My town still has a law about walking your cow on Main Street

I moved to a small town in Iowa about 3 years ago. Found out the hard way at a city council meeting that it's technically illegal to walk a cow down Main Street without a bell around its neck. The law dates back to 1887 when farmers would bring cattle through town. I made a joke about it at the meeting and the clerk just nodded and said it's never been repealed. Now I tell everyone who visits about it and they usually laugh. But here's the thing - nobody's been fined for it in like 50 years. So is it really a law anymore? Or just a weird piece of paper gathering dust? Has anyone else dug up something like this in their own town?

3 comments

3 Comments

gray87519d agoMost Upvoted

1887 though, that's barely even a law anymore.

gavin22820d agoMost Upvoted

I feel you on that "weird piece of paper gathering dust" thing. My town in Kentucky still has a law that says it's illegal to keep a donkey in your bathtub. I only found out because my neighbor had this old donkey statue in her yard and she got a warning about it from the code enforcement guy. Turns out the law was from the 1920s when people were trying to hide livestock from inspectors. Nobody's been fined for it either but it's still on the books. It's funny how these old laws just sit there, not hurting anyone but definitely confusing newcomers.

john_fisher20d ago

That "weird piece of paper gathering dust" thing you mentioned really hits home @gavin228. My town has a law from the 1800s that says you can't ride a horse while wearing a bathing suit. Nobody enforces it but it's still technically on the books. I think these old laws are just a reminder that people have always been weird about rules. Kinda fun to find them though, makes you wonder what else is hiding in there.