Star Gazers' Stone
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Star Gazers' Stone located on Star Gazers' Farm near Embreeville, Pennsylvania,
USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
, marks the site of a temporary observatory established in January 1764 by
Charles Mason Charles Mason (April 1728Jeremiah Dixon Jeremiah Dixon FRS (27 July 1733 – 22 January 1779) was an English surveyor and astronomer who is best known for his work with Charles Mason, from 1763 to 1767, in determining what was later called the Mason–Dixon line. Early life and ...
which they used in their survey of the Mason-Dixon line. The stone was placed by Mason and Dixon about north of the Harlan House, which was used as a base of operations by Mason and Dixon through the four-and-a-half-year-long survey. Selected to be about west of the then southernmost point in Philadelphia, the observatory was used to determine the precise latitude of its location. The latitude of the
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
-
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
border was then set to be south of the point in Philadelphia. The farm, including the house and stone, were listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
on May 9, 1985. In 2013 construction was completed on a parking area to allow public access to Star Gazers Stone. Built c. 1724 near the forks of the
Brandywine Brandywine may refer to: Food and drink *Brandy, a spirit produced by distilling wine *Brandywine tomato, a variety of heirloom tomato Geographic locations Canada * Brandywine Falls Provincial Park, British Columbia * Brandywine Mountain, British ...
, the Harlan House was enlarged c.1758, and is likely the first house built in
Newlin Township Newlin Township is a township in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,285 at the 2010 census. Newlin Township was the hometown of explorer Josiah Harlan and Lenape healer Hannah Freeman. William Baldwin, the botanis ...
. The Harlan family lived in the house until 1956, and carefully preserved the location of the stone through the generations.Roby


The observatory

Mason and Dixon's survey was the final step in the resolution of a border dispute between Pennsylvania and Maryland that lasted over 80 years. From 1730-1738 a violent border conflict, known as
Cresap's War Cresap's War (also known as the Conojocular War, from the Conejohela Valley where it was mainly located along the south bank) was a border conflict between Pennsylvania and Maryland, fought in the 1730s. Hostilities erupted in 1730 with a seri ...
, was fought between Pennsylvania and Maryland. In 1760 the Crown intervened, defining the border as the line of latitude south of the southernmost house in Philadelphia. The proprietors of the colonies, the Penns and Calverts, then commissioned Mason and Dixon to
survey Survey may refer to: Statistics and human research * Statistical survey, a method for collecting quantitative information about items in a population * Survey (human research), including opinion polls Spatial measurement * Surveying, the techniq ...
the newly established boundary. Mason and Dixon used the finest instruments of their day in the survey, including a type of telescope, the
zenith sector A zenith telescope is a type of telescope that is designed to point straight up at or near the zenith. They are used for precision measurement of star positions, to simplify telescope construction, or both. A classic zenith telescope, also known ...
built by John Bird, used for measuring latitude and an " equal altitude and transit" instrument for sighting survey lines, as well as a less accurate quadrant for faster rough estimates of latitude, and a
chronometer A clock or a timepiece is a device used to measure and indicate time. The clock is one of the oldest human inventions, meeting the need to measure intervals of time shorter than the natural units such as the day, the lunar month and th ...
built by
John Harrison John Harrison ( – 24 March 1776) was a self-educated English Carpentry, carpenter and clockmaker who invented the marine chronometer, a long-sought-after device for solving the History of longitude, problem of calculating longitude while at s ...
, used for measuring longitude. Though Harrison's chronometers later became the standard instrument for measuring longitude, the surveyors' job was mainly to measure latitude, and Mason preferred the method of lunar distance of measuring longitude to the new method. On December 9, 1763 soon after arriving in Philadelphia, the surveyors received their instructions from the joint border commission: The first instruction was completed by January 6, 1764 by constructing an observatory near the Huddle-Plumstead House on Cedar Street (now named South Street) in Philadelphia, and measuring the angle of the zenith of eight stars. Rather than measure directly south of Philadelphia to start the survey, a westward move was needed to avoid crossing the wide Delaware River twice, and to avoid beginning the survey of the Pennsylvania-Maryland border in New Jersey.Danson, p.93 The surveyors fulfilled the second instruction by January 13, as recorded in their journal: The new site of the observatory was near marks that had been made by surveyors from New Jersey in 1730 and 1736. By February 28 Mason and Dixon had determined the latitude at Star Gazers' Stone by observing the eight stars. After making adjustments for the distance their observatory was south of Philadelphia, Mason and Dixon measured south to a point in Delaware by April 21. In the first mile measuring south from their observatory they crossed Brandywine Creek three times. They moved the observatory to this point where they measured the latitude again and remeasured back to the Star Gazers' Stone. In May and June they again measured the latitude at Star Gazers' Stone. The southern point was named the "Post mark'd west" and the Maryland-Pennsylvania border was, after a delay, measured straight west from there. Mason and Dixon returned to the house many times during the four and one-half years of the survey, often spending the winters there.Ecenbarger, pp. 120-122 On January 1, 1767, Mason recorded a temperature of minus 22 degrees
Fahrenheit The Fahrenheit scale () is a temperature scale based on one proposed in 1724 by the physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686–1736). It uses the degree Fahrenheit (symbol: °F) as the unit. Several accounts of how he originally defined his ...
at the farm. They returned to the observatory when they started the new task of measuring the distance of a degree of latitude in miles. They were reputed to be heavy drinkers, and local lore says that a nearby tributary of the Brandywine, Punch Run Creek, was named to commemorate their drinking. At the end of the survey, the Harlan house was one of the last places they visited before returning to Britain via Philadelphia.


