Langtry, Texas
Encyclopedia
Langtry is an unincorporated community
in Val Verde County
, Texas
, United States
. The community is notable as the place where "Judge" Roy Bean
, the "Law West of the Pecos", had his saloon and practiced a kind of law.
as a grading
camp called "Eagle Nest". It was later renamed for George Langtry, an engineer
and foreman who supervised the immigrant Chinese
work crews building the railroad in the area.
Roy Bean
arrived soon after completion of the railroad and set up a tent saloon on company land. He later built a wooden structure for his saloon, which he called "The Jersey Lilly" after the well-known British
stage
actress Lillie Langtry
. She was a native of the island of Jersey
. (Born with the surname Le Breton, she was not related to George Langtry.) Bean used the saloon as his headquarters when authorized as a justice of the peace
and notary public
. He called himself the "Law West of the Pecos
". After a notable career as justice of the peace, Bean died in 1903.
In 1884 the town was authorized a post office
. In 1892 it had a general store
, a railroad depot, and two saloons. Langtry began to decline after the highway
was moved slightly north in the early 1900s for a more direct east-west route. Once bypassed, the town's businesses lost revenue and jobs. When in the 1920s Southern Pacific moved its facilities away, more jobs were lost and the town population dwindled to 50.
By the 1970s the population dipped as low as 40. Tourism
to the Judge Roy Bean Visitor Center continues to keep the town alive.
In 1955, Robert Burton Willingham claimed an unidentified flying object
(UFO) crashed along the south bank of the Rio Grande
, just a few hundred feet into Mexico. The incident came to be known as the Del Rio, Texas UFO Crash. Willingham, a former Air Force Reserve pilot, stated that he was flying an F-86 Sabre
jet fighter when he observed a UFO streak past him and crash near Langtry.
No local residents have been located that could confirm Willingham's story.
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
in Val Verde County
Val Verde County, Texas
Val Verde County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2008, estimated population was 55,000. Its county seat is Del Rio. In 1936, Val Verde County received Recorded Texas Historic Landmark number 5625 to commemorate its founding.Val Verde, which means "green...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The community is notable as the place where "Judge" Roy Bean
Roy Bean
Phantly Roy Bean, Jr. was an eccentric U.S. saloon-keeper and Justice of the Peace in Val Verde County, Texas, who called himself "The Law West of the Pecos". According to legend, Judge Roy Bean held court in his saloon along the Rio Grande in a desolate stretch of the Chihuahuan Desert of...
, the "Law West of the Pecos", had his saloon and practiced a kind of law.
History
Langtry was originally established by European Americans in 1882 of the Southern Pacific RailroadSouthern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually simply called the Southern Pacific or Espee, was an American railroad....
as a grading
Land grading
Grading in civil engineering and construction is the work of ensuring a level base, or one with a specified slope, for a construction work such as a foundation, the base course for a road or a railway, or landscape and garden improvements, or surface drainage...
camp called "Eagle Nest". It was later renamed for George Langtry, an engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
and foreman who supervised the immigrant Chinese
Chinese people
The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....
work crews building the railroad in the area.
Roy Bean
Roy Bean
Phantly Roy Bean, Jr. was an eccentric U.S. saloon-keeper and Justice of the Peace in Val Verde County, Texas, who called himself "The Law West of the Pecos". According to legend, Judge Roy Bean held court in his saloon along the Rio Grande in a desolate stretch of the Chihuahuan Desert of...
arrived soon after completion of the railroad and set up a tent saloon on company land. He later built a wooden structure for his saloon, which he called "The Jersey Lilly" after the well-known British
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
stage
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
actress Lillie Langtry
Lillie Langtry
Lillie Langtry , usually spelled Lily Langtry when she was in the U.S., born Emilie Charlotte Le Breton, was a British actress born on the island of Jersey...
. She was a native of the island of Jersey
Jersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...
. (Born with the surname Le Breton, she was not related to George Langtry.) Bean used the saloon as his headquarters when authorized as a justice of the peace
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
and notary public
Notary public
A notary public in the common law world is a public officer constituted by law to serve the public in non-contentious matters usually concerned with estates, deeds, powers-of-attorney, and foreign and international business...
. He called himself the "Law West of the Pecos
Pecos River
The headwaters of the Pecos River are located north of Pecos, New Mexico, United States, at an elevation of over 12,000 feet on the western slope of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range in Mora County. The river flows for through the eastern portion of that state and neighboring Texas before it...
