The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1903-03-28
NEW STATE LINE SURVEY
Wrk On Mason And Dixon Boundary
Progressing Satisfactorily.

Under the supervision and direction Of
" g. llodgknS. of the United States
Coast and Gcodctic Survey. two or three
men have been engaged for tn" past two
years in making IL rpSurvcy of the old
Mason ami Dixon line. Their work has
almost been completed. and il is expect
ed that II report of the work accomplish
Cd will be made in the early fall.
Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware
have been cooperating with the Coast
and Geodctic Survey in the resurvey.
and each State has made an appropria-
tion of $4,000 with which to accomplish
this work. The only thing the Coast and
tirulrtir Survey has done has been to
furnish experts and the Instruments
1t has now been about 40 years since
Mason and Dixon line made their survey
and the work which is now being under
taken is very important. Ii is for the
purpose of the Identification of the line
that the survey is being made over agaiu
Many disputes as to land titles have uc-
Cured because the line was not more.
plainly established. The work of van
dal~ in chipping off the monuments of
stone and the fact that some of them
hav" tumblcd down have necessarily
made the lines very iniiStinct in some
places.
In some eases residents along the
boundary line have taken these stones or
monuments for pillars to their houses.
for d""r->trpS and numerous other pur-
posses. In many instances thrS" have
been recovered. but in the ease where.
persons have used them in the rouStr llr-
t"n Of their homes they cannot he re.
moved, h"cauSe they plead the statute of
! Limitations. In Maryland there is law
| that provides that after three years us"
| they cannot he removed. For about 132
miles the surveyors have been able To re-
plac" th"S" that have been taken away.
In Hartford county IN interesting story
| is told about one of the monuments. 1t
| is related that on the night of the Srccs-
sion Of South Carolina from the Union.
Il part of the stone broke off 1t is be-
| li"y"d by the citizens in Hartford county
that this story is true to this day.
| Tn" monuments or stones have been
|i'Ia"rd on an average of about one mile
| apart In some eases these stones have
| been found some little distances from
| where placed at the first and broken
apart by vanIals. Where it has been
possible these stones have been mrndcd
and put NJ in their old places In cases
| where ii has been impossible to find the
| old stones. the surveyors have had To
| erect new ones.
| lNc>r stones We're made in England
| from oolitc limestone and were brought
over here from time To time as they were
needed. They are stout square posts sur
mounted by rather Hat pyramid. Upon
the side facing Maryland the letter M"
is cut and on the opposite side the letter
"p' for Pennsylvania.
| Ii speaks we'll of the stone to say that
after being exposed to the elements for
NOR" than a century and Il quarter these
| inscriptions are still distinctly lcgibc and
som" of the stones are i'll such good con-
dition rs t" have quite modern appear
| ancr.
| The monuments placed at the middle
point of the base line, now the northwest
corner of Delaware. and ut the northeast
corner of Maryland. differ from any of
the others in having II cont-of-arms on
each side thereof. Upon their north and
east sides were carved the arms of the
Pcnn~ and upon their south and west
sides the arms of Lord Baltimore.