- This article refers to Langtry, Texas. For other uses, see Langtry (disambiguation).
Langtry is an unincorporated community in Val Verde County, Texas, United States. The community is notable as the location of "Judge" Roy Bean, the "Law West of the Pecos" (Bean was actually a justice of the peace).
History
Langtry was originally established in 1882 by Southern Pacific as a grading camp named "Eagle Nest." It was later renamed for George Langtry, an engineer and foreman who had supervised a Chinese work crew building the railroad. Roy Bean arrived soon after and set up a tent saloon on railroad land.
In 1884 a post office opened, and in 1892 the town was reported to have a general store, a railroad depot, and two saloons (one of them Bean's "The Jersey Lilly"), which was named after the Jersey actress Lillie Langtry, who was unrelated to George Langtry.
After Bean's death in 1903 the town began to decline after the highway was moved slightly north for a more direct route, thus bypassing the town. In the 1920s Southern Pacific moved its facilities away from the town, 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 and has helped to increase its population back up to 145 according to the 1990 census.
In 1955, an unidentified flying object is said to have crashed along the south bank of the Rio Grande River, just a few hundred feet from the town of Langtry, in what is known as the Del Rio, Texas UFO Crash. Former Air Force Reserve pilot Robert Burton Willingham has stated that he was flying an F-86 Sabre jet fighter when he observed a UFO streak past him and then descend and crash near Langtry.[1]
Depictions in the media
The town's exposure in mass media helped to renew interest in the town.
- 1940's The Westerner, featuring Walter Brennan as antagonist Judge Roy Bean and Gary Cooper as a fictional interloper, reiterated the myth of the town's naming for Lillie Langtry. The same erroneous attribution was made in Lillie, a 1978 mini series produced by London Weekend Television (LWT).
- In 1956 Judge Roy Bean (TV series) aired in syndication. It starred Edgar Buchanan in the title role, with Jack Buetel, Jackie Loughery, X Brands, Tristram Coffin, Lash La Rue, Glenn Strange, and Myron Healey.
- In 1972 the movies sparked interest with The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean, starring Paul Newman.
- In 2008, the book The Other Roswell: UFO Crash on the Texas-Mexico Border tells the story of a reported UFO crash at Langtry, Texas in 1955.
Gallery
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Judge Bean historical marker in Langtry
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Judge Roy Bean holding court at the Jersey Lilly
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The Jersey Lilly saloon in September 2005
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Inside Judge Bean's saloon in Langtry
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The western windmill at the Judge Roy Bean Visitor Center
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External links
Coordinates: 29°48′31″N 101°33′35″W / 29.80863°N 101.55959°W / 29.80863; -101.55959
References
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