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Page #15
Monday, July 27, 2015
The Controversial life of the "Law west of the Pecos"
Dr. Ken Bridges As a saloonkeeper, he was called his own best customer. He ran afoul of the law more often than many of the men before his own court. Like so many of the early law figures of the frontier who lived on the edge of the law themselves, Judge Roy Bean became a legendary figure in the West.
Union blockade. In 1866, he settled down in San Antonio and married the 16-year-old daughter of a prominent rancher. The couple had four children and a stormy marriage. Reports surfaced of Bean stealing cattle and selling stolen firewood. He also operated a saloon in a San Antonio neighborhood that became known as “Beanville.” In 1882, he left his family for work with the railroad under construction between San Antonio and El Paso. When construction crossed the Pecos River, Bean’s fortunes suddenly changed.
At Vinegarroon (later renamed Langtry, reportedly at Bean’s behest), a railroad camp, Bean set up a new saloon, the “Jersey Lilly.” Meanwhile, Pecos County Roy Bean was born in 1825 in was desperate to organize the area Mason County, Kentucky, near the along the Rio Grande as settlers Ohio River. He was the youngest trickled in and the railroad neared of five children in a poor family. completion. Pecos County took As a young man eager for up a large region of West Texas opportunity and adventure, he when it was formed by the state went to New Orleans to find legislature in 1875. In August work. Finding only trouble, he 1882, county commissioners followed his older brothers to the named Roy Bean as justice of the Far West instead. peace for the southeastern reaches of the county. Val Verde County He had a reputation for charm but was formed in 1885 from portions also a reputation for a sharp of Pecos and took in Langtry. temper. While in San Antonio in 1852, he was imprisoned for Today, a Texas justice of the fighting a duel – fought while on peace mostly handles small claims horseback. However, he escaped disputes between two parties, from jail and ran to California. traffic violations, and the most minor misdemeanors. For Pecos During the Civil War, he worked County and the wild frontier on boats running against the region of far West Texas in the
1880s, a justice of the peace like Judge Roy Bean was effectively the only court available for miles. Fort Stockton, the county seat and the site of the next major court, was a difficult ride of nearly 150 miles away. Judge Bean set up his courtroom in a room next to his thriving saloon, dispensing his own colorful form of justice. Twice he sentenced men to death, but one escaped and the other had his sentence commuted. He illegally granted divorces for $10 each. He fined a dead man the $40 he had on him so the county could pay for the funeral. Reportedly, he kept almost all the fines he assessed in his court room. However, he gave generously to the poor and supplied the local school
with firewood in the winter. He was twice voted out of office, but he came back and served until he retired in 1902. Bean died in his bar in 1903. In 1956, a short-lived television show on the life of Bean aired. In 1972, Paul Newman starred in the popular movie The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean. Today, Langtry is a tiny, unincorporated community of 150 residents kept alive mostly by the Judge Roy Bean legend. A museum in the community honors the life of the “Law West of the Pecos.” Dr. Bridges is a Texas native, writer, and history professor. He can be reached at drkenbridges@gmail.com.
