Eighteenth-century Waterbury was bounded by the Common Fence, which ran along the western and southern borders of the village. The gate to the west, on what is now West Main Street, was designed primarily to protect crops from wandering cattle and pigs rather than to keep out human intruders. A pound was kept just outside the gate for stray cattle. The pound-keepers for the west gate were Deacon Judd and John Scovill, who lived nearby.