O'DELL v. Stegall

KETCHUM, Justice:

Two-and-a-half centuries ago, in the days of Thomas Fairfax and John Savage, the doctrine of prescriptive easements took root in our common law. When estates were so large that the boundaries were unknown, and vast tracts were owned by individuals who never set foot on the land, it was reasonable and economical for the law to reward a diligent user of the land with an easement by prescription at the expense of the absentee owner.

In 1719, Lord Fairfax inherited a grant of 5.28 million acres of land in what is now northern Virginia and eastern West Virginia (including what is…