And fickle history...
TTS was due for another Geo-Glitch posting like that odd arc at the top of Delaware and SE PA forming the state line.Back in early New Castle, and obsession with possession and boundary lines, the Duke of York decided that the top of Delaware would be defined by a 12-mile arc projected from New Castle. So the DOY commissioned a team to procure a huge drawing compass and strike the arc. Originally, the compass point was placed at the old courthouse spire but later, it somehow happened that Broad Dyke, about 2 blocks northeast, was designated as the center of this unique line. As well, the arc is not a true circle segment, having been fudged to suit various boundary/land agendas over time.
The historical marker pictured is at 3rd & Chestnut & Wilmington Sts. where one can stand and muse over how that gigantic compass was hefted into place and rotated from the Delaware River to the Mason-Dixon Line. Also, visit all the other sites of interest in quaint New Castle. Rife with history, it was founded in 1640, the first state's capitol (1664). Here, in 1682, William Penn first set foot in America on the west bank of the Delaware River.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Castle,_Delaware
http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMAAN_BROAD_DYKE_DE_NC_22
http://www.howderfamily.com/blog/?p=475
Meanwhile, here's another: Keep busy and take a turn by Googling the "Southwig Jog," go there, then report back here w/pics and on-site story.
