Plumbing the ‘facts’ on Estabrook Trail
The Appeals Court decision is freely available for anyone to ascertain the “facts” for themselves.
Referring to last week’s Letter to the Editor entitled “Facts, not fiction” about Estabrook Trail, I was curious about the “facts” that the writer asserted, especially since no sources were cited. I therefore looked up the 2024 decision by the Massachusetts Appeals Court upholding a lower court decision in favor of the town.
In his decision, Justice Andrew D’Angelo clearly found that the Estabrook Trail had been used as a public way from the early 1700s as a way to travel from Carlisle to Acton Center. Beginning in the late 1800s, the town grew tired of the cost of maintaining the trail, culminating in a 1932 order of the county commissioners to discontinue its maintenance. This was intended to insulate the town from liability for no longer maintaining the trail, but the judge stated this did not discontinue public access. At no point in the judge’s decision is there any mention, much less any evidence, that ownership of the trail was ever transferred to the abutters. The judge went on to state that the public continues to have the right to use the trail.
The judge concluded that “the disputed northern and southern sections of Estabrook Road were laid out as a public way prior to 1932 and that the 1932 order of the county commissioners did not terminate the public’s access to the disputed sections of the road.” Fortunately, the town took legal action to maintain public access notwithstanding the significant cost. It’s worth noting that the Appeals Court decision is freely available for anyone to ascertain the “facts” for themselves.
Alan Cooke
Hugh Cargill Road
