The $50 fine for hanging laundry on Sunday in my town is still on the books

I found this one when I was doing some research for a community board meeting last month. Turns out in my town, there's still an old ordinance from 1923 that says you can't hang your laundry out to dry on Sundays. The fine is $50, which is wild because who even enforces that anymore? I grew up here and my grandma used to hang clothes every Saturday without thinking twice. I asked the town clerk about it and she just laughed and said nobody's gotten ticketed for it since the 1970s. Still weird that it's technically enforceable if someone wanted to be a jerk about it. Has anyone else found a law like this that just sits there collecting dust but never gets used?

3 comments

3 Comments

pat_stone15d ago

That old law might actually come in handy if you've got a neighbor who's running a loud leaf blower at 7am on a Sunday - you could threaten to report their laundry line violation right back. Wonder if town clerks keep a running bet on which ancient ordinance someone will ask about next.

the_jamie15d ago

pat_stone you're probably right about those clerks having a pool going. I had a neighbor who'd start his pressure washer at 6am and I just happened to find out he didn't have a proper permit for his fence extension. Worked like a charm, he never touched the washer before 9 again.

jakeb8115d ago

Buddy of mine had this exact problem with his HOA back in Texas. He was trying to hang a hammock in his backyard and some Karen neighbor went ballistic over "clothesline violations." Turns out my friend had a copy of the original 1970s HOA rules that actually let you hang anything you wanted between 8am and sunset. He printed that page and taped it to his fence alongside a picture of his neighbor's unlicensed shed they built in 2019. Never heard another peep about his hammock again.