Whately has 20 points that mark its boundaries with Deerfield, Sunderland, Hatfield and Williamsburg. Each of these points is marked with a stone of some kind identified with numerous dates and labels. All of the current ones are described in a state document (ref)(link?). Until recently, the Selectmen (they were all men at the time) were expected to walk the boundaries of the town and identify the stones, making sure that they had not been moved and verifying the outlines of the town. There may even be a former Selectman who remembers doing this (ref. Ai Annis?)

Two of the stones in Whately are witness marks. A witness mark point is an “on-land” representation of the next point along the boundary when the next point is in a place the surveyors can’t easily get to like a river, wetland, or pond. Both of the marks in Whately indicate the boundary along the center of the Connecticut River with Sunderland. These are also the southern boundary of Deerfield and the northern boundary of Hatfield.

They can all be found on this map – Hidden History Map