Hours of Operation: 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. CT seven days a week - 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day Closed only on Easter Sunday, Thanksgiving Day, the day before Christmas, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day
VIEWING NOTE: If you arrive during hours the grounds are closed you will NOT be able to enter to look for the virtual cache. It is not visible from the outside parking area.
This is a virtual cache. Please send me an e-mail with the number cast into the historical marker in the lower left hand corner (outside the black area) Then go ahead and log your find without waiting for a reply-sometimes I go days without checking my mail-Sorry!. I will periodically check the log and delete those that didn't send in the number. PLEASE DON'T LIST THE ID NUMBER IN YOUR PUBLIC LOG. I WILL HAVE TO DELETE THEM AND YOU MIGHT NOT GET CREDIT FOR YOUR FIND.
The Texas Department of Transportation has a beautiful visitor center on location. The saloon, historical marker, Bean's home, and an extensive cactus garden are located inside a fenced area. There is no charge for admission, the air conditioning is ice cold, and the restrooms are spotless. Don't forget to explore the Pecos River while in the area.
SAFETY NOTE : There are no places in the immediate area to purchase fuel. I highly suggest you top off just before departing for the drive to Langtry, TX. .
This is a kid friendly historic site. Visiting hours are restricted. It is less than 500 feet from car to cache.
In 1882 the lawlessness was so bad that the railroad asked for help from the Texas Rangers. The closest legal authority was in Fort Stockton over 100 miles away. With the blessing of the Rangers and the railroad a proprietor of a store housed in a tent in Vinagaroon was appointed as the first Justice of the Peace in Pecos County (now Val Verde County) August 2, 1882.
Roy Bean never one to stand on ceremony tried his first case the week before the appointment. In 1883 the judge moved his business and his court to Langtry, Texas. There he built the Jersey Lilly Saloon, Court Room and Pool Hall. Some legends cite Bean as being a "hanging" judge, but there is no record that he ever sentenced a man to be hanged. The only law book the Judge ever owned was the 1879 Revised Statues of Texas. Occasionally he actually used it.
The "Judge" had great admiration and fascination for the famous English actress Lillie Langtry. She was internationally know as the "The Jersey Lily so he named his establishment after her. A sign painter commissioned (for food and drink) to letter the sign misspelled "Lily".
One of the most colorful stories about the Judge is true. He successfully promoted the Maher - Fitzsimmons prize fight in February 1896. It was staged in defiance of U.S. and Mexico law on a sand bar in the middle of the Rio Grande River.