Hello Dick, "What in the world was a Fence Viewer?" In Colonial New England, each town held an annual meeting where town business was conducted. Officers for the upcoming year were elected, and participation at the meeting was nearly universal. Fence Viewers, Hogreeves, Deerreeves, Constables and all other public offices were elected, and were required to serve for a period of one year. Refusal resulted in a fine. A Fence Viewer generally was responsible for deciding the condition of all fences, reporting broken fences, issuing warnings to the fence owners, etc. In many areas, the office still exists today. It is always an unpaid job, but usually those appointed take on the civic responsibility in the name of public service. Dave Clark Belmont, NC _________________________________________________________________ Send instant messages to anyone on your contact list with MSN Messenger 6.0. Try it now FREE! http://msnmessenger-download.com