The Towns of Durham, Guilford, and Madison Announce a Ceremonial Boundary Walk by the First Selectmen on October 18th
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Towns of Durham, Guilford, and Madison, in coordination with their local land trust organizations, are pleased to announce a ceremonial boundary walk to be conducted by the First Selectman of each town on Friday, October 18, 2024. For well over a century, Selectmen from the neighboring towns of Madison, Guilford, and Durham have walked their towns’ boundaries to place a “Selectmen Stone” marked with the year and their initials on the town lines, which meet in the Mica Ledges Preserves. Such a walk is sometimes referred to as the "perambulation of the line" or "beating the bounds" and was historically completed to ensure the accuracy of the town boundaries. The last boundary walk to occur by the three towns was completed in 2008.
This year, on October 18, the public is invited to join the three First Selectmen at the intersection of the three town lines at approximately 1:30 p.m. in the Mica Ledges Preserves. The Mica Ledges Preserves is located within the Madison Land Trust and Middlesex Land Trust. A rain date of October 25 has been set in the event of inclement weather. Please see the reference maps linked below for additional information on the origins in each town for the hike and the meeting point at the Selectmens Stones.
The Durham walk will depart from Cream Pot Road at 1 p.m., with the hike expected to take approximately 30 minutes to reach the Selectmen Stones at approximately 1:30 p.m. For additional information, please contact Durham’s First Selectman Brendan Rea at (860) 349-3625.
The Guilford walk will depart from the Braemore Trailhead at 12:30 p.m., with the hike expected to take approximately 30-45 minutes to reach the Selectmen Stones at approximately 1:30 p.m. For additional information, please contact Guilford’s First Selectman Matt Hoey at (203) 453-8015.
The Madison walk will depart from the Rockland Preserve parking lot on Renee’s Way at 12:15 p.m. and is expected to take approximately 60-75 minutes to reach the Selectmen Stones at approximately 1:30 p.m. For additional information, please visit the town website or contact Madison’s First Selectwoman Peggy Lyons at (203) 245-5601.
Those joining the walk should bring water and wear comfortable hiking shoes. For additional resources about the meet-up points and pathway for the Boundary Walk, please visit:
Braemore Preserve Map for Guilford https://scrcog.org/wp-content/uploads/trails/guilford/alt/RecTrails_G2_Alt_5-25-18.pdf
Mica Ledges Trails Map for Durham and Madison https://madisonlandtrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/MLCT_MicaLedges.pdf
