Towns and groups all over Vermont are engaged in researching the paths of Vermont's "ancient roads."
"The point is to comply with a 2006 state law that gives Vermont’s
cities and towns until early next year to identify all their “ancient
roads.” At that point, they can add the elusive roads to official town
maps, ensuring that they remain public, or turn them over to owners of
adjoining land.
Unlike many other states, where towns
automatically forfeit rights to roads that go unused for years, Vermont
requires that they remain public until formally discontinued. That has
brought fights between towns and landowners whose property abuts or
even intersects ancient roads, with the towns eager to preserve public
access for outdoor pursuits and the owners seeking clear titles and
privacy."
It seems like a fascinating process, hopefully some of the research will be posted on the Internet: Google Maps anyone?
"Peter Vollers, a lawyer in Woodstock . . .,
said he loved getting out and looking for hints of ancient roads:
parallel stone walls or rows of old-growth trees about 50 feet apart.
Old culverts are clues, too, as are cellar holes that suggest people
lived there; if so, a road probably passed nearby.
Mr. Vollers
heads the Vermont Expedition Society, a group of off-roaders who
treasure ancient roads as a recreational asset. He recently started a
company, Vermont Overland Guide Services, to help off-roaders navigate
ancient roads and other rural byways."
That said, it must be nerve-wracking if you own property in Vermont and some amateur historians' fun means you will lose access to some of your land or find a troup of SUVs heading across your lawn, especially if the "road" was last used in 1795
