This story was originally produced by The Keene Sentinel. NHPR is republishing it in partnership with the Granite State News Collaborative.
Next week, residents will gather at the 200-year-old town hall for Acworth's annual town meeting, a tradition that dates back to the 1630s in New Hampshire.
As in other towns throughout the Monadnock Region, Acworth voters will elect members of their selectboard, planning board and other town officials.
But unlike other towns, they'll also appoint a fence viewer, a pound keeper and a measurer of wood.
A what, a what and a what?
The fence viewer is a town official whose job is to enforce laws about fences and resolve fence-related disputes.
In Acworth, a town of about 850, the selectboard is tasked with that role as well as the role of pound keeper.
The pound keeper's job (in theory) is to maintain a place to keep stray livestock who may wander off one farm and cause damage to another.
The selectboard also serves as the town's measurers of wood, roles that were once tasked with ensuring the quality of fuel coming into the town to be sold.
Although the historic gigs come with no stipend or salary and, these days, no responsibility, they're still on Acworth's warrant, which asks voters to symbolically elect the selectboard to fill those roles.
Acworth is one of only a handful of New Hampshire towns that still elect any of those positions and may be the last to elect all three. Harrisville's selectboard permanently serves as fence viewer.
"The reason we do it in Acworth is because it's tradition, and town meeting is a tradition with very strong support in Acworth," selectboard Chair Kathi Bradt said.
Electing the archaic roles is "a nod to where we came from," she said.
