- 1). Talk to your surveyor, provided you had the land surveyed when you purchased it. If his firm has surveyed your and your neighbor's tracts of land through the years, he should have access to older surveys. He may even have one that shows your and your neighbor's parcel were once one tract of land. If an older survey shows no fence in place, then you will know the fence was built after the date of that survey. If he doesn't have old surveys and there were iron rods or pins in the ground with an identifying cap for another surveyor, he may be able to give you contact information for that surveyor. From looking at old surveys, you may be able to get an idea when the fence was constructed.
- 2). Hire an attorney or title researcher to pull deeds through the years on your and your neighbor's property. Frequently the legal description in a deed will state that it runs along a fence line, and the attorney or researcher will be able to help you determine if any fence referred to is the fence in question. The dates on the deeds or any surveys recorded with the deeds may help. If you are familiar with court records, you may attempt this on your own or with the assistance of the court clerks.
- 3). Ask older people who live near the property. Sometimes there's no substitute for an older person's memory. A neighbor may be able to tell you more than you ever wanted to know about the history of the adjoining property and the people who lived there. She may have specific information about the fence and who built it. You may just want to speak directly with the adjoining property owner to see if she thinks the fence is on her property or if she claims the land on her side.
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