In the County Durham village he called home, noted 18th Century surveyor Jeremiah Dixon barely warrants a mention. In the, US however, there is a society dedicated to his most famous piece of work. Stuart Laundy speaks to Todd Babcock, chairman of the Mason and Dixon Line Preservation Partnership, who will visit Cockfield later this month for a day of celebrations

WHO would have thought a spat between two colonial land proprietors would have earned a surveyor from Cockfield his place in history?

While many associate the Mason-Dixon Line with the American civil war – it acted as a dividing line between the so-called free states to the north and slave states to the south – its origins lie in a boundary dispute a century earlier.

Cecil Calvert, the second Lord Baltimore, became proprietor of Maryland on his father’s death in 1632.

Half a century later, William Penn II was granted a tract of land between Maryland and New York by Charles II in lieu of debts owed to Penn’s father.

For the next 80 years, the Calverts and Penns squabbled over the boundary until eventually, in 1763, Jeremiah Dixon and Charles Mason were appointed on the recommendation of the Astronomer Royal to undertake a survey.

It took four years to mark a line, with up to 115 men employed to cut through forests and across mountains, setting down a marker stone every mile along the way.

“Their story is interesting on so many levels, be it the scientific accomplishments or their life stories,” says Todd Babcott, a founder member of the Mason and Dixon Line Preservation Partnership.

The group was set up in 1990 and dedicates its efforts to ensuring this important chapter of US history is not forgotten.

Mr Babcock, a 48-year-old professional land surveyor from Pennyslvania, says: “A fellow surveyor, Charles Bitler, gave a presentation to our professional society about the history of the line.

“He emphasised that many of the stones had been damaged or destroyed during the time he had been searching for them. I asked him to include me in any future plans to search for the stones.

“Several other surveyors at the meeting shared a common concern and interest in the line, and in November 1990, a group from Pennsylvania met a group from Maryland and we formed the partnership.”

Its initial aim was to make an inventory of all the mile markers, but has since evolved to include the creation of a website to help bring Mason and Dixon’s story to a wider audience.

Which is what Mr Babcott aims to do when he visits Cockfield on Sunday, July 27, for a day of celebrations in the village to mark the 250th anniversary of the start of work on the Mason- Dixon Line.

The celebration – one of several Jeremiah Dixon-related events being held this year – has been organised by a committee of residents keen to raise their famous son’s profile both locally and further afield.

MR BABCOCK said: “From what I understand, Mason and Dixon may be more widely-known here than they are in the UK.

“I think it can be attributed to the fact that we have been living with Mason and Dixon’s line in our history and folklore since the day it was completed.

“Shortly after they completed the line, Thomas Jefferson referred to it in a letter as Mason and Dixon’s Line and it has been referred to in this manner or as the Mason and Dixon Line ever since.”

However, he adds: “I find that many people do know some of the background story but they don’t know how complex or just how difficult the project was to complete.

“I don’t think the average person knows much about them as individuals, but the line has become a part of our lexicon and history.”

Mr Babcock is also keen to correct some myths which have grown up around Mason and Dixon’s work, such as the states south of the line being referred to as Dixie out of some association with Dixon.

“I think far too much emphasis has been put on the line as the dividing point between north and south,” he says.

His visit to Cockfield – at the invitation of John Dixon, a direct descendant of bachelor Jeremiah’s brother George – will be Mr Babcock’s first to the UK and one he and his wife, Sally, are looking forward to.

“This will be a highlight of my 20 years of involvement with the Mason and Dixon Line,”

he says.

“One of the first things I learned about being a surveyor is that we need to follow in the footsteps of the surveyors who have walked the lines before us in order to understand what their intentions were.

“I can’t pass up the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of Jeremiah Dixon and pay tribute to one of the world’s most accomplished surveyors.”