{"id":2220,"date":"2013-08-30T22:21:57","date_gmt":"2013-08-31T02:21:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chescotimes.com\/?p=2220"},"modified":"2013-09-01T08:24:12","modified_gmt":"2013-09-01T12:24:12","slug":"mason-and-dixon-get-overdue-local-recognition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/?p=2220","title":{"rendered":"Mason and Dixon get overdue local recognition"},"content":{"rendered":"

Newlin star-gazing site attracts surveyors, astronomers, historians and more<\/em><\/span><\/h1>\n
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By Kathleen Brady Shea<\/strong><\/span>,\u00a0Managing Editor, The Times<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Todd<\/a>

Todd Babcock, the chairman of the Mason and Dixon Line Preservation Partnership, drives the commemorative iron spike into Stargazer Road.<\/p><\/div>\n

Ken Burns and Steven Spielberg missed out, but hundreds of others did not, traveling from as far away as England and Australia to participate in a notable commemoration in Newlin Township on Thursday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey should have been here,\u201d said historic preservationist Linda Kaat of the filmmakers. \u201cThis was made for the big screen,\u201d she explained, referring to the saga of the Mason-Dixon Line, a locally-rooted tale teeming with the trappings of Hollywood:\u00a0 politics, war, religion, science, even royalty.<\/p>\n

The story of how astronomer Charles Mason and surveyor Jeremiah Dixon arrived in the New World and proceeded to end a bloody, 80-year boundary dispute between Pennsylvania and Maryland \u2013 considered one of the greatest scientific achievements of the time \u2013 is attracting new attention as the 250th<\/sup>anniversary approaches.<\/p>\n

\"Chas<\/a>

Chas Langelan, vice chairman of SHS and one of the surveying event\u2019s organizers, shows off the plaque that was unveiled on Thursday next to Harlan House in Newlin Township.<\/p><\/div>\n

On Thursday, the Newlin Township ground where Mason and Dixon trekked from their temporary quarters at Harlan House, a residence that still stands at the corner of Embreeville and Stargazer Roads, to the observatory they established nearby, took center stage. It was one of the gathering spots for the 17th National Rendezvous, an annual event hosted by the Surveyors Historical Society (SHS).<\/p>\n

The four-day surveying extravaganza, which spotlighted Mason and Dixon this year, also involved Philadelphia-based activities, since the duo began their expedition there. But the pair did the bulk of their calculations in close proximity to the forks of the Brandywine Creek in Embreeville, prompting a daylong program in Newlin.<\/p>\n

The celebration of history, attended by Rendezvous participants as well as interested members of the public, drew people for a variety of reasons.<\/p>\n

Pete Zapadka, a Mason-Dixon Line aficionado, journeyed from western Pennsylvania. \u201cSo much of our heritage begins right here,\u201d said Zapadka.\u00a0 \u201cI enjoy walking in the footsteps of history.\u201d<\/p>\n

Newlin Township Supervisors\u2019 Chair Janie Baird said she was pleased the site is finally getting the recognition it deserves.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

A variety of surveying equipment was on display at the 17th National Rendezvous, an annual event hosted by the Surveyors Historical Society (SHS).<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a great day, and we\u2019re delighted to be a part of it,\u201d Baird said, adding that she hopes the attention will reinforce Mason and Dixon\u2019s importance for local residents. \u201cIt\u2019s definitely a big deal in the surveying community.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Mary Sue Boyle, a local historian who has researched some of the locals with ties to Mason and Dixon, said one present-day engineer \u00a0shared his unique reason for attending the festivities with his wife: He proposed to her at the Star Gazers\u2019 Stone.<\/p>\n

The event also held special significance for Edwin Danson of England, the author ofDrawing the Line: How Mason and Dixon Surveyed the Most Famous Border in America<\/em>. Danson said he was delighted to be able to meet Kate \u201cTolly\u201d Roby, the owner of Harlan House, with whom he had exchanged numerous emails during the writing of the book. His other thrill: \u201cgoing in the house,\u201d where Roby was graciously conducting tours.<\/p>\n

One of the highlights of the day\u2019s activities for everyone was a new plaque and stone dedication, the result of work done by Todd Babcock, the chairman of the Mason and Dixon Line Preservation Partnership. Babcock, who set up modern surveying equipment in 2005 to retrace Mason and Dixon\u2019s work, determined that their actual \u201cstar-gazing point\u201d in 1764 was hundreds of feet south of the Star Gazers\u2019 Stone.<\/p>\n

\"Harlan<\/a>

Harlan House, a private residence where Mason and Dixon stayed when they made surveying history, still stands in Newlin Township.<\/p><\/div>\n

The newly discovered location presented a challenge in placing a historic marker since it\u2019s covered by the pavement of Stargazer Road.\u00a0 The solution was to place a commemorative plaque \u2013 anchored by about 540 pounds of the same Setters quartz of the Star Gazers\u2019 Stone \u2013 about 20 feet away on Roby\u2019s property and to drive a square iron spike into the roadbed: easier said than done.<\/p>\n

It took more than 50 whacks by dozens of people to level the spike. \u201cThis is almost like the strong man contest at the carnival,\u201d joked Chas Langelan, vice chairman of SHS and one of the event organizers, as people took turns demonstrating their hammering prowess \u2013 or lack of it.<\/p>\n

Catherine McKinnon, a local resident, acknowledged that people in the area probably take the stone and its history for granted. She and her daughter, also Catherine McKinnon, walked to the plaque unveiling with her two grandchildren, Laura Cooper, 11, and David Cooper, 10, \u00a0\u201cto learn a little history.\u201d<\/p>\n

Discussing the crowd that had gathered, Laura Cooper\u2019s eyes widened when told that visitors had traveled from halfway around the globe to her neighborhood. \u201cThat\u2019s crazy,\u201d she exclaimed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Newlin star-gazing site attracts surveyors, astronomers, historians and more By Kathleen Brady Shea,\u00a0Managing Editor, The Times Ken Burns and Steven Spielberg missed out, but hundreds of others did not, traveling from as far away as England and Australia to participate in a notable commemoration in Newlin Township on Thursday. \u201cThey should have been here,\u201d said […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,7],"tags":[132,339,1719,395,1690,1720,1721,1436,1691],"class_list":["post-2220","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-featured","tag-charles-mason","tag-jeremiah-dixon","tag-kate-tolly-roby","tag-linda-kaat","tag-mason-and-dixon-line-preservation-partnership","tag-mason-dixon-line","tag-newlin-township-supervisors-chair-janie-baird","tag-star-gazers-stone","tag-surveyors-historical-society"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2220","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2220"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2220\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2220"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2220"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2220"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}