This month’s Trails Stewardship column in The Equiery focuses on the 5,600 acres of protected parkland in the Fair Hill Natural Resources Management Area in Cecil County. The property is known for its pristine fields, woodlands, and rustic natural beauty, as well as for its rich history.
Fair Hill was formerly the largest private land holding on the east coast when it was owned by William duPont, Jr., an avid equestrian who built the property by purchasing neighboring farmland in the 1920s to create a fox hunting and steeplechase paradise. DuPont also ran a large cattle operation on the property at one time, as well as Foxcatcher Farm, his Maryland Thoroughbred racing stable. The stable produced the 1938 Preakness Stakes winner Dauber. The state bought the Maryland portion of the property, in 1975, after duPont died. It has been managed since then by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
Read the full column on equiery.com.