Langtry

From Del Rio I drove about an hour west, to Langtry. This is where Roy Bean held court, and here is where they still have his old saloon. The town was named for engineer George Langtry, but Bean's obsession with English actress Lillie Langtry made him brag about naming the town after her.

His saloon had several pictures and clippings about her, and he kept a correspondence running for years. He dubbed the saloon "Jersey Lilly", since Ms Langtry hailed from said island. The missus was something of a scandalous lady in Victorian Britain and one might assume Bean felt he saw a kindred spirit in her.

She was banging the later King Edward VII, who is supposed to have told her once that "I've spent enough on you to build a battleship", whereupon she replied "and you've spent enough in me to float one". She also banged other royals & richies, as she was trying to keep up an expensive lifestyle. It is said that Conan Doyle based his character of Irene Adler upon her.

Bean died after a heavy drinking bout in 1903, and fame led his body to be interred at the local museum in Del Rio instead of in Langtry - the latter was simply not a safe place for the corpse. The Jersey Lilly herself did come to the tiny town of Langtry, but by then Roy Bean had been dead for ten months. She was given his favorite pistol as a token of gratitude from the townspeople. Lilly Langtry died in 1929 and was buried on her native island of Jersey, in the English channel.

All Langtry pictures here.

The Jersey Lilly.


Her namesake in Texas.


The interior of the saloon.


Dem's harsh laws.


Bean's billiard table legs.


The "Opera Hall" that Bean built to lure Langtry to his town.


There is also a small, but quite nice cactus garden next to the Bean buildings.


Colorful cactus.


I think this one was called a Giant Dagger? I'm even worse with plants than I am with birds.


Just outside of the museum area is the town's only gas station. Old, classy pumps.


This friendly giant was a "Texas Chihuahua" according to his owner...