Texans Know That These Purple Painted Posts Are No Joke
In the state of Texas, everybody knows to stay far away from a purple fence post. The lone star [...]
In the state of Texas, everybody knows to stay far away from a purple fence post. The lone star state and several others allow their residents to paint the boundaries of their land with purple spray paint instead of constructing a wall around their property. Texans understand that purple paint means no trespassing.
"No Trespassing" signs can easily be blown away in a storm or a heavy gust of wind so landowners in some of America's southern states need another way to mark the borders of their property, according to AWM. Also, trespassers could simply remove the "no trespassing" signs.
"People hunting or fishing without the landowner's consent is a common issue," said Texas Game Warden Brad Clark. "Often they ignore posted signs and purple paint."
While some residents may have been under the impression that the purple fence post was graffiti, the color means no trespassing and prohibits any hunting on the property.
The practice may seem a little strange, the Purple Paint Law is nothing new. The law was first created in Bill Clinton's home state of Arkansas in 1987. Texas adopted the law ten years later in 1997.
"The reason the Texas legislature did that is they were trying to keep landowners from constantly having to replace signs," Jonathan Kennedy, the owner of EastTexasLands.com said. "In Texas as we know, people like to take target practice at signs so they are having to replace them frequently. The funny part to me is that rule expired one year later," he said. "Fast forward to now and still a lot of people don't know what it means but it is still a law."
Here's the full list of states that utilize the Purple Paint Law: Texas, Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina, Maine, Florida, Idaho, Arkansas, Montana, Arizona, and Kansas.
The purple paint markings in the state of 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," according to Central Texas Geocachers.
"It holds the same weight and the same law violations apply," said Prairie View A&M Extension Agent, Ashley Pellerin. "It's no trespassing period. The no trespassing purple, a lot of people who are color blind, they can actually see the color purple so I believe that's why it was chosen."
What are your thoughts about the Purple Paint Law? Do you think it is enough to diminish trespassers from hunting and going onto people's property uninvited?