Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1892-09-01

which was begun three months ago under
the direction OF w q. HodgklnS Of the
United States Coast and Geudctic Survey.
with corps of three young men, is still
being vigorously pushed, as far as such
delicate and exacting work as surveying
can he expedited
II was about the middle of May that Mr..
Hodgkins came to Newark frOtn Washing
ton, being detailed or loaned, as it We're, To
the states OF Delaware and Pennsylvania
by the coast survey officials for the pur.
pose of surveying this interstate boundary.
This was at the request of the joint com
mission appointed by the two states with
power to definitely settle this purplcXing
boundary question for all time. This
Interstate commission, with the Hon.
Thomas +. Bayard at its head for Della,
ware and the Hon Wayne MacVcngh for
Pennsylvania, was appointed two years
ago three members being selected from
each state by the legislatures thereof
Those composing the commission being
men of prominence i'll public affairs aud
unable by reason of preoCcupation TO
attend in detail to the exacting work and
study required, acted on the authority
delegated to them end selected two pract-
cal surveyors, namely, Benjamin ii Smith
OF Pcnnsylvania and Daniel Farra Of VIII
mington To take the work in hand and
cooperate in making a survey which,
when done, should be submitted to the
lulHt CDlllllSSlhn lOr linal AllHultHtiuu.
he state surveyors, after coming to,
gether and going Sver the ground. decided
that 1t would be expedicut To call INTO aid
the services OF the coast survey, a depart.
mcnt noted for its disinteresteduess and
the excellence and accuracy of all its work.
IN this branch of the government service
il is the policy, when officially requested
To detail experienced engineers 10 make
surveys Of boundary lines between differ
ent states when such lines are in doubt or
III process 0f being changed, In a Cilsr of
thlS kind the coast survey Officials merely
insist that as quid pro quo all the maps,
charts &c, made in the course of such
work shall belong 10 the government
archives, while fac smile copies of the
same duly approved by the official seal are
furnished To the states interested. liy this
the government insures the preservation
OF valuable records, which, of course add
10 the knowledge Of the national topogra-
ply and which might some time prove of
valuable service to the government. 1t is
of course the stipulation of the latter in u
case of this kind that the actual work,
after the prelimillarics have been mutually
arranged by the states concerned or their
surveyors shall be done by the government
engineers
IL was some time before definite instruc-
tons, as To- the location Of the boundaries
could be furnished MIR. liodgkius because
of the mass Of details that had to he ar
ranged beforehand by the State surveyors.
Many difficulties and perpcXitieS here
presented themselves and il was found hat
the arc of the II mile circle with its centre
ut New Castle would make an entirely new
boundary and one much ut variance with
ill local traditions as to where the original
boundary was really located. II would
have been Il sad upsetting of all precou-
ccptions as to the boundary, simply be-
cause the original line never followed u
true IL mile circle, owing to inauCuracy in
the work of Taylor ~ PierSon, who first
surveyed it in l7Ol by order OF William
Penn, to whom had been decided by the
Duke OF York in 1850, the three lower
counties of Pennsylvania As the sur
vey was undertaken some fyears later
merely Ia ascertain approximately the OK
tent of fccn new territory and rs it was
not dreamed that il should ever become
the boundary between the two sovereign
states, il is not surprising that it was more
or less inaccurately done, especially so
since surveying by the more approved aud
scientific method of triangulation was
then probably unknown.
This deed rather ambiguouslv called for
all the land within an arc Of II miles
radius from New Castle. The south end of
the horse dyke, an old landmark about 100
feet north Of the present court house in
New Castle, was taken by Taylor II PiCrsom
Us the starting point, From here they ran
iue, as they supposed, due north for II
miles. But the intervening line besides
being very hilly WAS most dcnscly wooded
ut that time, both of which natural Coudi-
tons Conspired to make their work most
difficult. Without cutting down forests
aud levcling hills they could not do the
work by trlangulating and long distance
sighting So they were compelled with
compass level to chain traverse line
This consisted of series Of straight lines
IN. RI.u yifF ,,..t stsl
following the same general direction.
When their bearings were calculated and
their line reflections corrected or straight
ened out the line ended near Point Look
out or at point where the aBrandywine
first flows from Pennsylvania into Della
ware territory and then seemingly unsutis-
lied with Delaware topography flows back
again. But they made q mistake of not
only u hall mile in "reCtifying" their line,
but also in their longitude, Tor they were
about u mile and u half too far in il west
ward direction. Through some farther
mistake their line became part of l3-
mile circle. Faulty as their work was in
this respect it was more so in that they set
ny no permanent monuments and left
nothing to mark their course save an oCca-
slonal tree which they 'blazcd" This con
sisted OF cutting large notches ON the
trunk, the number of notches on tree
"A varying from one to a bakers dOZcun OF
course all these trees have long since rottcd
away and there is only local tradition or
the dubious recollection of what the odd
est inhabitant'' once heard from his grand
father AS to the location Of the Original
line. The point which the surveyors ero-
neolisly took to be IL miles due north uf
the New Castle horse dyke rested at the
base OF an old oak tree, which has long
since through the action Of wind rain and
worm lost local habltatiOn and name. y
From here, however, they ran cords of 10
eastwary by compass. The eastern ter
minus of the arc is stated in the field notes
of the original survey now preserved in the
:, rooms of the Pennsylvania Historical
Society, To be the corner Of a certain old
house ON the Delaware river shore The
foundations of this house have recently
been uneartlied and if this proves To be
seally the house mentioned in the notes
toere is additional proof of the inaCcuracy
Of the survey for by measurement this
house is ia miles instead of II miles from
New Castle.
Mr.. Hodgkins' task is a most difficult
one, because it is the desire of the inter
state commission that he shall run a
boundary line that shall largely conform
to popular traditions, so that Il minimum
number OF Delawareans shall nOlens
volens he made Pennsylvanians aud vice
versa. Any other course, ignoring the
equity or experience of the matter, would
make more than the proverbial peck of
trouble among those residents ad jaccnt to
the line whose sovereignty would perfOrce
be transferred In fact those acquainted
with the temper of these people insist that
there will be something like war, so strong
is the allegiance of Deawareans for Della
ware and Pennsylvanians for Pennsyl-
vania. In fact it is recorded of one farmer
near the old line, who is at present serene
III the conviction that he is u Delawarean
by residence as well as allegiance, that he