their land during the 17th century were confronted with boulders and stones left by retreating glaciers. They cleared their fields of boulders with horses and built stone walls along the edges of their fields, frequently at the property boundary. Many of these walls still exist.

A fence viewer was needed when walls were eroded, moved, or modified illegally. This was a serious offense. The term "fence viewer" has been traced back to 1661.

Duties

Upon request of any citizen, the fence viewer inspected fences to see that

1.Previous
3.Next