- #1
Thread Owner
While gypsies were regarded by some as harmless vagabonds, the common consensus was that gypsies (or "gyps", as they were known to those who abhorred them) were a public nuisance. In fact, in 1909, Pennsylvania Governor Edwin S. Stuart signed into law legislation which required bands of gypsies to pay a fee of $50, to each county through which they traveled, for a license to camp within the state's borders. Since a north-to-south journey through Pennsylvania would require stops in about ten counties, the typical band of gypsies would be forced to fork over $500; approximately the equivalent of $1,852 in today's money. This law, along with the growing popularity of the automobile, helped to put an end to the days of the gypsy wagon caravan.
Tensions between gypsies and the law, however, soured long before Governor Stuart took office. In 1901, a skirmish between gypsies and law enforcement took place in Cambria County and when the smoke of the battle cleared, one person was left dead and several more were left injured.
Last edited:
