Quick Getaway to the Mason-Dixon Line
Pittsburgh Post Gazette
15 October 2010
• Where: Mason-Dixon Historical Park, Buckeye Road, near Core, W.Va.,
11 a.m. Sunday. Gather at the red barn by 10:45 a.m.
• How much: Free.
• How far: About 55 miles from Pittsburgh.
• What for: A hike along the banks of Dunkard Creek to commemorate the
anniversary of the forced ending of the Mason-Dixon Line survey 243
years ago this week. Native American guides stopped Charles Mason and
Jeremiah Dixon after the survey team had crossed the creek for a third
time. The area is nearly 23 miles short of the team's goal at the
present-day southwest corner of Pennsylvania. Learn about Mason and
Dixon and the true meaning of their line, which has nothing to do with
the Civil War or slavery, as so often believed today. Participants also
will be able to visit the marker atop Brown's Hill erected in an 1883
resurvey of the line by Cephas H. Sinclair. It sits at the site of
Mason and Dixon's last earth and stone mound and wooden post.
The hike runs along a mostly flat area next to the creek, but Brown's
Hill is steep.
• More information: Mason-Dixon Historical Park, 1-304-292-3946 or
exploretheline.com.
• Fun factor: 8, if you're a history buff or enjoy hiking on an autumn
day.