MARYLAND GEOLOGICAL SURVEY                          507

1773 the lands had been patented to the Pennsylvania line, although most
of the settlements were still along the necks of the tidewater areas or
extending along the streams and routes of travel across the Piedmont.
Of the latter at this time there was the main road passing from Balti-
more through Joppa to Elkton and branch roads from Abingdon to
Stafford, Conowingo and Pennsylvania. There were numerous other
routes of less importance branching off from the post road, such as that
leading to Jarrettsville and Belair. About this time an east and west
road through the northern part of the county was established.

According to the Acts of Assembly erecting Harford County it was
ordered

That after the second day of March next all that part of Baltimore county
which is included within the bounds following, to wit: Beginning at the
mouth of the little falls of the Gunpowder river, and running with the said
falls to the fountain head, and from thence north to the temporary line of
this province, and thence with the temporary line to Susquehanna river,
thence with Susquehanna to Chesapeake bay, and thence with said bay, in-
cluding Spesutie and Pool's islands, to the mouth of Gunpowder river to the
beginning aforesaid shall be and is hereby erected into a new county, by
the name of Harford county.

These are the limits of Harford County to-day with the exception
of the northern boundary, which now follows the Mason and Dixon line
and not the " temporary line " called for by the original Act. The use
of this term in this place is of interest. The temporary line had been
run as an ex parte line by the Pennsylvania commissioners in 1739.
This line was to serve as a temporary boundary until the Penns and the
Baltimores could come to a settlement regarding their controversy
and have a permanent boundary marked. When Harford County was
erected such a settlement had been reached and Messrs. Mason and Dixon
had spent several years in this county surveying and marking the
permanent line as it stands to-day. Their work was completed and they
had returned to Europe five years prior to the erection of Harford
County. It would, therefore, seem that the legislators had overlooked
this fact for they could not have been ignorant of it after all the contro-
versy, bitter feelings, and large amount of actual work involved in the
establishment of the Mason and Dixon line. The fact that the tern-