Fayette County High Point Trip Report

Dumpling Hill, 1 tiny area (1130+ ft)

Date: March 26, 2008
Author: Andy Hatzos

The highest point in Fayette County, Ohio, is named Dumpling Hill. It is interesting to me that a small hill such as this one was given a formal name. In the middle of Ohio farmland, it does not have much in the way of prominence. The good news is that it is a very easy high point to visit, and took me just a half hour round trip from Interstate 71. The high point is located in the far northwest corner of the county.

I left Interstate 71 at exit 69, and headed west on OH-41 through the town of Jeffersonville. After passing through the town, OH-41 heads generally northwest, eventually gaining somewhat of a ridge, and rising in elevation. About five miles from the interstate is an intersection with Hines Road on the right. Immediately after this intersection, I pulled into the driveway of a blue and brick house on the left. This house is owned by Donna Sears, who was quite friendly. She granted me permission to explore the area along the edge of a crop field behind her house.

I actually found three rises that I thought were candidates for the actual high point. The first is near a tree stump at the northeast corner of the crop field. In addition, there were two obvious bumps in the field itself that I walked to. The first is just west of the tree stump, no more than 50 feet away. About 150 feet southwest from there is another bump. This one has the best view down the ridge to the west, where the ground does drop off quite noticeably. The difference in elevation is essentially negligible between these three small rises. I thought that the westernmost bump felt higher than the others, although previous visitors seemed to like the one near the tree stump best. That's probably sufficient for claiming the high point, but if the crops aren't growing, it is just a short walk to explore the other areas.

PICTURES:
Picture 01 (141 k) - Looking north, this is the first rise near the tree stump at the edge of the crop field.
Picture 02 (133 k) - From near the tree stump, this is the view west out into the field. There is a rise just to the right of the picture, and a more discernable bump on the left side of the picture.
Picture 03 (151 k) - From the westernmost rise in the field, this is the view down the hill to the west.


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