At the beginning of the twentieth century, Judge Roy Bean of Langtry, Texas, was the only law in a large area of western Texas. People liked to attend his trials not only to see justice done, but because his courthouse was also a saloon, where the judge himself tended bar. Bean selected the jury, which was made up of his best customers and who were expected to buy a drink every time the court went into recess.
This photo shows the courthouse/saloon in 1900 during the trial of a horse thief.
Photo courtesy National Archives.
Home to author Sean McLachlan and the House Divided series of Civil War horror novels. A Fine Likeness, the first in the series, is available now. This blog is dedicated to the Trans-Mississippi Civil War and historical fiction, and occasionally veers off into adventure travel when I go somewhere interesting.
Looking for more from Sean McLachlan? He also hangs out on the Midlist Writer blog, where he talks about writing, adventure travel, caving, and everything else he gets up to. He also reproduces all the posts from Civil War Horror, so drop on by!
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I'd serve on a jury like that!
ReplyDeleteBeer and justice -- a dynamic duo.
ReplyDeleteAny clue who or what The Jersey Lilly was?
She was a hugely popular actress, a real turn-of-the-century superstar. There's a website dedicated to her:
Deletehttp://www.lillielangtry.com/
Roy Bean was an admirer and so named his saloon after her.