". After a notable career as justice of the peace, Bean died in 1903.
In 1884 the town was authorized a post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
. In 1892 it had a general store
General store
A general store, general merchandise store, or village shop is a rural or small town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, sometimes in a small space, where people from the town and surrounding rural areas come to purchase all their general...
, a railroad depot, and two saloons. Langtry began to decline after the highway
Highway
A highway is any public road. In American English, the term is common and almost always designates major roads. In British English, the term designates any road open to the public. Any interconnected set of highways can be variously referred to as a "highway system", a "highway network", or a...
was moved slightly north in the early 1900s for a more direct east-west route. Once bypassed, the town's businesses lost revenue and jobs. When in the 1920s Southern Pacific moved its facilities away, more jobs were lost and the town population dwindled to 50.
By the 1970s the population dipped as low as 40. Tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
to the Judge Roy Bean Visitor Center continues to keep the town alive.
In 1955, Robert Burton Willingham claimed an unidentified flying object
Unidentified flying object
A term originally coined by the military, an unidentified flying object is an unusual apparent anomaly in the sky that is not readily identifiable to the observer as any known object...
(UFO) crashed along the south bank of the Rio Grande
Rio Grande
The Rio Grande is a river that flows from southwestern Colorado in the United States to the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way it forms part of the Mexico – United States border. Its length varies as its course changes...
, just a few hundred feet into Mexico. The incident came to be known as the Del Rio, Texas UFO Crash. Willingham, a former Air Force Reserve pilot, stated that he was flying an F-86 Sabre
F-86 Sabre
The North American F-86 Sabre was a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as America's first swept wing fighter which could counter the similarly-winged Soviet MiG-15 in high speed dogfights over the skies of the Korean War...
jet fighter when he observed a UFO streak past him and crash near Langtry.
No local residents have been located that could confirm Willingham's story.
Popular culture
- The 19401940 in filmThe year 1940 in film involved some significant events, including the premieres of the Walt Disney classics Pinocchio and Fantasia.-Events:*February 7 - Walt Disney's animated film Pinocchio is released....
s film The Westerner featured Walter BrennanWalter BrennanWalter Brennan was an American actor. Brennan won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor on three separate occasions, which is currently the record for most wins.-Early life:...
as Judge Roy Bean and Gary CooperGary CooperFrank James Cooper, known professionally as Gary Cooper, was an American film actor. He was renowned for his quiet, understated acting style and his stoic, but at times intense screen persona, which was particularly well suited to the many Westerns he made...
as a fictional interloper. It repeated the myth of the town's being named for Lillie LangtryLillie LangtryLillie Langtry , usually spelled Lily Langtry when she was in the U.S., born Emilie Charlotte Le Breton, was a British actress born on the island of Jersey...
. - Lillie, a 1978 TV mini-series about Lillie Langtry produced by London Weekend Television (LWT), also related the myth of the Texas town's name.
- In 19561956 in filmThe year 1956 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 5 - The Ten Commandments opens in cinemas and becomes one of the most successful and popular movies of all time, currently ranking 5th on the list of all time moneymakers * February 5 - First showing of documentary films by...
, the Judge Roy Bean (TV series)Judge Roy Bean (TV series)Judge Roy Bean is a syndicated American Western series starring Edgar Buchanan as the legendary Kentucky-born Judge Roy Bean, a justice of the peace known as "The law west of the Pecos".-Synopsis:...
aired in syndicationTelevision syndicationIn broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
. It starred Edgar BuchananEdgar BuchananEdgar Buchanan was an American actor with a long career in both film and television, most familiar today as Uncle Joe Carson from the Petticoat Junction, Green Acres and The Beverly Hillbillies television sitcoms of the 1960s...
in the title role., - The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972) film starred Paul NewmanPaul NewmanPaul Leonard Newman was an American actor, film director, entrepreneur, humanitarian, professional racing driver and auto racing enthusiast...
and sparked new interest in Texas history. - The Other Roswell: UFO Crash on the Texas-Mexico Border (2008), non-fiction book about a reported UFO crash at Langtry, Texas in 1955.
External links
- "Lillie Langtry", JaynesJersey
- "The Life & Times of Judge Roy Bean", IMDB -film
- "Roy Bean", IMDB - 1956 TV show