Rekindling an old tradition
Andover, Dracut and Tewksbury check town boundaries
TEWKSBURY >> At the bottom of Merrimack Drive, just a few feet from the river of the same name, is a stone monument documenting the town boundaries of Andover, Dracut and Tewksbury.
Select Board members from the three towns met at the monument on Saturday to comply with a law, which is still on the books although it hearkens back to colonial and medieval practices.
As a result of that March 16 meeting, residents of the three towns can be assured that the stone monument remains in the same location as when it was last visited 11 years ago.
Asked if anything had moved since the visit in 2013, the board members shouted a decisive “No.”
The March 16 meeting occurred a few yards from a Tewksbury pumping station. While Andover and Tewksbury share a land border, the tri-town border with Dracut is located in the middle of the river.
The New England Historical Society’s website explains that the custom of perambulation, as it is called, started in England and Wales in the Middle Ages and came to New England in the 17th century. When fully observed, perambulation “involves walking around the entire boundary of a municipality or a state. Perambulators check to make sure the markers … stand where they’re supposed to stand.”
Luckily, the medieval custom had softened by the time it arrived in the colonies. To make sure young villagers of the Middle Ages remembered where markers were located, lessons were administered in a fashion that might be considered abusive with today’s understanding of brain trauma.
Because it’s the 21st century, the meeting was largely symbolic. However, Massachusetts General Law still requires that select boards of contiguous towns check the locations of the stone markers. The law, Chapter 42 Section 2, governs the boundaries of cities and towns and requires these location checks every five years.
The 11-year interruption in the inspection could, theoretically, cost each member of a town’s Select Board a fine of $20.
The law reads, “The boundary markers of every town shall be located, the marks thereon renewed, and the year located marked upon the face thereof which bears the letter of the town locating its boundary, once every five years, by at least two of the selectmen of the town or by two substitutes designated by them in writing. The marking shall be made with a paint or other suitable marking material.”
With the stone marker located and the number 24 painted on it, the board members celebrated their successful perambulation of the monument and toasted each other with sparkling cider. After all, it was only 10 a.m. and, some would say, too early for stronger libations.
Andover Select Board member Alex Vispoli sees the now reestablished custom as a good way to meet members of neighboring boards. “We don’t normally get to know each other. The only time we might meet would be in court.” It’s good to have a relationship with board members in other communities before that happens, he said.
For Vispoli, it was the second time he has participated in this event. The only other two-time participant was Dracut Selectman Tony Archinski.
Tewksbury Select Board member Jayne Wellman was among those attending for the first time. A board member for five years, she said, “This is (my) first opportunity to participate in a perambulation. It’s an honor to gather with colleagues in our neighboring communities for this ceremonial act, connecting us to our shared history.”
Both Vispoli and Archinski expressed the hope of being present for the next stone monument check. Vispoli believes so much in the value of building relationships with other towns that Andover just had a similar event with North Andover.
In addition to Archinski, attending from Dracut were board Chair Alison Genest and members Heather Santiago Hutchings and Jennifer Kopcinski. Attending from Tewksbury, in addition to Wellman, were James Mackey and Pat Holland.
Andover sent the biggest delegation. In addition to Vispoli were Chris Huntress, Annie Gilbert, Melissa Danisch, Town Clerk Austin Simko and Deputy Town Manager Patrick Lawler.