Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1905-11-24
MASON AND DIXON LINE
THE HISTORIC LANDMARK TO
BE PRESERVED.

mission of Pennsylvania and Maryland-It
Was Accomplished Under Much Difficulty
The Hand of the Vandal and UtiIitarian Had
Displaced Many Monuments of the
Queer Uses Made of Them.
The announcement that the Joint
commission OF Pennsylvania and Mary.
land has completed the re survey and
remarking of the boundary line be-
tween the two States gives new inter-
est to the famous Mason and Dixon
line, which has played an important
part in the history OF the country.
The work OF remarking this ancient
boundary was carried on under the di-
rection of Dr. William B. Clark, of the
Maryland Geological Bureau and the
Secretary OF Internal Affairs OF Penn
sylvania. The Pennsylvania Legisls-
ture in 1889 appropriated 81 900 "to
repair" and reset the monuments on
the boundary line between this COM
monwealth and the adjacent State of
Maryland on the South" In 1900 the
Legislature OF Maryland made like
appropriation of 5000 to carry on its
share of the work.
Surveying parties were sent into the
field first in 1893, and the major part
Of the work was done some five years
ago, but the commission encountered
unexpected difficulties in the search
for some OF the original marking
stones, and the task was not completed
and reported to the Governors OF the
two States until this year.
Mason and Dixon's line received its
name from the original surveyors,
Charles Mason and Alexander Dixon.
They were sent to America from Lon
don in 1868 to lay down the boundary
between the estates of Lord Cecilus
Calvert and William Penn, to avert
what at one time threatened to be a
civil war between the followers of the
two great lsndholders.
The surveying was begun in 1764
and pursued until stopped by the In
dians at Dunkard creek. now in the
State OF West Virginia, in the autumn
OF l767. Through the greater part of
the distance from the eastern end of
the line to Dunksrd creek, 244 miles
west of Delaware, the line was marked
by stones one mile apart. in which the
letter "P" was cut in the north side
and the letter an" in the south side.
At each five.mile mark a stone was
placed with the arms OF Penn engraved
on the north side and those OF Calvert
on the south side. Fortunately for
posterity, the original surveying party
ran the line by the stars, and did not
depend upon the fluctuations of the
magnetic needle. If it had been sur.
veyed by compass in 1900, it would
have shown a deviation of at least two
miles, and we're the line to be run over
again at the present time, with an un-
corrected compass, according to the
records Of the original survey, the de-
Walton would reach about nineteen
miles south of where it now is, and the
rich coal mines OF the Maryla nd coun.
ties would belong to Pennsylvania.
The later surveyors soon discovered
the trick of their predecessors and fol-
lowed the same course.
The agreement which furnished the
basis of the original survey was made
between the colonists of Penn and
those OF Calvert, and was contained in
the charter given by King Charles II.
to William Penn in 1851. A semi.
circle with one.mile radius was to be
drawn around the town OF New Castle,
Del, beginning at the Delaware river
and extending north and west. A
right line was to be run from Cape
Henlopen on the coast of New Jersey,
due west to the middle point of the
peninsula between the Chesapeake and
Delaware bays. From this point a
meridian line was to be run due north
so as to form tangent with the
semi-circle drawn around New Castle.
From the point where the tangent
touched the circle the meridian was to
run due north until it reached the lat.
itude of a point fifteen miles south OF
Philadelphia. From this point line
running due west was to be the boun.
Diary line between the two estates.
According to the records kept by the
original surveyors the work necessary
to establish these several points was
accomplished with great difficulty
through the forests and marshes across
the intervening rivers. 1t consumed
three years, beginning with 1760, to
establish the line across the peninsula
and to fix the tangent point. Then
the London surveyors took up the
work. Nearly year more was con.
sumed to make sure OF the latitude OF
the point fifteen miles south of Phila.
delphia. Finally the point was estab.
lished where the three corners of the
State of Delaware, Pennsylvania and
Maryland met, and this point was duly
marked bya suitable stone and the
survey of the celebrated Mason and
Dixon line was begun in the summer
of 1854.
That year the line was run and par