Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-07-30

from three to f1ve feet. Tho stones are
oolite and are supposed to have been quar-
ried near Portsmouth, England.
The work Of restoring the old markings.
and, where they could not be recovered. OF
setting up Iron posts. was intrusted to w.
G. Hodgkins of the coast and geodetfc sur
vey. Mr.. Hodgkins and his assistants had
many strange experiences in their recovery
OF some Of the missing mile stones. Two
OF the crownstones, as the five-mile mark
ers were called, were found serving as door
steps of the Mutual Rights Church. queer
old house Of worship on Licking creek near
Hancock, Md. The surveyors replaced them
with Maryland Stone at the church and set
them up again in their original places. 9th
ers were recovered with greater difficulty.
In Washington county, Md, crownstone
was missing. and inquiry developed the fact
that 1t had been secured by a curio-hunting
Baltimorean and carried away to that city.
1t was found stored away in q cellar in the
monumental city. This stone was presented
to the Pennsylvania Historical Society and
a duplicate was made and sent to the sur
veYors to serve for the missing marker.
Near Big Pool. Md, six of the original
stones were found built into the walls of
houses and two were serving the purpose
of doorsteps. The surveyors came to the
conclusion that these stones were a part OF
those which were left in the vicinity be-
cause Of the lack of transportation facili-
ties to carry them to the points where they
were needed. Legal proceedings had to be
resorted to before these stones could be OBJ
tanned. At Clear Spring. Nd, one of the
stones was found set up in front of place
of business. 1t had been much mutilated
and inquiry developed the fact that the
owner of the premises had broken off pieces
of the stone from time to time and pulver-
lied it to furnish grit for his chickens.
*
One Of the stones which had not been re-
moved from it's original position. near
Mount st. Mary's College, at Emmettsburg
Nd, had been broken by relic hunters until
little of 1t remained above ground. One OF
the crownstones near Pen Mar, Md, had
been religiously protected by the farmers
In the locality, and after the establishment
of the mountain resort there was covered
with wire netting to keep off the relic hunt.
ers. In many places along the line the pc
culiar white appearance Of the stones in.
had been much broken by small boys beat
Ing them down by throwing other stones
against them.
One of the most celebrated stones along
the line was dubbed 1.-The secession stone
1t stands between Fawn Grove and Delta
Pa. 1t is said that during the week of the
fall of Fort Sumter the letter M on the
south side of the stone was obliterated, and
according to the local tradition, the Penn
sylvania half of the stone could no longer
endure the letter M" the inhabitant OF
that region supposing that Maryland would
pass into the southern confederacy.
Mason and Dixon's line became famous as
the boundary between the free and slave
states In the bitter controversies which an
tedated the civil war Henry Clay fire.
quently referred to it such in his speeches
in Congress. To this day it is the popular
division line between the north and south
of the country.