Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1892-01-21
THE TWELVE-MILE CIRCLE
How the Work of the Sur
veyors is Progressing.
AN IMPORTANT POINT VERIFIED
A Disputed Triangle to be
Given to Delaware.


Winter weather is not we'll suited for
surveying, and little progress is being
made by the civil engineers who have
charge of the resnrveying of the famous
Twelve-mile Circle, the boundary be-
tween Pennsylvania and Delaware.
Intheir search for marks and data to
assist them in running the line, the sur
yeyofs recently found farm III Chester
county, Pennsylvania, whose southern
boundary is the Twelve-mile Circle. II
is the only known point west of the
Brandywine which has been verified as
being on the line In the search for facts
and deeds to verify the assertion that
this farm was bounded by the line, the
property was traced back to the original
grant from William Penn, nearly 200
years ago.
About the time Surveyors Taylor and
Plerson ran the Twelve-mile Circle, in
1701, William Penn granted to his chill
dren, William and Letitia Penn, 10000
acres of land west of the Brandywinc,
in what is now Chester county, Pa, and
New Castle county, Del. The boundary
line runs through this original tract,
which was known as the "Manor of
Staneing" Letitia Penn was given the
eastern portion of the tract, $500 acres.
Within year or so after the line was
run she granted to George Harlane 400
acres Of her property, lying in the ex-
treme eastern portion. According to the
patent by which this piece of 400 acres
was transferred, its southern boundary
is the Twelve-mile Circle, separating the
upper counties from the "Three Lower
counties on the Delaware" private
road separating this farm from the one
lying to the south in Delaware.
Every other farm composing the orig
inal Manor of Staneing, and lying on
the course of the line, is crossed by it.
But one point on the line, therefore,
can be verified in its course west of the
Brandywine, about two-thirds of its
entire length.
Towards spring, when the weather
has become settled, n surveying party
will be organized and the work soon
| completed. There has been no meeting
of the joint state commission appointed
to determine the line for several weeks.
The sickness of Wayne McVeagh, one
of the commissioners for Pennsylvania
prevents a meeting at present, One will
probably be held soon, however, to open
bids for the stones which are to mark
the boundary.
The surveyors have verified foul
points on the boundary, and, knowing
| the distance from the northest corner OF
another point. The last-named point
will be in the same latitude as Mason
and Dixon's line, about 1000 feet due
east from the northeast corner of Mary.
land. The next point IS the farm
boundary that has been described. Be
tween these two points there are mark:
recognized by the inhabitants, such as q
limekiln here, an oak tree there and q
little stream of water in another place
but tradition only fixes these marks a;
points on the boundary. The third
point is the loop in the Brandywine
where the famous circle follows the
bed of the river for 60 perches. To the
eastward of this the boundary has beer
followed and verified for three mile:
through Beaver Valley, running alonl
the farm boundaries and marked by
stone walls and fences. On the shore
of the Delaware, near Marcus Hook, the
ruins of an old house have been found
believed to mark the site of "Nathanie
Lamplugh's old house at Chichester,
the eastern terminus of the line.
Through these points the circle will
probably be run, without regard to the
original radius Of 10 miles from the enc
of the "horse dyke" at New Castle, Del.
the original radius of the line. 1t is be-
lieved that such line will least disturb
the existing recognized boundaries anC
traditional holdings, which is the desir,
of the commission. From point soutf
of the latitude of Mason and Dixon'i
line no surveys will be made. The com
mission will probably recommend tina
the disputed triangle affected thereby
be cedcd to Delaware, the Jurisdiction
of that State having been exerciseC
| therp for n ceutifrv