Well, I kinda suckered you into reading this, but the Common Bond is Thomas Dongan, who was a prominent figure in Colonial British politics. While reading about some local Maine colonial history, his name was cited quite often; he was involved with colonial Massachusetts laws. That meant Maine also, as that territory was part of MA until 1820 when it obtained statehood.
The interesting "hook" in the link are some provisions set forward by Dongan that continue to survive both the SCOTUS and State Supreme Courts. We're all aware, painfully aware for some in NY, about Southampton Township's clinging to the Dongan patent. In colonial Massachusetts, both state of and it's territory Maine, a Dongan era decree set forth that waterfront landowners owned the land in the intertidal zone, the area between Mean High Water to Mean Low Water. However an waterfront landowner cannot interfere with Fishing, Fowling and Navigation; included in the legal definition of Fishing is shellfish collection and worm digging...
For me, it's a non-issue, because anyone who would want to spread out a blanket to sun themselves in the intertidal muck is fine by me. However, people who may own a piece of the very rare sandy beach Maine waterfront it is a big deal, and it constantly gets elevated to the state superior court by the folks looking to get more beach access to get the colonial law overturned.
For the record, VA & DE have a similar Colonial law on the books regarding the intertidal zone, but I'm not sure Dongan was involved.
The interesting "hook" in the link are some provisions set forward by Dongan that continue to survive both the SCOTUS and State Supreme Courts. We're all aware, painfully aware for some in NY, about Southampton Township's clinging to the Dongan patent. In colonial Massachusetts, both state of and it's territory Maine, a Dongan era decree set forth that waterfront landowners owned the land in the intertidal zone, the area between Mean High Water to Mean Low Water. However an waterfront landowner cannot interfere with Fishing, Fowling and Navigation; included in the legal definition of Fishing is shellfish collection and worm digging...
For me, it's a non-issue, because anyone who would want to spread out a blanket to sun themselves in the intertidal muck is fine by me. However, people who may own a piece of the very rare sandy beach Maine waterfront it is a big deal, and it constantly gets elevated to the state superior court by the folks looking to get more beach access to get the colonial law overturned.
For the record, VA & DE have a similar Colonial law on the books regarding the intertidal zone, but I'm not sure Dongan was involved.
