Dee Martin has a South Carolina address and phone number. But thanks to modern survey methods, she just found out she really lives in North Carolina.
The problem traces back to 1735 when the king of England sent surveyors to the colonies.
Surveyors used poles and chains. They figured direction from the sun, did math in their heads, and marked trees with hatchets. They drew a boundary between the Carolinas.
But over time, those trees disappeared. Later surveyors didn’t always get the line exactly right. So North and South Carolina agreed to redraw their 335-mile border using modern tools.
First, surveyors searched state records for mentions of the old marked trees. They wanted to know where the trees stood in relation to existing structures.
Then they used GPS technology to confirm boundaries to the centimeter. New measurements revealed the actual boundary was several hundred feet off.
Martin isn’t looking forward to changing her address—or to a property tax increase. The biggest problem may be her husband’s health care. The provider doesn’t serve North Carolina.
Cost of living was one of the reasons the Martins chose to live south of the border. “We knew it would be cheaper to live in South Carolina,” Dee Martin says.
The Martins aren’t alone. Nineteen houses are changing states. Three currently in North Carolina will end up in South Carolina. Martin and 15 others will switch to North Carolina.
Chris Burti, a lawyer working on the dilemma, says, “It’s important to understand, the boundary has not ‘moved.’” Instead, the boundary is becoming what it’s always been.
Businesses will also be affected. The Lake Wylie Minimart currently sits in South Carolina. It sells fireworks, and gas there is about 19 cents cheaper because of lower S.C. gas taxes. But guess what? The store is really in North Carolina.
S.C. lawmaker Tommy Pope represents Martin and others. “People are fighting a lot harder to stay in South Carolina than they are in North Carolina,” he observes.
Both states want to make it easier for people who must switch. States may allow displaced students in-state school tuition. Or students may be able to keep attending school in their former state.
“We’ve done everything we can to accommodate folks,” says N.C. Senator Tommy Tucker.
It may seem like a lot of trouble over a few feet. But it could be worse: Ignoring the border from the 1700s would literally take an act of Congress.