The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1905-09-08
Story of the Famous X *
Mason and Dixon Line
washington Star.

washington Star.
THE announcement that the Joint
Ii cpnnnissio1Sof Pennsylvania and Mary
land q completed the resuryey and
T~ernarking OF the boundary line De
tween the two states gives now interest
tozthe fainou Mason and Dixon line.
which has played an Important part
in the history Of the country. The
work OF remarking this ancient boun-
S$Aafy was carried o N under h direction
Ot Or. William b.. Clark OF h Mary
archaeological bureau and the secre-
itary Of Internal affairs on Pennsylvania.
The Pennsylvania legislature In 1889
g appropriated $7,0G0s.to repair and reset
monuments IN the boundary line
between this commonwealth and h
sSladjacent state OF Maryland on the
SOUTH IN 1900 the legislature Of
Maryland made a like appropriation Of
$4,000 to carry o its share OF the work.
~Surveying parties were sent into the
field fin81693 M the major part of the
work was done some five years ago.
but the commission encountered unex-
spected difiiculties In the search for
the task was not completed and
reported to the governors OF the two
states until this year.
Mason n Dixon's line received its
nan from the original surveyors,
Charles Dixon and Alexander Dixon.
They were sent to America from Lon
dongin 1863 to lay down the boundary
betweenS%the estates of Lord Cecilus,
and William Penn, TO avert
@Nvha at time Threatened to be a
&lFstyilSwar between the followers of the
great land holders.
s#sa surveying was begun in 1864
and pursued until stopped by the In
dfansgat Dunkard creek now in the
Estate OF West Virginia, in the autumn
sMof l767. Through the greater part OF
the distance from the eastern end of the
cline to DunkardAt creek. Pa miles west
o Delaware, the line was marked by
stones one mile apart, in which h
slettersEssFSN was cut In the north side
andEthe letter M in h south side.
Az each hve-mile mark a stone was
In;athe north side n those of Calvert
son the south side. fortunately for
sposterity, stheEoriginal~ surveying party
SIan b line by b stars and did not
depend upon fluctuations Sof the
magnetic needle. Il Sit had been sur
sveyed by accomplish In 1900 1t would
have MISREPRESENTATION OF at least two
miles and were b line to be run over
agatnSAt theYpresent time with an un-
corrected compass. according to the
records D theaorigtnal survey. the de-
eSyiatlon would reach about nineteen
44GA q &A1A AAS
rich coalsmines OF the Maryland coun-
g<le8swould belong to Pennsylvania. The
slaker surveyors sOOnss discovered the
trick ofstheir predecessors and followed
the sam course.
:TheSa9reement which furnished the
aoriginalSsurvey was made
-RKbetWeenNsthe ~colonists OF Penn and
athOseSsof Calvert andswas contained in
charter given by King Charles IL.
s:to WilliansPenn in 1881. A semi-circle
ENTHUSIASTICALLY radius was to be
sdraWnsaround h town OF New Castle,
I3slyand beginning at the Delaware
ssf14Rer and extending north n west. All
right line was to be run from Cape
Henlopen onsthe coast Of New Jersey.
duess#sWest toethe middle point OF the
peninsula " the chesapeake
INT Delaware Gays. From this point a
meridian line was to be run due north
sSoSassto form q tangent with the semi
ctrclegdfaWnsaround New Castle. From
the point where the tangent touched
the scirclesthe meriden was to run due
north untilBit reached the latitude OF al
POINT fifteen miles southSof Philadel-
Sphia. From this point a line running
sdueWest wa to be the boundary be-
1Heei1t the two estates.
According tosthe record kept by the
spftSlnal surveyors the work necessary
accomplished with great difficulty
1hrough the forests and marshes across
t~nterevninr rivers. 1t consumed
l1hreeS ear beginning with 1860, to ses-
tablish the line across the peninsula
saxad to- tix thest tangent point. Then the
sLpadOn surveyors took up h work.
.NAarly a8year mere was consumed to
ilnake sure OF the latitude OF b point
tlQteerl miles south 8 Philadelphia.
lElnally the point a established where
corners OF the states of Della
ware Pennsylvania Maryland
40 49, = s,1 Tfh{0E Sno{nf x,yp a. dt1ln m urlro1N Il
lEsya suitable stone n the survey Of
fitesscelebrated Mason and Dixon line
NxeNs thsgun in9the i'm Of 1884.
Tint = the line was run and
nn-tially marked to b SusQuehanna
The next year II was continued
.toosIthe Allegheny river and a little fur
stker to the westward, but by a decree
.ofsnhe Indians it was brought abruptly
stop, and the surveyors returned
ifoHehiladelphia.
Ih IS49 q desire TO test h survey
ttooksAhape and the legislatures of the
1reeSstates interested made appropriate
lions and appointed commissioners to
perform the work. The survey was
placed9tn h hands of Of Colo.Il James
sDsSsGraham OF the United States topo-
graphtcal Colonel Graham
se~orrsborated 1t. He found that the
1eadtus of twelve miles used to estab-
the arc of h circle was two feetl
and four niche short and that the tam
gent point had been placed l57 feet too
FAR south The corner stone of the
three states was reset according to this
survey, and Maryland received 1877
acres OF land2as the result. Since then
NiisEe has been no effort. seriously to
the accuracy OF the original
sgHlirvcys
ThegSmile stones used to mark the
We're brought from England,
dressed and ready for setting up. The
labor OF transporting them over the
tFaekless wilderness vas found almost
fnsurrnountable and had to be aban-
sGoased over a part OF the line. Where
postsgcould not be carried piles Of
Il four feet square and eight feet
hlgii were built In their place. n in
EGso1;ne Instances wooden posts We're used
OF the Inaccessible hills OF
Western Maryland. The marking posts