Hike Planned to Commemorate Mason-Dixon Line Anniversary
Washington PA Observer Reporter
23 September 2010
CORE, W.Va. - It will be 243 years ago next month that the Mason and
Dixon survey was halted by Native Americans about 3 miles southwest of
Mt. Morris, almost 23 miles short of the team's goal at the present-day
southwest corner of Pennsylvania.
To commemorate this anniversary, a hike will be held at Mason-Dixon
Historical Park, Buckeye Road, off Route 7 near Core, W.Va.
The hike to the third and last crossing of Dunkard Creek by Mason and
Dixon will be held at 11 a.m. Oct. 17.
Pete Zapadka, founder of the website http://www.exploretheline.com,
will lead the hike and talk. Zapadka is a journalist, historian and
astronomer who will guide participants along the banks of Dunkard Creek
to the seldom-visited area at which Mason and Dixon in 1767 were
confronted by their Indian companions who said they could not take "one
step farther" westward.
The hike, which will be held, weather permitting, covers easy terrain
and is about 11/2 miles out and back. Participants should gather by
10:45 a.m. in the parking lot next to the park's red barn.
The hike is a great opportunity for history buffs to learn about Mason
and Dixon, their contemporaries and the true meaning of their line,
which has nothing to do with the Civil War or slavery, as so often
believed today. The line was drawn 100 years before the war.
Participants also will be able to visit the marker atop Brown's Hill
that was erected in a 1883 resurvey by Cephas H. Sinclair. It sits at
the site of Mason and Dixon's last earth and stone mound and wooden
post.
While the hike runs along a mostly flat area next to the creek,
visitors who also wish to climb to the marker atop Brown's Hill should
be prepared for a steep trail.
For directions and information about Mason-Dixon Historical Park, call
304-292-3946. To learn more about the western end of the Mason-Dixon
Line, visit exploretheline.com. Copyright Observer Publishing Co.