h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

You might clarify that the line wasn't drawn between the properties of two _families_ but between the colonies of Maryland (originally granted to Lord Calvert) and Pennsylvania (granted to William Penn). These two colonies had a longstanding dispute about exactly where the boundary should be, as the charters were not exactly clear.

To clarify my clarification: By the mid-18th century, when the Mason-Dixon survey was made, Maryland had been taken back from the Calverts and Penn was no longer alive, much less in charge of Pennsylvania. The Calverts were Catholic and, despite converting back to the Church of England, lost their grant shortly after the Glorious Revolution.

I said "Lord Calvert" in the previous post but should have said "George Calvert, Lord Baltimore." [url removed by moderator]

The Mason Dixon Line was established and surveyed by Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon between 1762 and 1768. The were commissioned directly by Thomas Penn and Cecilius Calvert (representing the Lord Baltimore, then a minor). Both families were still Proprietors of their provinces (Maryland had been restored to the Baltimores) and were oblidged by Lord Hardwicke's ruling of 1758 to establish and mark their borders on the ground.
The final phase of the work was began in 1760 by American surveyors but they were unable to solve the very challenging geodetic problems. As a consequence, Mason and Dixon were engaged.

The entire story of the Mason Dixon Line and the extraordinary adventures of Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon can be read in Edwin Danson's book 'Drawing the Line: How Mason and Dixon Surveyed the Most Famous Border in America' (John Wiley & Sons, New York, 2000).

"The line runs along the southern border of Pennsylvania with the (now states) of Virginia and Maryland, "

That is incorrect. The line runs along the southern border of Pennsylvania with the (now states) of WEST VIRGINIA and Maryland.

West Virginia gained it's Statehood in 1863 during the Civil War

but maryland remained a yankee state if i'm not mistaken

when the lwvy breaks therre be no place to go