Lillie Langtry

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During our trip out to West Texas we came upon the Judge Roy Bean Visitors Center in Langtry, Texas.

This was the man deemed "the law west of the Pecos". He was a true legend in his own time ruling west Texas with his own kind of justice.

The Judge Roy Bean Visitor Center in Langtry, Texas is a Texas Department of Transportation's Travel Information Center,. They have loads of information not only on Judge Roy Bean, but all of Texas. Friendly Travel advisors answered our questions and provided us with maps, travel brochures and different points of interest. There are six dioramas that entertainingly portray highlights of Judge Roy Bean's inside the visitors center.

Behind the visitor center, we were able to walk through the rustic saloon, billiard hall, and courtroom where Judge Roy Bean held court with a six-shooter by his side. He named his business after an English actress that he was infatuated with. Known worldwide as "The Jersey Lily", her name was Lillie Langtry. Due to a misspelling by the painter, the sign out front of the saloon reads "The Jersey Lilly".

Judge Roy Bean had a sign on his home that read "Opera House, Town Hall and Seat of Justice", because he hoped that the actress would come there and perform one day. Despite several letters inviting her to come, she ignored his request. That is, until he wrote that he had named the town after her. Unfortunately, by the time she made the trip to Langtry for a visit in 1904, he had been dead for several months.

Today railroad historians state that Langtry was named for one of the foremen on the construction crew, but Miss Langtry was never told that.

Besides the "opera house" and "The Jersey Lilly" saloon, there is also a Cactus Garden Interpretive Trail which is home to prickly pears, agave, and yucca plants.

Whether you are interested in learning more about Judge Roy Bean or not this is a worthwhile stop, if for no other reason than the free travel information and clean restrooms.

Tempie Hughes is a proud Texas gal who grew up a little obsessed with movies about southern belles or 'georgia' peaches'. Read about her adventures in travel, food, and life at The Texas Peach Blog.

Seminole Canyon and Langtry TX

Seminole Canyon and Langtry, TX

Seminole Canyon, located nine miles West of Comstock, Texas off of US 90, features petrography painted by the Natives over 4,000 years ago.  When Egypt was beginning to build their pyramids, the shamans of the local Native foragers were painting their dreams onto the wall and ceilings of the shelters along this canyon.

Their favorite choice of color was red: a mixture of ochre rock, sotol or yucca juice, and deer grease. Because of the dyness and the shelter from wind and other elements, many of the petrography has survived to this day.  They were painted on limestone.  Their once brilliant colors have been hidden by soot and the smoke of many fires started by the natives in these shelters.

Many shamans are depicted holding an atalatl.  They have either human or animal feet.  Some have the head of a cougar and the antlers of a deer.  Their arms are outstretched and have medicine bags hanging from their wrists.  Sometimes their arms are depicted as wings.

Two plants were the shaman’s favorites for eliciting hallucinations and visions: the peyote and the datura.  The peyote cult was depicted as red or black balls.  Holding a plant depicted the datura cult. 

A circle always depicted the entrance to the spirit world.  A squiggle line shows the way.  On the other side is usually a monster of some type.  The monster has a lance stuck into it.

Many of the petrographs have succumbed to the elements and to the flecking of the limestone, and the ravages of man.

Tours are given daily to this petrography.  Figure to spend about two hours for the tour: one and a half for the tour itself and another half-hour to go back to the visitor center.  The descent into the canyon is over 800 feet, down uneven stone stairs.  Then you have to ascend to the two shelters.  There are places to rest along the way. Take water, and dress in layers.

Another twenty-five miles to the West is the tiny town of Langtry.  Judge Roy Bean called this town home.  He was appointed the Justice of the Peace with the help of the Southern Pacific Railroad, which ran from New Orleans to San Francisco.  He dispensed justice quickly according to the Law West of the Pecos.  He ran a saloon called the Jersey Lilly, named after the British actress Lillie Langtry.  He had a crush on her picture and wrote many letters inviting her to visit.  He even told her that he named the town for her.  When she arrived for the visit in 1904, Judge Bean had been dead for four months and was buried in Del Rio, Texas.

When a prisoner was brought in, Judge Bean would close the saloon, choose a jury from his customers and hold court, with 1879 Revised Statutes of Texas and a pistol on the desk.  He assumed the reputation of “The Hanging Judge”.  Records, however, show that he never hanged anyone.  For a cattle rustler or horse thief, the punishment was expulsion from Langtry and forfeiture of his horse, gun and all other assets.  If the person ever returned, he would then be hanged.  Few survived going across this wasteland without horse and firearms.

At the modern visitor center is a fifteen-minute movie depicting the life and times of Judge Roy Bean.  The Jersey Lilly saloon and billiard parlor, and Roy Bean’s Opera House Town Hall and Seat of Justice (his home) where he wanted Lillie Langtry to perform for him.  A Cactus Garden Interpretive Trail rounds out the attractions at this site.

Langtry is a bustling town of thirty inhabitants. Meals are almost nonexistent.  So bring your own or stop in Comstock or further West.

Make sure you pull off at the overlook for the Pecos River.  Looking South you see where the river runs into the Rio Grande and the hills of Mexico.  To the North is Highway 90 and the sheer cliffs along this mighty river.  All along US 90 you see Border Patrol agents in their cars looking for illegals who have crossed the river and are attempting to cross the Sonoran Desert.

About the Author

John and Maggie Pelley are Geriatric Gypsies. Both of us are retired from the rat race of working. We are full-time RVers, who ran away from home. We began our travels on the East Coast and, like the migrating birds, seek the warmth of the seasons. No more shoveling snow in Chicago. We have discovered volunteering with the National Park System. During our travels we have found that each town has a story to tell: some are more interesting than others. Both of us enjoy good listening music as we go. John has a CD he has recorded of Native American flure music. We have learned that RVing has a learning curve. We want to pass on some advice the help others avoid this trecherous curve. Life is an adventure. We are living it to the utmost.

Were people a hundred years ago really that much smaller and slimmer than us?

Victorian gowns in museums look very small, many don't seem much bigger than a 4. However, photographs of the time show many women who were bigger than that size. Lillie Langtry,who was one of the most beautiful women of the age had a 38" bust and 38" hips.

Diet has a lot to do with size. The Japanese men are much taller then two generations ago. My Grandfather, who came for Belarus, was 5'6", his wife was smaller, my father was 6 feet and I am 6'2". Size has to do with food availability and genetic potential. So, I would agree about height, but weight is lack of proper food stuffs. To much starch will make bigger people.

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