Few artifacts spark as much speculation as this unassuming wooden fence. Now on display in Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Orlando's True Crime Gallery , this section of fence was once part of the now infamous “Grassy Knoll” at Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas, the site of one of the most speculated-about events in American history.
On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated during a motorcade through Dallas. Official reports named Lee Harvey Oswald as the lone gunman, firing from the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository. But within hours of the tragedy, a different story began to take shape. Witnesses claimed they saw smoke, movement, or even a mysterious man in uniform behind the fence on a small hill along the motorcade route, what the world now knows as the Grassy Knoll.
Over the decades, that fence has become a lightning rod for conspiracy theories. Some believe there was a second shooter. Others argue the fence’s placement created an acoustic illusion. In 1979, a congressional investigation even concluded that Kennedy was likely killed as the result of a conspiracy, though no second gunman was ever proven.
Today, this weathered wooden fence stands as a tangible piece of one of America’s greatest unsolved mysteries, a silent witness to a moment that changed history forever.
Visit Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Orlando's True Crime gallery to see the fence up close and decide for yourself!
November 5, 2025
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