CAPE HENLOPEN HISTORY

HISTORY OF CAPE HENLOPEN & BEYOND

THE LINE BETWEEN THE STATES

Perhaps the most famous boundary line in the nations history, thought by many

to be a boundary between slavery and free states, the Mason – Dixon Line, the

Transpeninsular Line or the North – South Line between Maryland and The Three Lower

Counties of Pennsylvania on Delaware, now Delaware, all the same line to a point.

Yes, the Point, The Middle Point, near Mardela Springs, where Mason and Dixon in 1768

set the “Crown Stones, that have the Coat of Arms of William Penn and Lord Baltimore engraved on them. Middle Point is also referred to as the Key Point of the Transpeninsular

Line.

There was a dispute in the 1680's between Penn and Lord Baltimore when Penn was granted

a land charter which overlapped Lord Baltimore's June 20, 1632 land charter. Charles

Calvert, the third Lord Baltimore , was notified of Penns Charter it was requested that he

make at meeting with Penn's agents to make a true division and separation of the provinces

of Maryland and Pennsylvania, according bounds and degrees already set and to set marks

to avoid all doubts.

Lord Baltimore did meet with either with William Penn or agents no agreement could be

reached, and, Penn, in order to have control of an access to the Atlantic Ocean, persuaded

the Duke of York to transfer lands west of the Delaware River to him. Within three years

the Duke of York was King James II of England, and William Penn now had Delaware, but

disagreements continued.. In 1732, an adjustment called for a boundary line to run due

west from Cape Henlopen , which was then at Fenwick Island, to a point midway on the

peninsula, Middle Point. From the point the boundary line is run to the northward to the

New Castle circle boundary between Delaware and Pennsylvania. This northward line is

to be marked by stone markers bearing the Coat of Arms of the proprietors to face the respective possessions. Then there was disagreement about the Delaware Pennsylvania Circle boundary which was settled in 1750 calling for the center of this circle boundary be the

court house in the center of New Castle on Delaware.

This is an abstract of Delmarva Heritage by history professor Salisbury State Teachers College

William H. Wrotten and appears in the Friday, December 19, 1959 issue of Salisbury Daily

Times newspaper, which has the “ rest of the story “ for person so interested.