TexasEscapes.comTexas Escapes Online Magazine: Travel and History
Columns: History, Humor, Topical and Opinion
Over 2500 Texas Towns & Ghost Towns
NEW : : TEXAS TOWNS : : GHOST TOWNS : : TEXAS HOTELS : : FEATURES : : COLUMNS : : ARCHITECTURE : : IMAGES : : SITE MAP : : SEARCH SITE
HOME
SEARCH SITE
ARCHIVES
RESERVATIONS
Texas Hotels
Hotels
Cars
Air
Cruises
 
 Texas : Feature : Columns : "They shoe horses, don't they?"

TEN MORE THINGS
YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT JUDGE ROY BEAN

by John Troesser

The Jersey Lilly:
Where "sidebar" has a very literal meaning

  1. When business was slow at The Jersey Lilly - Bean's courthouse/ saloon, Roy would stand on the porch and "attract" customers at gunpoint.
  2. There was no jail, so people awaiting trial or serving time were chained each to the only tree in Langtry.
  3. A district attorney from Del Rio (in the later years) came to Langtry to inform Roy Bean it was not legal for him to grant divorces. Bean said that if he could marry them, then he could "fix his mistakes." The DA wouldn't let the matter drop so Bean got the DA in a poker game. When the DA was $230 in the hole - Bean forgave the debt on the condition that the subject never came up again. It didn't.
  4. The Governor of Texas had received complaints that no funds ever came to Austin from Bean's court - so the Governor wrote to Langtry. The reply from Bean was: "Governor, you run things there in Austin and I'll run things here. My court never cost the State any money." Nothing more was heard from the Governor.
  5. Roy Bean never gave change in his courtroom. If he fined a person $16.00 and the person pulled out a $20 gold piece, he amended his decision. "Make that $20, by Gobs, that's my rulin'!
  6. Often for minor offenses, the "fine" would be that the offender would have to buy a round of drinks for the judge, jury and everyone else in Langtry that could make it to the bar.
  7. On Mondays, Roy Bean did a "wholesale" clearing of his docket. A sample case:
    "It is the judgment of this court that you are hereby tried and convicted of illegally and unlawfully committing certain grave offenses against the peace and dignity of the State of Texas, particularly in my bailiwick, to-wit: drunk and disorderly, and being the Law West of the Pecos, I fine you $2.00 - now get the hell out of here and never show yourself in this court again. Next case!...
  8. A valuable lesson for today: Roy Bean's court NEVER cost the county or state one cent. Bean paid all salaries and operational costs out of fines and court income.
  9. His son was killed in a gunfight in Del Rio.
  10. Both Roy and son Sam are buried in Del Rio - their graves are now something of a tourist attraction.
© John Troesser
"They shoe horses, don't they?" May 22, 2004 Column

On Judge Roy Bean:

  • Ten Things You Should Know About Judge Roy Bean by John Troesser
  • Ten More Things You Should Know About Judge Roy Bean by John Troesser
    The Jersey Lilly: Where 'sidebar' has a very literal meaning
  • “Law West Of The Pecos” by Murray Montgomery
    The Moulton Eagle – March 21, 1924
  • Roy Bean Before His Law West Of The Pecos Days by Lois Zook Wauson
  • Langtry, Texas
  • Related Topics:
    People | Texas Towns | Texas History | TE Online Magazine | Texas
     
    TEXAS ESCAPES CONTENTS
    HOME | TEXAS ESCAPES ONLINE MAGAZINE | TEXAS HOTELS
    TEXAS TOWN LIST | TEXAS GHOST TOWNS | TEXAS COUNTIES

    Texas Hill Country | East Texas | Central Texas North | Central Texas South | West Texas | Texas Panhandle | South Texas | Texas Gulf Coast
    TRIPS | STATES PARKS | RIVERS | LAKES | DRIVES | MAPS

    Texas Attractions
    TEXAS FEATURES
    People | Ghosts | Historic Trees | Cemeteries | Small Town Sagas | WWII | History | Texas Centennial | Black History | Art | Music | Animals | Books | Food
    COLUMNS : History, Humor, Topical and Opinion

    TEXAS ARCHITECTURE | IMAGES
    Courthouses | Jails | Churches | Gas Stations | Schoolhouses | Bridges | Theaters | Monuments/Statues | Depots | Water Towers | Post Offices | Grain Elevators | Lodges | Museums | Rooms with a Past | Gargoyles | Cornerstones | Pitted Dates | Stores | Banks | Drive-by Architecture | Signs | Ghost Signs | Old Neon | Murals | Then & Now
    Vintage Photos

    TRAVEL RESERVATIONS | HOTELS | USA | MEXICO

    Privacy Statement | Disclaimer | Recommend Us | Contributors | Staff | Contact TE
    Website Content Copyright ©1998-2008. Texas Escapes - Blueprints For Travel, LLC. All Rights Reserved
    This page last modified: October 11, 2010