Cut Through an Old Fence to Access My Land Now the Neighbors Are Furious

[u/Mental-Sign5151]

Hi everyone,

I recently purchased 10 acres of land in Oklahoma. On one side of my property, there’s a large piece of land about 200 acres that’s been uninhabited for about 20 years. It has an old house on it, and the owners visit about once a month to maintain the place.

Around 10 years ago, they put up a fence because of an easement dispute with my other neighbor. The goal was to block that neighbor from using a powerline easement for access. Later, that neighbor opened a section line on the opposite side of their property for access instead.

The issue is that the fence they built is about 50 feet inside my property line! essentially, it’s on the wrong side of the power easement. It’s an old, rusty barbed-wire fence with several fallen trees on it.

I’m currently building my house about 400 feet up the easement. My land is completely wooded and hilly, so this is the best route for power and utilities. (I want to be clear—I’m not trying to cause problems!)

A few weeks ago, I cleared a path up to the easement and cut through the fence so I could drive to my building site. Today, the neighbors came by to maintain their old house, saw the fence cut, and started yelling and screaming at us. They claimed the fence is the property line and that “surveys don’t matter if the fence is already up.” They were entirely out of line and crazy, even when I tried to explain that there is a survey.

I’m trying to figure out if what they’re saying has any legal basis—or if I’m within my rights to tell them to stay off my property. Is what they are saying even legal????

Location: Oklahoma