Wall Sits

From the Vineyard Gazette edition of Oct. 10, 1980:

Opening upon South Road, Chilmark, is a private driveway extending northerly to a dwelling site half a mile away or better. There is nothing remarkable about this driveway, except that portion where it enters the highway. There it passes through, and not over, a hillock, by means of what engineers call a cut and the sides of this cut are perpendicular; as plumb as if made with the aid of a plumb-bob. That it is an ancient driveway is evident, and the cut itself is nothing modern, but the remarkable thing about this cut is the retaining wall on each side, curving outward and rising to the height of the bordering greensward, and constructed from small stones, laid up without bonding of any sort. In other words, it is a pretty wall, beautifully made and put together with a high degree of skill. It has not bulged nor settled, and it seems as strong and secure as it ever could have been, the weathering of the stones testifying to its age.

Over seventy years ago a Chilmark man, no longer youthful, told of helping to build this wall under the direction of Beriah T. Hillman, who owned the farm beyond the highway, lived upon it, and taught school during the two three-month terms when Chilmark schools were open.

Many persons will remember Beriah Hillman as an elderly resident of Edgartown, a veteran of the War of the Rebellion, in which he served as an Army officer, and as a justice sitting within and for the County the County of Dukes County. He had studied law and practiced it, and had sat on the bench as a judge, and in all ways had demonstrated his versatility and knowledge.

Aside from causal mentioning by elderly persons of Judge Hillman as a schoolmaster, the oldest story this writer ever heard of him was told by one of his Chilmark neighbors, himself a member of a Chilmark family quite as old as that of the judge.

It appeared that Judge Hillman Mr. Hillman at that time was interested in some legal matter and had consulted an attorney seeking advice. What he was told with respect to his problem was not satisfactory and, sitting in the lawyers office, he picked up a law book, turned the pages to a certain chapter and, pointing it out to the lawyer, said:

Doesnt that clause give me my case?

The lawyer looked, and exclaimed in surprise: It does indeed, but where did you study law?

At the end of the plow-handles, is the reply credited to the judge-to-be.

Pungent indeed were the comments credited to Judge Hillman as he spoke in town meetings on matters of business that came before the voters. Apparently the site of the original town hall in Chilmark was under discussion, possibly before the building had been established there, or it could have been later. However that may have been, the location, on a lonely hilltop, seemed to be favored by the majority, and Judge Hillman commented with evident distaste: Equally inconvenient for everyone. His peppery comments from the bench were often quoted and it is regrettable that so few are remembered. In a case where a feud between families had eventually resulted in a charge of assault and battery, the defendant had pleased unusual provocation in that the plaintiff in the case had refused to speak to him or even to look in his direction when they met, and yet had politely lifted his hat and bowed to his, the defendants dog.

See the article here:
Wall Sits