If you happen to live in Texas, or even a number of it other states in America, you must have come across a tree or post painted purple at one point or time. And most of you already know all too well to not go anywhere near it. So it begs the question, do you know the reason why? Texas and other states have a purple paint law allowing property owners to mark the borders of their territory with bright purple spray paint. The law provides landowners with an adverse means of outlining their property without having to build a wall or a fence. Texans and residents of the other states that utilize this law know that purple paint means no trespassing…
One must wonder why do states do this? Well the answer is quite simple – it is due to the unpredictable weather conditions, especially with climate change having a disastrous effect on America’s southern states. A “No Trespassing” sign can easily be blown away in high winds, which makes spray painting a great way for landowners to mark the borders of their land.
And as most Texan’s know, if someone has a vast area of land, how are they supposed to monitor their property’s borders if they have to do so much on a daily basis? It’s just too much work for anyone to do on top of farming their land or managing their cattle.
The fact is, many landowners in Texas and other states with purple paint laws have such vast areas to watch over, it would be impossible to spot “No Trespassing” signs all the time. It would be a tiring task to go around checking on that every day.
The purple paint law allows landowners to spray it and forget it.
Along with warning passersby that the land belongs to someone, the purple mark also indicates a “no hunting” policy to hunters, the land belongs to an individual and to stay clear. It is a great means of keeping unwanted hunters off your land and keep people safe from possible stray bullets.
The purple paint law has been around with over 30 years now. Arkansas, where Bill Clinton was born, was the first state to introduce this law back in 1987. So if you have ever accidentally passed beyond a purple painted fence or gate, you’ve broken the law. At least now you know the real meaning behind the paint for future reference.
Today, there are a number of states that implement the Purple Paint Law in order to signify “No Trespassing.” Here is the list:
Texas, Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina, Maine ,Florida, Idaho, Arkansas, Montana, Arizona, Kansas
Does your state have the Purple Paint Law? Do you think it is a good law to institute in every state?
According to Central Texas Geocachers, Purple paint markings in Texas
“must be: vertical, at least 8 inches long, at least 1 inch wide. [The] bottom of the mark should be between 3-5 feet above the ground. Markings can be no more than 100 feet apart in timberland. Markings can be no more than 1,000 feet apart on open land, [and] they must be in a place visible by those approaching the property.”
Is this the first time you have heard about the purple paint law before? Or is this new information to you?
Watch the video report below to find out more about this law!
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