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Here's Why Picket Fences Are Banned In Scranton, Pennsylvania
By ALEXANDRA RODRIGUEZ
If your dream home is in Scranton, Pennsylvania, you won’t be able to adorn it with a picket fence due to a city-wide ban. The odd ban has been in place for more than 110 years.
It all started in 1890 when a frightened horse bolted, causing its carriage to crash into a picket fence, resulting in minor injuries.
Then in 1897, Alonzo Houseknecht was thrown from his seat and was impaled by a fence’s pickets after his carriage "struck a cross ditch in the pike," per The Scranton Tribune.
Then in 1897, Alonzo Houseknecht was thrown from his carriage seat and was impaled by a picket fence, leaving him critically injured.
Today, Scranton homeowners who want to build a fence in their front yard must get it approved by the city council first, obtain a building permit, and pay an inspection fee.