Subject: mason dixon point of beginning continued<br/>
Date: Nov 04, 2003 @ 15:25<br/>
Author: acroorca2002 (&quot;acroorca2002&quot; &lt;orc@...&gt;)<br/>
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<div id="ygrps-yiv-117201400">reached the famous corner of south & second streets in philadelphia <br/>
last night<br/>
& scoured all the building facades along the south side of south <br/>
street in both directions <br/>
all the way to third street & then clear to front street too<br/>
looking for some sort of commemorative announcement or historic marker<br/>
of the mason dixon point of beginning <br/>
at what is supposed to have been the southernmost point of <br/>
philadelphia in 1763<br/>
<br/>
& tho philadelphia is full of historical signs <br/>
since after all most of history did originally happen here<br/>
i could find no trace of the history i was looking for<br/>
<br/>
exhausted i went to sleep right on the corner there hoping for a dream<br/>
<br/>
had a great one too<br/>
& continued the try this morning at the free library<br/>
where i am posting this interim report before returning to the scene <br/>
for a closer look<br/>
<br/>
here at the library i have found the official 1762 map of <br/>
philadelphia which mason & dixon were most likely working from<br/>
<br/>
it does indeed show cedar aka south street to be the southern limit<br/>
but only as far east as second avenue<br/>
where a narrow proruption of the plotted street plan is shown <br/>
extending much farther south along the delaware river<br/>
<br/>
hmmm<br/>
i cant figure out why mason & dixon didnt use the southernmost point <br/>
of this proruption<br/>
tho there is probably a perfectly good reason<br/>
<br/>
in any case <br/>
because the proruption ends precisely at second street<br/>
we can be pretty sure their point of beginning <br/>
reportedly near second street<br/>
is just east of second street rather than just west of it<br/>
since that would be outside the city by either definition<br/>
<br/>
moreover the 1762 map shows only one house anywhere near the corner<br/>
& it stands between 100 & 175 feet east of second street<br/>
<br/>
the next house on this street btw is at the corner of front & south<br/>
& couldnt have been the right house<br/>
or history would have said front & south rather than second & south<br/>
<br/>
so this single solitary house or its successor stands a very good <br/>
chance of being the house i am looking for<br/>
<br/>
& since philadelphia tilts a bit southeast<br/>
the northeast corner of the house <br/>
is farther south than the its northwest corner<br/>
<br/>
so now i will go back & try to find & put my finger on precisely this <br/>
northeast corner of precisely this building on the south side of <br/>
south street precisely 175 feet east of second street</div>