PRINTER'S NO. 2557
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No.
559
Session of
2017
INTRODUCED BY PHILLIPS-HILL, METZGAR, TALLMAN, KLUNK, SCHEMEL,
DOWLING, GROVE, SAYLOR, TOPPER, NEILSON, CHARLTON, BAKER,
ROE, TOOHIL, DiGIROLAMO, KAUFFMAN, ROTHMAN, IRVIN, KINSEY,
WARD, CALTAGIRONE, RAPP, EVERETT, MARSICO, CORBIN AND
D. COSTA, OCTOBER 11, 2017
INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35,
OCTOBER 11, 2017
A RESOLUTION
Commemorating the 250th anniversary of the Mason-Dixon Line that
established the southern border of York County in October
1767.
WHEREAS, The Mason-Dixon Line, also known as the line
distinguishing the northern states from the southern states
during the Civil War, was established by English surveyors
Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon; and
WHEREAS, The Mason-Dixon Line was the result of a border
dispute between the Penn family, proprietors of Pennsylvania,
and the Calvert family, proprietors of Maryland; and
WHEREAS, Both families were holders of land grants bestowed
upon them by English rulers during the 1600s; and
WHEREAS, Different maps showed different borders and people
therefore questioned where exactly the 39th and 40th parallels
were located; and
WHEREAS, Mason, an astronomer, and Dixon, a renowned
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surveyor, were hired to settle the longstanding dispute,
starting in 1763; and
WHEREAS, The surveyors used the stars to calculate the
markings of the 233-mile-long border separating the colonies,
identifying the border by engraving the ruling families' coat of
arms to identify which colony held jurisdiction; and
WHEREAS, Surveyors began 15 miles south of Philadelphia,
working their way west for four years to complete the task; and
WHEREAS, The surveyors worked through 233 miles of rough
terrain and were faced with a wide variety of obstacles that
would cause many individuals to quit; and
WHEREAS, In October 1767, Mason and Dixon were able to
successfully complete the creation of the border; and
WHEREAS, The longstanding dispute between the colonies that
had caused taxation issues and residential conflict had finally
been resolved as a result of the designation of the border;
therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives commemorate the
250th anniversary of the Mason-Dixon Line that established the
southern border of York County in October 1767.
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