My Neighbors Dug A Two-Acre Lake On My Land While I Was Out Of State—Then Told Me Their Contractor Said It Was Theirs, And That Was The Day I Learned How Expensive Arrogance Can Be

The Old Stone Fence

The southern boundary of our property was marked by an old stacked-stone fence.

It followed the ridge in a crooked, stubborn line, adapting to the land instead of trying to force the land into a straight line.

Nobody alive knew exactly who built it.

County records referenced “stone boundary markers” as far back as 1871.

The fence was older than my grandfather.

Older than my father.

Older than every argument that had ever taken place over that piece of land.

Some sections had collapsed slightly over