For about two years, a Rutland, Massachusetts couple named Christine and Brian did not feel at ease in their own backyard. A property line disagreement with the neighbor next door, which began in 2020, turned unsettling, and at one point a fence on their property was destroyed. Christine told The Boston Globe, which reported the couple’s story on Nov. 11, that it “scared” their son.
Their feud ended only after a legal process and a new, permanent fence. It is exactly the kind of fight Massachusetts has been trying to settle with an unusual local office since colonial days: the fence viewer, a role that dates to 1647 and that every city and town in the state is still required to fill.
The Rutland Backyard That Finally Got Its Fence
The Globe did not publish the couple’s last name. According to the paper, the neighbor’s behavior made the family uneasy for roughly two years before the matter was resolved through the legal process. After that, the couple put up a permanent fence along the line.
Christine said the new fence finally made her feel better in her own backyard. The neighbors now respect the agreement, she told the paper, though their cats still wander into her unfenced vegetable garden…