North Vs. South: Carolinas Seek To Redraw Border

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February 19, 2012

There's a dispute brewing in parts of North and South Carolina about the border between the two states. Host Rachel Martin tells of the 18-year process to re-plot the border between North and South Carolina along its original 1772 line.

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RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

There's a fight brewing in parts of North and South Carolina, too - about the border between the two states. The problem: Early surveyors first marked the border in 1772 by cutting down trees. As it turns out, that method wasn't built to last. And after two and a half centuries, it's hard to tell North from South. So, the two Carolinas established the Joint Boundary Commission to re-mark the original dividing line between North and South. For residents and state officials, that's meant headaches like who pays which state's taxes, and which children go to which school districts and what kind of sauce will be on my barbecue? North Carolinians are known to turn up their noses at a plate of South Carolina's mustard-based barbecue. And South Carolinians are equally disdainful of the vinegar sauce touted by their northern neighbors. This year, after 18 years of surveying, the commission is set to finally wrap up its work. Soon, some of the residents of the Carolina borderlands might soon have a new area code, a new license plate and a whole new kind of barbecue sauce.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

MARTIN: You're listening to NPR News.

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