Description
Back in 2002, Eno River State Park grew by the single largest land acquisition in the park’s history, with the addition of 797 acres in the Eno Wilderness. We'll share more about the Eno Wilderness on another day, but in this nearly 800 acres is a hill that's second in stature in the state park only to Occoneechee Mountain. At 732 feet above sea level, this hill is 44 feet higher than the familiar Cox Mountain. With no known name of the hill, the park staff looked around for something to call it other than "that big hill west of Cox Mountain." As is tradition with Eno landmarks, they looked to the oldest reference, which was found in a land grant for that location in the 1700s to Thomas Morgan. Thus they began to refer to it as Morgan Hill.
The hill is mostly mature oak forest. Trails do not yet go to Morgan Hill but it is crisscrossed with eroded logging roads converging at the top where this picture was taken. The park general management plan includes hiking and horse trails in this area but those await funding and resources to care for them. Thomas Redding who had a 1780 land grant including part of the hill and along the Eno is believed by descendants to be buried on or near Morgan Hill, but no grave has been found yet. There is evidence of old building foundations scattered on the slopes.
from the Eno River Association
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