Sure, I have seen alot without fences. In fact there is a big famous one in Gettysburg called Evergreen and now there is a hotel in it.

If anyone here has read the Dresden File Books then they will know what I am talking about. In book three "Grave Peril" Dresden talks about cemeteries have fences for a reason, it's not to keep people out, it's to keep things in. I have always found this interesting and most of the cemeteries that I have visited or driven by have some sort of fence around it. The simplest that I have seen is just a barb-wire fence but it's still a fence. However, there is one cemetery that I drive by at times that has no fence whatsoever around it. For some reason this bothers me.

So I'm wondering how cemeteries have you seen that do not have fences around them?

The area I live in, is Penn Charter land 1681. My township was established in 1725. Historically, very old.

I visit cemeteries all the time, fascinated about the history of the people who settled my area.

On a drive, or a vacation, I will visit old cemeteries that look interesting. Mostly read head stones, and look for generational connections.

Never read the books, but always wondered about the fences. Where I live, are many horse farms and farms. While I'm riding, I have found many groupings of tomb stones on farm properties. Usually in a small area with trees, with planting fields around it. No fences, but I don't know if one would consider this a cemetery, or a family plot. The people I spoke with, third and fourth generation said this was common for land owners to bury on their property.

My area also has many old Friends Church Buildings. The was a large Quaker settlement. Most of these churches, have a fence around the church property, including the cemetery. But, the cemetery has it's own separate fence within the property fence from the church. I know of least 10 like this. Go figure, I have no idea, one should be enough. The fences are made of stone and are very old. I've done local historical research, for my township, but have found nothing on this.

Then, there are some cemeteries on back roads with no fencing. In towns and cities it seems to be quite common in my area to have fencing around a cemetery. I guess security, reasons.

My father is buried in a large Veterans cemetery, no fencing.

While in Scotland, Ireland, and England I visted cemeteries, they all had fencing of some sort. Whether very old, or newer. The chuches were the same as in my area, seperate fences for the cemetery. Even a few very old graves at the side of a road had a stone wall around it, with a gate.

Maybe it's a tradition, our early settlers brought with them.

I've never really thought about it, but now that you mention it all the cemeteries around me have fences.

Like GhostlyDesigns though there are ones that just have a simple fence in the front and the other 3 sides

are defined by woods. Now that I think about it all 3 cemeteries in the small town I grew up in are like this.

Fence in the front and woods around the other 3 sides. So unless woods can "hold things in' nothing is being

held in, and obviously nothing is being kept out either. I guess it's probably just to define the boundaries, or

for aesthetic reasons in some cases. The Catholic cemetery has an ornate fence, the town cemetery has just

a green pipe that runs between pillars and the third cemetery has a modern chain link fence.

We also have to remember that the garden type cemetery is relatively new, 19th century.

They were designed to attract people for more than just burial. Older burial sites were random plots, areas or church yards that used fences to designate boundaries.

I do recall reading once that several hundred years ago a superstition of fencing did play a part in confining the dead.

There are two cemeteries within my county. One is a "Forest Lawn" they are very elaborate and have a huge cinderblock wall to keep people from messing with graves. They even have police throughout the place on a regular basis. People here take their graves very seriously. The other cemetery is only known as "The old cemetery". It is very old and people are no longer buried there. Although there are flowers now and then. There is a chain link fence because sadly a lot of people have vandalized it before. One group cut the head off an angel.

I have seen at least one cemetery without a fence though, it was Los Angelus Chinatown and was for Buddhists. Although I heard according to their faith there are no ghosts, the soul just gets reincarnated. Which is odd because I know I've heard some Buddhist ghost stories before. It was a beautiful cemetery I might add.

I think the hollywood hills cemetery has no fence either, but I might be wrong.

Around here, the story is that the fences were to keep coyotes etc. from digging up the bodies, back before there were vaults and such