The Harlan house and farm

Brothers George and Michael Harlan were
Quakers Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abil ...
who were born in
Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...
,
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
and immigrated to Pennsylvania about 1687 from
County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the ...
,
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
. Michael's son George Harlan built the house in the forks of the Brandywine c.1724. In that year the Free Society of Traders sold to Nathaniel Newlin, which became
Newlin Township Newlin Township is a township in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,285 at the 2010 census. Newlin Township was the hometown of explorer Josiah Harlan and Lenape healer Hannah Freeman. William Baldwin, the botanis ...
in
Chester County Chester County may refer to: * Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States * Chester County, South Carolina, United States * Chester County, Tennessee Chester County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, th ...
. Newlin immediately sold some of the land, including in the forks of Brandywine Creek sold to George Harlan. A son, Joel, was born to George and Mary Harlan in 1724 in Newlin Township, presumably in their new house. The house was probably the first in the township. Tax assessments in the township were first made in 1739, and until 1760, Joel's older brother John Harlan paid the taxes on the house and farm. Sometime between 1758 and 1760 Joel returned to Newlin Township after living in other locations in Chester County, took ownership of the farm and built an addition to the house. Both John's and Joel's families apparently lived in the same house, but Mason and Dixon's Journal always refers to the "John Harland farm" or simply the "Harland farm." John Harlan died by drowning in the Brandywine in 1768. The original house is two stories measuring by , constructed of stone. The c.1758 addition was also constructed of stone and measures by . A small frame addition was built in the nineteenth century. The Harlan family lived on site until they sold the property in 1956. In 1908 the Chester County Historical Society dug up the Star Gazers' Stone, set it in concrete, built a low stone wall around it, and placed a plaque on the new wall. At the dedication, Henry K. Harlan said that each generation of the family was taught that the Star Gazers' Stone had an important place in American history and that they should not move the stone.
Natural Lands
the region's foremost land conservation organization, now owns the stone as part of ChesLen Preserve, which is open to the public. Joshua Harlan, son of the immigrant George Harlan, built a log cabin known as the Harlan Log House about 1715, about south in Kennett Township which is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.


See also

*
Josiah Harlan Josiah Harlan, Prince of Ghor (June 12, 1799 – October 1871) was an American adventurer who travelled to Afghanistan and Punjab with the intention of making himself a king. During his travels, he became involved in local politics and facti ...
- Joel's grandson *
Mason and Dixon Survey Terminal Point Mason and Dixon Survey Terminal Point is a historic marker located near Pentress, West Virginia, United States. Located on the boundary between Monongalia County, West Virginia and Greene County, Pennsylvania, it identifies the terminal station es ...
* Natural Lands * Penn–Calvert boundary dispute * White Clay Creek State Park, site of "Post mark'd west"


References


Sources

* * * p. 158 *, Chapter: John Russell Hayes - Star Gazers' Stone, pp 93–101. *Roby, Thomas C. (1984), National Register of Historic Places, Inventory - Nomination Form, Star Gazers House pp. 6. Enter "public" for ID and "public" for password to access the site.


External links


Historical markers database

History and Heritage of Civil Engineering - Mason-Dixon Line


* {{National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Buildings and structures in Chester County, Pennsylvania Surveying of the United States History of the Thirteen Colonies National Register of Historic Places in Chester County, Pennsylvania Mason–Dixon line