IT’S TOWN MEETING SEASON!

Town Meeting dates to the European settlement of New England, and it persists today in town halls, schools and auditoriums.  According to the New England Historical Society, “Dorchester, Massachusetts claims its early selectmen established the New England Town Meeting.  On Oct. 8, 1633, Dorchester passed an order establishing that form of town government.  Dorchester, however, has since become part of Boston — and the Pilgrims held a town meeting (then called court day) in 1622.  So the distinction of the first town meeting goes to Plymouth, Mass.  Gov. William Bradford ran the first town meeting of Plimoth Plantation in 1622  in order to divide land among the families.  The other fledgling towns followed the Pilgrim example and held annual meetings as well.  In Massachusetts, the General Court in 1635 enacted the New Towne Ordinance.  It authorized each town to dispose of common property, order its civil affairs and to choose its ‘own particular officers.’”

Not to be confused with Town Hall meetings, the New England Town Meeting is a form of direct democracy in which a community gathers and votes on budgets and policies.

In the act of incorporation for Parsonsfield in 1785 Simon Frye, Esq., of Fryeburg, was authorized to call the first meeting for the choice of Town Officers. From the History of Parsonsfield written in 1885:

And the results of the meeting:

In Porter the first town meeting under the act of incorporation was held on March 20, 1807 at the home of James Coffin.

From Teg’s History of Porter, written in 1957, are the warrant and results of that first meeting:

In both cases the main business of the day was to assume self-government.  Since there were sometimes more offices than qualified citizens to fill them, the more knowledgeable settlers were sometimes forced to double up.  In addition to three Selectmen, the slate called for a Constable, Tax Collector, Treasurer, Surveyors of Highways, and other such positions as are defined in Teg’s History of Porter:

Aside from the problem of roads, or the lack of them, vagrant livestock was a sometimes pressing issue, hence the "pound keeper, hogreaf and fence viewers". As New Englander Robert Frost later noted, "good fences make good neighbors".

The form or purpose of town meeting has not changed much over the centuries since the citizens of Plymouth Colony first met to discuss and decide on community-specific matters.  In those early years the privilege of voting was limited to those male citizens 21 years of age who were property owners.  Then, as today, the posted warrant “warned” the citizens to meet at a designated time and place to act upon the articles within.  Traditionally, Maine town meetings were held in March and, until relatively recent years, were called to order at nine or ten in the morning and continued all day with a break for lunch put on by the church or Grange ladies.  The Moderator, the election of whom is always the first order of business, brings the meeting to order and presides over the meeting after which his term of office ends.  A good Moderator should know everybody in town, be respected, fair, and possess an operational knowledge of parliamentary procedures.  Once a citizen both capable and willing was found, they could generally count on the job until health or infirmity intervened.

All Maine towns are not alike and many variations of town meeting exist but the process is basically the same.  It may not be “pure democracy” as some contend but Meeting Day does afford Mainers the opportunity to speak their minds and to vote directly on matters that affect their lives.