Evening journal., 1922-06-20
EARLY BOUNDARY
SURVEYS TRUE

statements. Mr.. KINNEY yesterday
sent the following letter to Mr..
Hayes.
Wilmington, Del. June 10, '22.
y. Carroll Hayes, Esq,
West Chester. Pa.
Dear Sir: In reply. not only 10
your personal letter. but also to your
letter 10 The Evening Journal would
say: That as regards the legality
of the present line there is no doubt.
As TO whether the two States Will
reopen the matter / beg leave 10
differ with you; for when the shame
full manner in which interested
| parties both in Delaware and Penn
swlvania have acted and the dbso-
/ lutely wrong Information laid before
the last Commission is gone into. 1
! believe both States will reopen the
matter without hesitation. There is
( no question as TO the ability OF the
/ Coast and Geodetic Survey, but they
only 2beyed the instructions given
| by the Commission which labored
under Is misinformation and the
/ two radii was their only recourse.
You say that you are no sur
/ veyor; that is very evident. Nor do
| you seem to know that a primitive
forest such as was here in 1901 was
a very open one and free from un-
derbrush Il have worked in for
ests without obstruction in which l
see for at least a mile).
surveys made by1Taylor and Pear
son at about that date can be run
today by competent surveyors. Their
measurement OF the circle and the
temporary line run in 1882 was so
nearly true that IL was virtually
adopted by Mason and Dixon. when
they made their survey in 1852
and SO. This has been found true
in surveys made by late surveyors
OF farms on or near the border.
The balance of-your letter under
the head of (where the trouble
lies) is pure conjecture and old
women's tales. The statements as 10
the loss of Delaware of a mile of
territory on the eastern half OF the
section, and that in the western
half il would run over into Mary
land are not warranted by the facts
as shown on the engineers pict.
Il propose to let you have a few
facts which are capable OF proof
and not merely hear-say. The Mar
row Of Horse Dyke was a bank OF
earth which protected about acres
OF land in New Castle, Del. on which
at one time a grain mill was erected.
This dyke at its western end near
ly corresponded with the Whining
ton road and Fourth street in that
city. In 1875 I took up from the
side OF the road stone peculiarly
marked and placed II as a centre
stone for Fourth street and the
Wilmington road. This stone I was
told by several very old men was re-
garded by them and their fathers
as being the centre OF the twelve
mile circle and that I should not
have removed IL. This stone is
about 25 feet from where took II
and can be easily replaced in its
original position.
It was from or very near this
point that Taylor and Pearson ran
the radius OF u miles from the end
OF which they ran the circular |
boundary line. This point is about I
12O feet west and between 1900 and 7,
1900 feet north OF the old Court I
House steeple. Col. Graham found |
the radius run by these men to be /
11O feet too long. starting where he 4
did. and Capt. Hodgkins from the !
same point as the Colonel found It 10 4
be 11S feet long-pretty fair work
for old timers with primitive instru- !
ments and wild forest lands. The .
three stones from England We're
found by Colonel Graham. The
circle arc cut by the Delaware
Maryland line had the erros by his
survey. as follows: the southern
stone was 1916 feet too far north.
and the three State stone 1897 feet
too far south and the Penn-My-
stone broken off. He ran the old
Mason Dixon line and found the bot
tom Of the stone in place and the top
In a ravine close by covered by
earth. and the Commission replaced
It. The different centres taken
would account for these errors.
1T is very singular that the first
.hree surveys from the same centre
should agree so closely and only
found to be so full of errors when
he good gentlemen OF Chester coun-
~ wanted some OF our Delaware
and. II a close survey for points
1n the western end OF the sector
we're made some facts very surpris-
ng to the Chester County Society
would come to light, and even they
would be compelled to agree that all
vas not fair that was laid before the
asst commission. From want OF true
md proper facts the commission di-
ected the and G. survey be made .
Is it was. II the Mason and Dixon ,
urvey was right for the boundaries ,
,etween Pennsylvania Maryland and ,
Delaware Maryland, why should il ,
rot be good for the circular boun- =
larry between Pennsylvania and /
Delaware? ,
BY measurements OF the map OF 9
he last survey II the old and true
entire be taken it would be easy to
etrace the old line and only a few
'ennsylvanians might find them :
elves in Delaware. not that we want &
hem. There is no doubt that we
ould raise a camptown and move
heir houses back into Pennsylvania.
I the old practice of assessing the !
and in the State in which the build
ngs were followed. they even would
emain. This would let each owner
i've in the State he was born in and
hose. What our people want is
My justice and we believe that the
,ulk of the people OF Delaware and {
hester counties know we are right Z
md that the whole trouble was