The Penn's Grove record., 1903-04-10
THE MASON AND DIXON LINE
"A Re-suryey Being Made.

A survey Of the Mason and Dixon line
is now being made under the au-
thority Of the United States coast and
geodetic survey. A writer in the 81.
Louis Republic says that the popular I'M
preston that the Mason and Dixon line
formed the dividing line between the
slave and anti-slave states is erroneous.
During the war this line was talked OF IN
a vague way and became confused with
the Missouri compromise and many 9th
er current terms of expression OF the time.
This writer says that the Mason and DIX
on line is the boundary between Mary
land on one side and Pennsylvania and
Delaware on the other side. 1t formed
the northern and eastern boundary OF
Maryland, so far as limited by contigu-
GUS states. At the time of it's survey
Delaware was part of Pennsylvania, and
was known as the s'Three Lower COun-
ties on the River Delaware" The term
is, however, often extended to cover the
whole southern boundary of Pennsylva-
MIA, and not without good reason, as Ma
son and Dixon lad received instructions
to complete the whole of that line, and
had actually progressed some thirty miles
to the westward of the western limit OF
Mol ldllO, ulCA ull1lal ACu anu ~
when their operations were stopped by
the Indians, who were then all-powerful
west Of the Alleghenies. This was in
1858, and wa the final act of a long
maintained and rancorous dispute be-
tween the lords proprietors of Maryland
and Pennsylvania, which had its birth
in the grant by King Charles l. of En-
gland, to Caecilius Calvert, Baron Baltl-
more, of the province of Maryland, carv-
ed from the parent province of Virginia,
and extending on the north to the for
tieth parallel of latitude. This included
the whole OF Delaware and about fifteen
miles width along the southern border OF
Pennsylvania.
When many years later William Penn
obtained from King Charles II. the grant
of the province of Pennsylvania and es-
tablished his town of Philadelphia, ac-
cording to this same authority, he found
to his dismay that the fortieth parallel
would pass through that town, and he,
therefore, refused to accept that charter
limit as his boundary. Penn seems to
have been a shrewd and inscriptions
politician, and, having a strong influence
at the court, both OF Charles II. and of
James II. he managed, through a series
of intrigues and litigations far too long to
ever mention here, to force a situation
which resulted in Maryland losing Della
ware and having to accept as the south
ern boundary of Pennsylvania a parallel
of latitude situated fifteen miles south of
the most southern part of the city of
Philadelphia.
That it was only after nearly a century
of controversy, of litigation, almost a civ
il war that PENIS descendants finally ac-
quired the fruition of his schemes is
pointed out by this some authority and
it is further explained that after several
years abortive attempts by local survey
ors to carry out the mandates of the En-
glish courts of law, the proprietors en-
ployer two noted English mathematic-
ians-Charles Mason and jeremiah Dix
onto come to this country and mark
out the boundary on the ground. They
brought the best instruments of the day,
and, entirely discarding the compass nee
die, SO generally and unfortunately en-
ployed in similar work, they made a sur
vey that is really monumental in it's way,
and undoubtedly the best of all the pro-
yinclal boundary surveys. Arriving at
Philadelphia in the fall of 1853, they be-
gan active operations the following spring
and continued the work until the fall of
176S, when they were discharged. The
object of the present survey is to restore
the old monuments, many of which have
been destroyed or removed and to erect
additional monuments for the better de-
finition of the line. Owing to the fact
of Maryland being a slave state, while
Pennsylvania was a free state, this line
was frequently mentioned in the discus
sion oyer that burning question and many
confound it with the missouri comprom-
Use line.o In was also generally forgot
ten that the boundary between Maryland
and Delaware was a part : of the Mason
and Dixon line. These we're both slave
states and there was therefore no distinc-
ton to be drawn.