Mason-Dixon Line
In 1763 British Astronomers Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon began their survey to mark the boundary between Maryland and Pennsylvania. Ordered by the Court Chancery in England, it was to settle the disputes between the heirs of Lord Baltimore and William Penn. One of the earliest survey projects of North America, it set the highest standards of engineering surveys. The expedition took them four years and their line stretches over 200 miles from Delaware to West Virginia. In the 19th century it was continued along the course of the Ohio River and came to mark the boundary between slave state and free.
Facts and Figures |
Directions |
| Marked with Granite shafts bearing the Penn and Baltimore Arms. | Follow Route 1 to where it crosses the Pennsylvania border. There is a granite marker under a shelter in Sylmar, MD. |
References:
ASCE "Guide to History and Heritage Program" MD: a guide to the old line state