Place · region

Mason–Dixon line

1763–1767 · 18th century

The Mason–Dixon line is a boundary surveyed between 1763 and 1767 by Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon to settle a long dispute between the proprietors of Maryland and Pennsylvania. It fixed the borders between Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware, and in the 19th century it came to symbolise the division between the free North and the slave-holding South.

Mason–Dixon line
Image: United States Department of the Interior · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 1 state history

Province of Maryland

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Mason–Dixon line. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/mason-dixon-line
MLA
“Mason–Dixon line.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/mason-dixon-line. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Mason–Dixon line.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/mason-dixon-line.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Mason–Dixon line’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/mason-dixon-line (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