White Clay Hundred is that portion of
New Castle County that lies north of the Christiana River and
south and west of White Clay Creek, excepting that it also
includes the small area west of the Christiana River
immediately west of Newark, and excludes a larger area north
and east of the Christiana River generally from the old
Pennsylvania Railroad tracks to Cooch’s Bridge. It was formed
from Christiana Hundred and New Castle Hundred in 1710 and
was named for White Clay Creek that flows along its northern
boundary.
Originally, the default boundary of Delaware
and Maryland was the vague height of land between the Delaware
River and Chesapeake Bay drainage basins and White Clay Hundred
extended to that point. With the running of the Mason-Dixon Line in
1767, the western boundary of Delaware was established in its
present location and became White Clay Hundred’s western boundary.
It was the gap between this line and the existing western boundary,
the 12 mile arc drawn around the town of New Castle, which created
the long disputed area known as the Wedge.
The Wedge (or Delaware Wedge) is the portion of the border
between Delaware and Pennsylvania, between the Twelve-Mile Circle
and the intersection of the north-south and east-west portions of
the Mason-Dixon Line. Ownership of this land was in dispute until
1921, when Delaware's ownership was confirmed by Pennsylvania.
One can reference Wikipedia for a more traditional history of
the Wedge. I traveled to Jolly Olde New Castle and found out a far
more colorful history, some of which I share here. The Wedge once
was a sort of no man’s land, the three surrounding states,
Delaware, Maryland and Pennsylvania, refused to lay claim to it.
This lack of jurisdiction meant it was a lawless area and one could
go there to settle disputes, hide from the law or perhaps partake
of illegal vices. Perhaps is was this lawless reputation that led
the states to finally step in and put the house in order.
This can has some of the usual SWAG plus two Travel Bugs, please
help them move on