SURVEY OF LAND HOLDINGS IN TOWNS OF FREMONT 

 AND BOSCAWEN, NEW HAMPSHIRE* 



It is increasing-ly difficult for the administrators of towns to keep 

 on hand the information the}- need concernino- the lands within their 

 boundaries. Chiefl}^ this depends on a knowledg^e of the property 

 lines and bounds ; for, with these, the periodic work on the lots can 

 be done with comparative ease. The decrease in the acreage of land 

 actively farmed results in deca3"ed fences, lower values and less 

 interest on the part of the owner in the bounds and the land itself. 

 This makes the information harder to g^et. The comparatively low 

 value of the land does not justif}- spending- much time on the prob- 

 lem, especiall}- as other branches of the town business are requiring 

 more time. 



The result is that areas where ownerships are vague have ac- 

 cumulated in most towns and some lots have been forgotten com- 

 pletely. This condition grows steadily worse. 



In addition to the need for information on property lines, land 

 utilization data are valuable. For the most part this requires a 

 compilation of the uses of land, as hayland, pasture, etc., together 

 with a rough estimate of the amount of material produced. Usually 

 no attempt to evaluate individual lots is made, but the general aver- 

 ages found are useful in many problems. For instance, they give a 

 concise cross-section of how readjustments in valuation would affect 

 the town as a whole, and would have been very valuable in estimat- 

 ing the effect of the recent timber-yield tax bill. 



Several agencies which are studjang the economic situation in 

 order to suggest ways of utilizing the abandoned and unproductive 

 lands need such data as a basis for their work. 



A survey of the town can assemble and record the facts needed to 

 help prevent the accumulation of wild lands, and can clear up a large 

 part, if not all, of the areas already doubtful. At the same time, and 

 at little additional cost, the data necessary for the utiliza- 

 tion problem can be secured. 



While these surveys do not attempt to settle disputes as to prop- 

 erty, they do furnish the basis for further work. ,.; 



Growing interest in these problems justifies a report of the work 

 done in the towns of Fremont and Boscawen, New Hampshire. A 

 statement of a similar, survey of Durham has already been pub- . 

 lished.f > ■ 



♦Prof. K. W. Woodward of the .University of New Hampshire directed the 

 Fremont survey, and" Mr. E. C. Hifst, secretary o^ the New Hampshire Tax 

 Commission, the one. of Boscawen. , . ^ . ■ ^a . 



The work in Fremont was done by Mr^C. E. Walker, assisted for a time by ^^, ... 

 Mr, G. R. Hyde. Mr. P. M. Hod^kiiis was ^ ^he '• agent of the Tax Commission in 

 Boscawen. -^' 



The writers wish to express their appreciation of the cooperation of th9 

 townspeople, and of the Boston and Maine Railroad, which furnished blad-"'--" 

 prints of their right of way through Fremont. 



tUniversity of New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Statioii' Bulletin 

 255, 1931; , . ■ ^ . .1 ; 



