472                           THE COUNTIES OF MARYLAND

Baltimore and Ohio E. E. tracks, has been the scene of many interesting
incidents, some of them of questionable character, on account o;f its
marking the intersection of the jurisdiction of three states.

The northern boundary of Cecil County is a portion of the famous
Mason and Dixon line which was run to mark the settlement of a con-
troversy between the Penns and the Baltimores, which sprang up during
the latter part of the seventeenth century. The first attempt to define
the line between the two provinces and thus define the northern boundary
of Cecil County, was the old Talbot line run under the direction of
Charles, Lord Baltimore, in 1682. This line, also known as the Octoraro
line, was the rough, blazed boundary passing in a more or less crooked
line from the mouth of Octoraro Creek to Chester, Pennsylvania. The
next line was the so-called " temporary line " run in 1739 by commission-
ers representing both interested parties. This boundary was laid off to
permit the settlement of the territory in the adjoining provinces with-
out the stimulation of border disputes. East of the Susquehanna River,
that is, north of Cecil County, the line was placed 15 3/4 miles south of
the southernmost point from Philadelphia as it was at that time. This
line was a straight line and therefore not a true east and west line. The
boundary determined by Mason and Dixon was an east and west line
and therefore curved to allow for the curvature of the earth and was run
in the latitude of 15 miles south of the point in Philadelphia previously
adopted. A portion of this line was redetermined by Col. Graham in
1849 and all of it was resurvey ed by Captain Hodgkins in 1903.

CECIL COUNTY ELECTION DISTRICTS.

1798  Ch. 115. County divided into 4 election districts.

1799  Ch. 48. Confirms Acts of 1798 Ch. 115.

1799 Ch. 50. Commission appointed to divide county into 4 election dis-
tricts.

1801 Ch. 59. Commission authorized to make report to County Clerk.

1812 Ch. 19. Polling place in 3d election district changed to jail at Charles-
town.

1823 Ch. 63. 1st election district called Cecilton.

1823 Ch. 114. Polling place of 3d election district to be the jail or any other
place which may be procured.