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1859 Acton Mass. and 1865 Littleton Mass. Selectmen Letters, Perambulation with Boxborough
Perambulation is the official act of walking around an area (as a town, parish, forest) to assert and record its boundaries and thereby maintain the rights of possession. New England towns were required by statute to complete this process every few years. Here are two letters to the selectmen of the town of Boxborough asking them to join their counterparts in adjacent towns to walk the borders.
First Transcript: Acton, Nov. 11, 1859
To the Gentlemen Selectmen
Gentlemen,
It is five years since the line was run between our towns and we will meet you at the bounds of Littleton, Boxboro and Acton near the place of Ivory Keyes on Friday the 18th day of November at 9 o'clock A.M. to run the line between Acton & Boxboro.
Daniel WetherbeeFor Selectmen
- Daniel Wetherbee (1814–1883) was a director of the Framingham & Lowell Railroad.
- Ivory Keyes (1805–1867) [humorously named for piano keys?] was an Acton selectman who notably chaired a committee in 1850 to petition the legislature for a monument honoring Revolutionary War Captain Isaac Davis.
Second transcript: Acton Feb 17th 1865
To the Selectmen of the Town of Boxboro
Gents,
I have examined our Town record and I find that the line between the towns of Acton & Boxboro has not been run according to law therefore I take this opportunity to inform you that we will meet you at the Stone bound near the House of Charles Conant in Littleton (marked A. B. L.) next Saturday at nine O'clock in the forenoon Feb 18th and examine the several bounds on the line between the two aforesaid towns.
Very respectfully yoursJames E Billingsfor the Selectmen of Acton
The 1859 letter stands alone with no cover. The cover for the 1865 letter bears a 3-cent Washington stamp of the 1861 issue. Together, the two documents provide an unusual surviving record of the traditional New England practice of municipal boundary perambulation.
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