Maryland-Pennsylvania Border Disputes
The following guide describes maps, manuscripts, and related printed documents useful for the study of how Maryland's boundaries were established. While the guide attempts to be exhaustive, it has been limited to resources available for use at the University of Maryland. The many original public records and maps at the Maryland State Archives should also be consulted as part of any serious study of Maryland's boundaries.
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Table of Contents
Chronological Listing Of Documents
- 1590
White, John. American pars, nunc Virginia dicta
MD MAP G3880 1590.W4
- This map is the first to depict and name the Chesapeake Bay. It was published by Theodor de Bry as a result of Sir Walter Raleigh's expedition to the New World. While not directly related to the future boundary claims, this map is an early view of the territories prior to the grants and disputes.
- 1632
The Charter of Maryland, June 20, 1632. Annapolis: Maryland Hall of Records Commission, 1982.
MD STACKS KFM1601 1632.A31
- Facsimile printed as part of the 350th anniversary celebration. In the charter, King Charles I grants Lord Baltimore the land that is now modern Delaware and Maryland. A detailed description of the provincial borders is given.
- 1671
Ogilby, John. Nova terrae Maria tabulae.
MD MAP G3842.C5 1671.N68
- The north, east, and south borders of the Maryland province are shown. The cartouche displays the Calvert seal and motto.
- 1673
Hermann, Augustin. Virginia and Maryland, as it is planted and inhabited this present year 1670.
MD MAP MD/VA 4
- Facsimile of the original-north, east, and south borders are shown. See also Senex's 1719 (actually 1721) map.
- 1721
Senex, John. A new map of Virginia, Maryland, and the improved parts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
MD MAP G3880 1721.S45
- Altered version of Hermann's 1673 map (see above) for inclusion in Senex's New General Atlas (1721). Shows northern and eastern borders.
- 1732
True copies of I. The agreement Between Lord Baltimore and Messieurs Penn, dated 10 May 1732. II. The Commissions Given the Commissioners to mark out the Lines between Maryland and Pensilvania and the Three Lower Counties on Delaware. III. The Return or Report of the Commissioners on both sides, made 24 Nov. 1733 London, 1732.
MD OVERSIZE F157.B7B25 1732
- Printed copy of the agreement defining Baltimore's and the Penn's provinces. Includes the 1732 John Senex map of the disputed northern and eastern borders, which shows Cape Henlopen (modern DE) in the location for Cape Cornelius, a difference of 20 miles. This discrepancy resulted in Lord Baltimore's refusal to honor this agreement. Sabin 60743, Streeter Americana 951.
- 1735
A short account of the first settlement of the provinces of Virginia, Maryland, New-York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, by the English. To which is annexed a map of Maryland, according to the bounds mentioned in the charter, and also of the adjacent county, anno 1630. Greenwhich, CN: Cond Nast Press, 1922.
MD STACKS E191.S56
- Facsimile edition of the 1735 London imprint. An anonymous publication, it set forth the boundary claims of the Penns. Contains a reproduction of Jogn Senex's 1735 map based on Capt. John Smith's 1606 map showing the "true bounds of Maryland on the North according to the charter."
- 1739
Map of Part of the Province of Pennsylvania and the Counties of Newcastle, Kent and Sussex on Delaware
MD MAP 1887
- Facsimile map, created by the Mason & Dixin Line Resurvey Commission, showing the jurisdictions of Maryland and Pennsylvania, based on Senex's 1732 map.
- 1757
Kitchen, Thomas. A Map of Maryland with the Delaware Counties
MD MAP MAS 2
- Shows disputed borders, Delaware counties, and "Cape Hinlopen (Henlopen)."
- 1760
Maryland (Colony) Court of Chancery. Indenture of agreement 4th July, 1760, between Lord Baltimore and Thomas and Richard Penn, Esquires, settling the limits and boundaries of Maryland, Pennsylvania, and the three lower counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, on Delaware. Philadelphia: Kite & Watson, 1851.
MD OVERSIZE F187.B7I5
- 1768
[Mason, Charles and Jeremiah Dixon]. A Plan of the Boundary Lines between Maryland and Pennsylvania. Reproduction of the Mason & Dixon survey maps located on pp. 40-41 in the Hammond-Harwood House Atlas
MD FOLIO G1270.P3 1983.
