The MASON DIXON LINE

Boundary of the North and South

It didn't start out to separate a nation. The Mason Dixon Line was a simple state boundary, but that boundary would later come to symbolize the American Civil War as well as the fight over slavery.

The problem was the lack of knowledge of the North American continent in the early days of settlement. With no natural boundaries, such as a river, going east to west, the early deeds granted by the English King could not say exactly where the properties ended. In 1632 the first Lord Baltimore was given a grant of land he called Maryland, and in 1681 William Penn was given the colony he named Pennsylvania. Both colonies were primarily begun as a religious haven, Maryland for Catholics and Pennsylvania for Quakers.

Finally, in 1763, the descendents of these men agreed to settle the disputes over the exact boundaries that had been a continual problem over the years. That is when Charles Mason, an astronomer, and his assistant, Jeremiah Dixon, were hired to survey the land. By locating certain stars' locations, an astronomer could then accurately find exact places on the earth. Besides finding the boundary between Maryland and Pennsylvania, they also determined the Pennsylvania-Virginia border in the west, which was also in dispute.

Many people were employed in this enterprise. Workmen would work in advance of the surveyors, cutting trees for a path through the forest. Cooks and other helpers were also needed, and most worked with the group for only a short time. Many Native Americans were employed, especially as they moved westward. In England, stones were quarried and carved for use as boundary markers and milestones along the border.

The job took four years to complete, and the border ran 244 miles westward from the Delaware River. Though measured over moutains, rivers, and wilderness, it has been found with today's modern instruments to be extremely accurate.

In later years, it became the dividing line between the Northern and Southern states. The Northern states outlawed slavery, but the states south of Pennsylvania, south of the Mason Dixon Line, retained the practice. In this way, the Mason Dixon Line became the boundary between the Free and Slave states.