Medoc Mountain State Park

Medoc Mountain State Park is a 3,893acre North Carolina state park in Halifax County, North Carolina in the United States. It is near Hollister, North Carolina in eastern North Carolina and includes the 325 foot (99 m) peak Medoc Mountain.HistoryMedoc Mountain is not really a mountain at all; its highest point reaches an elevation of only 325ft above sea level. 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. The eroded peaks were formed by volcanic action during the Paleozoic Age, about 350 million years ago.An 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. 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 northern and western faces of Medoc Mountain have very steep slopes, dropping 160 feet over a distance of less than a quarter mile. Such rugged terrain is unusual for the eastern piedmont.Medoc Mountain is cloaked in a forest of green, its trees masking the peak. There are no scenic panoramas, no distant views of a majestic pinnacle rising to the sky. Medoc Mountain State Park has a more intimate beauty, an allure that is meant to be explored and appreciated up close.The mountain and surrounding land have long been used for agriculture. Once the property of Sidney Weller, a noted farmer and educator, the area was used for the cultivation of grapes in the 19th century. Weller produced a highly acclaimed wine known as Weller's Halifax and is credited with developing the American system of grape culture and winemaking. It was Weller who named the mountain "Medoc," after a province in the Bordeaux region of France famous for its vineyards. Weller organized and operated an academy for area children and assisted with the development of the first North Carolina state fair in 1853.