- 1850
Commission on Boundary Lines between Delaware, Maryland and Pennsylvania, 1850. Message from the governor of Maryland: transmitting the reports of the Joint Commissioners and of Lt. Col. Graham in relation to the intersection of the boundary lines of the states of Maryland, Pennsylvania and Delaware. Washington: Gideon, 1850.
MD STACKS F157.B7C7
- Includes map showing : "The Boundary Lines between the Provinces of Maryland & Pennsylvania..as defined by the agreement of 1732, the decree of Chancellor Hardwicks of May 1750, and the agreement of 1760."
- 1854
Latrobe, John Hazlehurst Boneval. The history of Mason and Dixon's line: contained in an address before the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, November 8, 1854. Philadelphia: Press of the Society, 1855.
MD STACKS F157.B7L36
- 1862
Commission on Boundary Lines between Delaware, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, 1850. Messages from the governors of Maryland and Pennsylvania, transmitting the reports of the joint commissioners, and of Lieut. Col. Graham, U.S. topographical engineers, in relation to the intersection of the boundary lines of the states of Maryland, Pennsylvania and Delaware, being a portion of Mason and Dixon's line. Chicago: F. Fulton & Co., 1862.
MD STACKS F157.B7G7 1862
- Second edition of the 1851 report (see above). Map shelved as MAP ES 25.
- 1879
Gray, Frank A. Map of Maryland showing the present boundaries of the state and the boundaries of the original territory granted to Lord Baltimore.
MD MAP MD 106
- Map prepared to accompany Scharf's History of Maryland. MD STACKS F181.S31 1967 v.3.
- 1909
Mason and Dixon Line Resurvey Commission. Report to the resurvey of the Maryland-Pennsylvania boundary part of the Mason and Dixon line. Harrisburg: Harrisburg Pub. Co., 1909. (MD STACKS F187.B7M4)
- Contains plates and maps of survey monuments. A detailed history of the Penn-Baltimore border disputes and agreements is given. A listing of important maps and secondary sources relevant to the boundary is included starting on page 372.
Supporting Literature
- Bayliff, William Henry. The Maryland-Pennsylvania and the Maryland-Delaware Boundaries. Annapolis: Board of Natural Resources, 1959.
MD STACKS F157.B7B3 1959
- Cumming, William Patterson. British Maps of Colonial America. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1974.
MD STACKS GA405.5.C8
- The Journal of Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1969.
MD FOLIO F157.B7M27
- Transcribed from the original in the National Archives with facsimile pages and maps. Page 26 shows the map that accompanied Charles Mason's 1768 report.
- Kenny, Hamill. The Placenames of Maryland, Their Origin and Meaning. Baltimore: Maryland Historical Society, 1984.
MD REF F179.K46 1984
- Long, John H. Historical Atlas and Chronology of County Boundaries, 1788-1980. Boston: G.K. Hall, 1984.
MD REF/FOLIO G1201.F7H5 1984 v. 1
- Maryland. State Planning Commission. Gazetteer of Maryland. Baltimore, 1941.
MD FOLIO HC107.M32 no. 33
- Mathews, Edward Bennett. The Counties of Maryland: Their Origin, Boundaries, and Election Districts. Baltimore: John Hopkins Press, 1907.
MD STACKS F187.A15M41
- Morrison, Charles. The Western Boundary of Maryland. Parsons, WV: McClain Print Co., 1976.
MD STACKS F187.B7M68 - Morrison, Russell and Robert Hansen. Charting the Chesapeake. Annapolis: Maryland State Archives, 1990.
MD STACKS GA 408.5.C45M6 1990 - Papenfuse, Edward C. and Joseph M. Coale III. The Hammond-Harwood House Atlas of Historical Maps of Maryland, 1608-1908. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, 1982.
MD FOLIO G1270.P3 1982 - Pyatt, Timothy, and Lisa Perry. Maps of Maryland: A Guide to the Map Collection of the Marylandia and Rare Books Department. College Park: McKeldin Library, 1993.
MD FOLIO GA195.C65U55 - The Southeast in Early Maps Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1962.
GOVDOC GA405.5.C8
- NOTE: Copy located in the Government Documents Department of McKeldin Library.
- Wainwright, Nicholas. "Tales of a Runaway Cape: The Penn-Baltimore Agreement of 1732." Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography. 87.3 (July 1963).
MD Pamphlet Collection
