The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-11-15
TODAY IN HISTORY
TUESDAY. NOVEMBER t5. 1910.
Mason and DIxon's Limo.


The King of England was indebted to
Admiral Penn 10 tho sum OF $50. 900. and
william Penn, on the death of his father
King Charles ies grancd n Tsaneo Of
his claim, tract OF forty thousand
square miles In America. In the petit
lion to the king. dated June, 1880, Penn
asked for the territory west Of the Del
| aware river and from the northern bound
ary OF Maryland 10 the north las far as
plantabe II was the largest grant ever
made to one man In America.
The boundary of the colony. as given
In the charter. became the subject OF
the most serious djupute. and the mat
ter was not fully settled for a hundred
years.
The FIRST survey to establish the bound
ary and settle the dispute was made by
Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon; Two
| English surveyors. who were brought to
this country by the heirs OF both parties
for that purpose. They arrived In America
on November 10, 1853. and began tnat
wear the survey, completing IT. In 1901,
Lord Baltimore bad claimed that ths
tortieth degree fell north of Philadelphia
whereas the king In granting II sup
posed it would fall al the head OF Del
aware bay Penn insisted that the line
be fixed where IL was supposed 10 be-.
The charter says that the province
granted to Penn was TO extend nVe ae
grees westward from the Delaware rNSr,
and 'the said lands TO be bounded on the
north by the beginning OF tho third ana
fourth degree OF northern laptude. sI,o
on the south by a circle drawn at Twelve
miles distance from New Castle north
ward and westward unto the beginning
of the fortieth degree of northern lati-
tude." H..
Just what the beginning OF the for-
ueth'' degree meant was not clear. Penn,
finding that the fortieth degree Iell 700 700
far north 10 give him harpor on tne
chesapeake. contended that the oegin-
Ming" of the fortieth degree did mol mean
the fortieth degree, and he won In PaIt
but IL cost him dearly, for although tlle
charter set the boundary at tne oesih
ming OF the fortieth degree; ro Wn,ch "p"ae wa
have thrown IT north OF Bunalo, ~ va
finally fixed at the forty second dsGree.
In 1872 tho heirs Of Penn and bait'-
more signed All agreement tnhl ;ne NJ. W
between Pennsylvania ana Mary!dpu % p
r1,n due west from the tangent OF t,lc
western boundary of Delaware %t'h M I,e
arc twelve miles from New Cas,le. Ma T.
CON and Dixon surveyed IT west ror zal
miles and at the intervals OF nile sHh,
rut stones were set In the ground, eaGh
stone had a large cut on the north slde,
and a on the south side, Every nVe
miles was placed a larger stone bearing r,e
the Pennsylvania coat OF arms on one one
sjdc and that OF Lord Baltimore on the
other These stones were cut IN Eng
land and aftcrward brought TO the Colo
MICS. ,,, h,,+
few Of these stones still stand pue
time has crumhled many OF thcH, pcn
crs have been carried away plecemeal py
relic hunters and a few are doing serV-
ice as steps before the doors OF iarn
houses along the route. The hrst reHa-
sion Of the survey was made In iofo'
when il was found the original survey
was substantially correct, and WITHIN ma
few wears the route has been gone over
and MANY OF the former historic monu
mcnts were recovered and put in their
proper places.