The Hickory Tree Stump Monument is a grey stone (of unknown composition with a rough surface resembling the tree bark) (approx. 1.5 ft. wide, 3 ft. tall, 0.75 ft thick) on top of a steep berm on the south edge of Burnt Mill Road (about one-half mile west from Kennett Pike (Route 52)). It is about 2 miles north by northwest of Greenville, DE.
The stone has the following engraving:
"This stone marks the site of the old Hickory Tree on the Delaware Pennsylvania boundary in 1701. Also a point in east line of the manor granted by Wm. Penn in 1701 to his daughter Letitia."
Coming from the south on Interstate Highway 95 north, take Exit 5B just north of New Castle, DE. Go north on State Highway 141 for 5.6 miles to the northbound exit for Delaware State Highway 52 (Kennett Pike) towards Greenville. Go north for 4.8 miles to just before the DE/PA state line and turn left (west) onto Burnt Mill Road. Go west for about one-half mile, and the stone will be on the left.
Coming from the north on Interstate Highway 95 south, take Exit 8A towards US Route 202 north/Concord Pike. Proceed 1.1 miles and turn right onto Powder Mill Road (State Highway 141). Proceed for 0.7 miles and turn right onto Barley Mill Road (State Highway 141). Proceed 2.6 miles and turn right onto Kennett Pike (State Highway 52 North) towards Greenville. Go north for 2.1 miles to just before the DE/PA state line and turn left (west) onto Burnt Mill Road. Go west for about one-half mile, and the stone will be on the left.
For history of the Twelve Miles Circle Boundary and the Wedge, see (
visit link) . The Hickory Tree Stump Monument marks one of four surviving 1701 boundary points of the Taylor & Piersons Survey identified by the Hodgkins 1892 Survey, and it is the westernmost of the four. The stump also marks the tri-jurisdiction point of Kennett and Pennsbury Townships, Chester County, Pennsylvania and New Castle County, Delaware. All four points are about 12.4 miles from New Castle.
Hodgkins finally decided to define the DE/PA circular border using the arcs of two circles (see below sources for detailed explanation of why this course was chosen). One arc (west side) would start at a point on the extension of the West Mason-Dixon line (now marked by the the Arc Corner Stone Monument see (
visit link) ) that was exactly 12 miles from the spire of the courthouse at New Castle and continue to the old hickory tree stump (now marked by the Hickory Tree Stump Monument). It would have a radius of 11.58 miles, be 10.8977 miles in length, and its center would be a short distance in a NNW direction from New Castle. The second arc (east side) would begin at the old hickory tree stump, pass through the "S" Curve on the Brandywine, the other points found on the farms lying between the Brandywine and the Concord Pike, and would end near the old house on the Delaware River. This arc would have a radius of 12.81 miles, a length of 11.6749 miles, and its center would be in a SSE direction from New Castle (actually in the Delaware River.) The above border was not officially ratified by all parties until 1921.
One complication of the new Hodgkins arcs is the creation of the "Horn". Originally, the east side arc was the unofficially recognized boundary for the whole length of the circular boundary. However, it intersected the West Mason-Dixon line 2000 feet further west than the location of the current Arc Stone Monument. Thus, with the introduction of the west side arc by Hodgkins, a Horn was formed (bounded by the Hickory Tree Stump Boundary, Arc Stone Monument and old intersection point). In the final boundary negotiations, the Horn was awarded to PA and the Wedge to DE. It was the protests of residents of the Horn (who wanted to stay in DE) that delayed final ratification of the border until 1921.
Sources:
Nathan, RE, East of the Mason-Dixon Line--A History of the Delaware Boundaries, Delaware Heritage Press, Dover, DE, 2000.
Hayes, JC; Taylor, I; Pierson T; Empson C; Pusey C; Richardson J; Roman P; Pile R, The Delaware Curve. The Story of the Pennsylvania: Delaware Circular Boundary, The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography , 1923, Vol. 47, No. 3 (1923), pp. 238-258.