Scottsville is a pretty old town, and the Scottsville Museum has some pretty old stuff. Among the Museum's archives is a book containing old ordinances, or laws, from the early 1900's in Scottsville. Read a couple of them first, just to see how different things were back then. Then do the activity at the bottom of the page. |
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p. 3 No 5: Be it ordained by the council of the town of Scottsville, VA, that any person or persons running his horse at an unlawful speed through the streets of the said town, shall without conviction, be fined from one dollar to ten dollars for each offense. |
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p. 6 No. 22: Be it ordained by the council of the town of Scottsville, VA, that it shall be unlawful for any cows or other cattle to run at large in the said town between the hours of 8 am and sunrise. The fine for violating this ordinance shall be from one dollar to five dollars for each offense. |
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p. 52 March 2, 1933: Dumping Trash etc, in Town. Be it resolved by the Town Council that if any person shall dump any Rubbish, Trash, Tin cans, or other waste matter in the Town of Scottsville, shall upon conviction, be subject to a fine of not less than $2.50 or more than $10.00 for each ordinance. |
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p. 28 An Ordinance prescribing penalty for loafing on sidewalks and obstructing same in town of Scottsville. Be it ordained by the town Council of the Town of Scottsville that it shall be unlawful for any person or persons, to loaf on the side-walks in such a manner as to obstruct the same, or to congregate thereon in such a manner as to inconvenience the passed of pedestrians on the said side-walks of the town of Scottsville. Any person convicted of violating this ordinance shall be fined not less than $2.50 nor more than ten dollars. This ordinance shall be in force from and after its passage. |
ACTIVITY: Can you imagine what it must have been like to get a speeding ticket for riding your horse too fast? Did you notice that the fines for some of these laws are probably less than your own monthly allowance? Pretty crazy, huh? But the world is always changing; the value of the dollar is always changing with it. Your parents or grandparents probably say things like, “Well, when I was a kid we could buy a stick of chewing gum for less than a penny!” The Ordinances, or laws, from the early 1900s in the Town of Scottsville may seem a little weird to you, but if they were made laws it was because there was a problem and they did not already have a law to cover it. Can you guess what this ordinance on "Talking Pictures" means? Jot down a couple notes, or draw a picture, of what your think this ordinance is trying to outlaw: |
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p. 43 Oct. 20, 1931: Tax on talking pictures. Resolved that an annual license tax of ten dollars ($10.00) be and the same is hereby levied on all owners and operators of Talking picture Theatres doing business in the Town of Scottsville. |
| What laws, or rules, do you have at home or in your classroom? Can you write your own ordinances? Try using this format to get you started: |  |
Ordinance #_________ Date: ____________________________
Title of the Ordinance: ________________________________ Be it ordained by the classroom/house of ______________________ that it shall be unlawful for any person or persons to ___________________________________________________________________________ This ordinance shall be in force from and after its passage. |
Here is an example: |
Ordinance # 107 Date: August 7, 2004 Title of the Ordinance: Improper handling of museum artifacts Be it ordained by the Scottsville Museum and the Barclay House that it shall be unlawful for any person or persons to improperly handle or misuse any donated artifact or excavated artifact that is to be used by the museum or is already being used on display in the museum. Any person convicted of violating this ordinance shall be fined no less than one day of mandatory bathroom cleaning at the Scottsville Museum. This ordinance shall be in force from and after its passage. |
You can create an ordinance for what time you have to go to bed, or for getting your homework turned in on time. Do you have rules for the playground? Turn them into ordinances. Do you want to keep your brother or sister out of your bedroom? Create an ordinance and post it on your door!
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