EAST OF THE MASON-DIXON LINE

For immediate release

Contact: Paul Bauernschmidt - (302) 744-5077

Del. Heritage Commission reissues East of the Mason-Dixon Line by Roger E. Nathan

The Commission’s best selling book, East of the Mason-Dixon Line will soon be out-of-print.  A revised and updated edition will be released this summer.   The book will sell for $5.  The book has been revised and updated and includes a remembrance of the late Roger E. Nathan.

A number of years ago the Delaware Heritage Commission was fortunate to encounter Roger Nathan.  Roger was an avid historian and, though not a Delaware citizen (he lived in Woodstown, N.J.), Roger always “crossed the bridge” to the state of his birth in search of fun and unique history.

A trip to Roger’s home and his basement was a feast for the senses for any historian.  Roger collected National Geographic Magazine and various artifacts. 

Roger became interested in the Mason-Dixon Line and the story of the Delaware boundaries in the mid 1970s.  It was at that time that he began to search for the Mason-Dixon markers and to look for answers to the state’s unique boundary questions like “the wedge” and the “12 mile arc” ─ our northern circular boundary.     

After a few years of study and research Roger completed a self-guided tour of the Delaware boundaries and had personally located each Mason-Dixon marker.  He quickly became an expert of oolitic limestone (from which the markers were quarried), the Penn and Calvert families, and Mason and Dixon themselves. 

Mr. Nathan died in October, 2005. 

Mr. Nathan was born in Delaware but moved to Southern New Jersey while a toddler.  An educator, mathematician, and writer, he held a B.S. from Temple University and an M.A. in Education Administration from Rutgers University.  Mr. Nathan's work on the markers began a resurgence in interest concerning the boundaries and the Mason-Dixon Line in Delaware.  He worked extensively to identify the positions of the lost and missing markers along the boundary and worked with the Delaware Heritage Commission to bring about support and awareness of the markers to all Delawareans.  In April, 2002 Mr. Nathan completed a survey of the North-South boundary and discovered that 10 markers were missing. 

On many occasions, the Commission sponsored walking tours of the markers led by Mr. Nathan.   Mr. Nathan was the author of a number of other books.