JUDGE ROY BEAN VISITOR CENTER AT LANGTRY, TEXAS
Written by Post Public Information Representative, May 8, 2016, Comments Off
Courtesy TxDot,
LAREDO, TX – Located in the Big Bend Country, Texas Hill Country and the South Texas Plains region of Texas is everyone’s opportunity to relive Old West stories, in particular, those native to these regions along the Texas-Mexico border. That’s where the Judge Roy Bean Visitors Center in Langtry, Texas offers this experience and intrigue.
Susan Goble is a travel counselor at the Judge Roy Bean Visitor Center also known as the Texas Department of Transportation’s Langtry Travel Information Center. Her historical knowledge about the life and times of Judge Roy Bean, and her enthusiastic and uncanny story telling ability to bring the “Old West” flavor to our modern day culture makes it a good reason to visit the center. A visit there will attest to this.
A bit of history…
Judge Roy Bean, known by historians as The Law West of the Pecos, was born a Kentuckian before traveling to other cities including San Antonio, after which he arrived in the region around Langtry in northwest Val Verde County. His past is tattered with stories of life challenges, romance and duels. He was also a saloon owner. His thriving time at Langtry began around the year 1880 spanning over 20 years. He died March 16, 1903.
Construction of the railroad in the region brought over 8,000 railroad workers which for obvious reasons, required law and order. That’s when Judge was appointed by a Texas Ranger as the local law jurisdiction and appointed justice of the peace for Pecos County. Because some of his law rulings were unconventional, many called him “The Hanging Judge,” brought about mainly by movies and rumors but never confirmed.
Judge Roy Bean was enamored with Lillie Langtry, a British born actress born in 1853 whose real name is Emilie Charlotte Le Breton, nicknamed the Jersey Lilly. Historians claim she was the mistress of the Prince of Wales and the future King of England. This is where her notoriety and popularity came about.
It is told Judge Bean wrote Ms. Langtry and promised to build her an opera house if she would visit him. He built a saloon he called the Jersey Lilly, after Lillie Langtry. Sadly, Bean and Langtry never met, although she visited Langtry after his passing.
Other stories about Bean, such as when he held a prize fight on a sandbar in the middle of the Rio Grande River can be re-lived when visiting the center.
The Judge Roy Bean Visitors Center has a restored opera house, saloon, relics and artifacts of Judge Roy Bean ear to include his gun, and a two-acre cactus garden with 100 different species of cactus plants. This is the exact location and restored buildings from the Judge Roy Bean era. No replicas here.
The center is staffed by four full time employees who operate the visitor center currently between 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day. The center is closed Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas and New Year’s Day. The center provides other amenities such free wireless internet access, 24 hour restrooms, videos, etc.
The center also distributes information about attractions and cities all over Texas, and has been known to receive visitors and hunters from Texas, the U.S. and overseas.
So relive the Old West and intrigue of Texas. Visit the Judge Roy Bean Visitors Center, a free of charge facility, is located 40 miles northwest of Del Rio in Val Verde County. The center is located on US Highway 90 West/State Loop 25 at Torres Ave. in Langtry, Texas 78871.
