presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson as well as other historical figures carried them for this purpose. Local artisans clean them up and file them to make jewelry pieces.

The Legend of the Fairy Stone

              It is said that long, long, ago fairies inhabited a certain quiet and remote region in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The fairies roamed freely, enjoying the beauty and serenity of that enchanted place.

              One day, the fairies were playing in a sunny glade when an elfin messenger arrived from a far away city bearing the sad news of Christ’s death. When they heard the terrible details of the crucifixion, they wept. As their tears fell to the earth, they crystallized into little stone crosses. Though the fairies have long since disappeared, the little stone crosses, known as “fairy stones,” still remain as mementos in that enchanted spot.

Natural Wonders

              Fairy Stone State Park acquires its unique name from the stone crystals known as fairy stones. Formed and found within the park’s boundary, these stone crosses are composed of iron, aluminum and silicate. The name of this mineral compound is staurolite and like many other minerals, the staurolite formed in regular crystals. Single crystals are hexagonal, or six-sided, and singles often intersect at right angles to form the Roman or Maltese shape. In other instances, the singles intersect at forty-five degree angles to form St. Andrews crosses.

              The formation of the staurolite crystals involved an exact combination of heat and pressure provided by the folding and crumpling of the earth’s crust during the formation of the Appalachian Mountains. During the formation of the crystals, mineral deposits surrounding the crystals were also subjected to the same conditions and formed what is known as schist. The staurolite crystals are usually harder than the surrounding schist and less easily weathered. As the staurolite-bearing schist is weathered away, the more resistant crystals are uncovered and are found exposed at the earth’s surface. Occasionally staurolite can be found still embedded in its schist matrix.

Hunt Site

             Fairy stones can be found on park property by taking Fairystone Lake Drive (route 346) to route 57 east. Travel approximately three miles to the first service station on the left, The Fairy Stone Pitstop. The land to the left of the station is park property and fairy stones can be hunted in that area. A small number may be hunted and taken for personal use; however, commercial digging is not permitted. (For Google map directions, click here).

Assorted fairy stone finds

Fairy stones are said to follow the following classic shapes below. See if you can match the shape to the fairy stones in the grouping above. 

Classic Fairy Stone shapes

If your fairy stone hunt isn’t as successful, or you live too far away to come and hunt for them, the park office has both natural and filed fairy stones available for purchase. Call them during business hours at 276-930-2424 to arrange a purchase.

If you'd like to make it a weekend getaway in one of our twenty-five cabins or beautiful lodge this winter at Fairy Stone State Park, click here for information. The park also has a wooded campground, group camp, equestrian camp, and yurts available the first Friday in March through the first Sunday of December.

Editor's note: If you're interested in hunting these mysterious stone crosses at Fairy Stone State Park, just click here to read another fabulous article, or here. Turn by turn directions can be found here.