''The History of the Dividing Line Betwixt Virginia and North Carolina'' is an account by

William Byrd II William Byrd II (March 28, 1674August 26, 1744) was an American planter, lawyer, surveyor, author, and a man of letters. Born in Colonial Virginia, he was educated in London, where he practiced law. Upon his father's death, he returned to Virgi ...

of the surveying of the border between the

Colony of Virginia The Colony of Virginia, chartered in 1606 and settled in 1607, was the first enduring English colonial empire, English colony in North America, following failed attempts at settlement on Newfoundland (island), Newfoundland by Sir Humphrey GilbertG ...

and the

Province of North Carolina Province of North Carolina was a province of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain that existed in North America from 1712(p. 80) to 1776. It was one of the five Southern Colonies, Southern colonies and one of the Thirteen Colonies, thir ...

in 1728. Byrd's account of the journey to survey the contentious border with his chief surveyor William Mayo included such nuggets as the derivation of the name of "Matrimony Creek," so named because of its 'brawling' waters. Each of the two colonies provided surveyors and technicians to the team. William Byrd was the chief representative from Virginia, and

Edward Moseley Edward Moseley (ca. 16 February 1682 - 11 July 1749), was a British colonial official who served as the first public treasurer of North Carolina from 1715 until his death in July 1749). He previously served as the surveyor-general of North Car ...

was the chief representative from North Carolina. Byrd also compiled what he called a ''Secret History'' of the project.

In popular culture

William Byrd II's text was the focus of

David Gatten David Edward Gatten (Born February 11, 1971 Ann Arbor, Michigan) is an American experimental filmmaker and moving image artist. Since 1996 Gatten's films have explored the intersection of the printed word and moving image, cataloging the varie ...

's film project, also titled ''The Secret History of the Dividing Line.''

References

* 1841 books History books about the United States {{US-hist-book-stub