Judge Roy Bean and Langtry, Texas

Judge Roy Bean claimed that he named the town of Langtry after his idol, Lily Langtry. Lily was a popular English singer of the times.

It's a nice story, but the dusty records of yesteryear tell a different version.

Roy Bean wasn't always a judge. The last real job that he held before assuming office was as a bartender/owner of a temporary saloon business that serviced the workers of the Southern Pacific Railroad. For the most part, he operated in a tent and followed the workers from place to place as they laid tracks.

The very last railroad camp that he worked in was named Langtry in honor of a foreman for the Southern Pacific. He arrived in the spring of 1882 with his saloon business. On August 2, 1882, Bean won an election for Justice of the Peace for the area around Langtry. He and his saloon had found a permanent home.

The part about the Judge's love for Lily Langtry is entirely true. After he had set up his bar in a permanent building, he named it the Jersey Lily in her honor. Oftentimes, he held court in the bar.

But he did not name the town after her. That was just a happy coincidence.

Most stories say that the Lily Langtry made a special stop in Langtry because she had heard the stories about the town and the Judge. She stayed for a very short time. Unfortunately, by the time of her visit, Judge Roy Bean had already passed away.

Judge Roy was known for being eccentric but fair. He once fined a dead man $40 for carrying a concealed weapon. (They had found $40 and a gun on the dead cowboy.) Then he used the $40 to pay for the man's funeral. It probably wasn't legal, but it was a practical decision.

Toe Tapping Texas Tunes

One thing about Texas: we are some happy people. To go along with that, there are a ton of happy songs about how great it is to live down here in God's country. Here is a short list of songs that are specifically about Texas. Just hearing their names is enough to brighten up a dull, dreary day.

Deep in the Heart of Texas
Yellow Rose of Texas
Town of El Paso
Luckenbach, Texas
Waltz Across Texas
Cotton-Eyed Joe
Streets of Laredo
Beautiful, Beautiful Texas
San Antonio Rose

And of course, Texas, Our Texas is the state song.
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Base Ball

It was the fall of 1888, Dallas had just won the first league championship of the new (and still existing) Texas League. Dallas won for two main reasons. No. 1, it finished the season with a 55-27 record. No. 2, every other team in the league disbanded, except Austin and San Antonio. Those two didn't disband, but they did combine to form one team. Dallas won basically because it was the last team standing.

That was the beginning of organized base ball in Texas, but of course, the game was played long before that year. There are records of games between amateurs or traveling teams in the early 1860s.

An interesting fact concerns one of our biggest football rivalries: Texas A&M and University of Texas. Those two institutions began their base ball rivalry around 1884. It wouldn't be until the 1890s that they would begin to shove each other around on the football field.

The term "base ball" is the old style. Like many words, the present form,"baseball," started as two words: "base ball." Over time, the words were joined.
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The Texas Railroad Commission

The Texas Railroad Commission has been around since 1891. It was originally created to regulate the railroads.

Over the years, it was given the duties of regulating other things, such as the oil and gas industry.

In 2005, TxDot was given the job of regulating the railroads.

The Texas Railroad Commission is still going strong regulating things far and wide, but it no longer has anything to do with railroads.

Who would have thunk it?
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Texas had the first airplane flight

The first airplane flight was in Texas. It happened many years before the Wright Brothers succeeded in 1903. You have never heard of it because it did not use a traditional engine. It used coil springs.

The plane was invented and flown by Jacob Brodbeck. According to 1865 newspaper stories, he flew high enough to clear some trees.

The landing was a bit embarrassing. He crashed into a henhouse. He walked away. Some of the chickens did not.
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Word origins at Dogs of Words
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Gillespie County Fair

Be there or be square. The Gillespie County Fair is the biggest party in the Hill Country. They have livestock exhibits, a carnival with games and rides, arts & crafts, entertainment, etc. There is also live and/or simulcast horse racing.

The fair is located at the Gillespie County Fairgrounds. This is their phone number: 830-997-2359.

Everyone who has ever taken the trip to Fredricksburg knows how pleasant the ride is. Now you have a great reason to spend a day in one of the friendliest spots in Texas.

Please visit the official site of the Gillespie County Fair for more information.
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Origin of the word "Texas"

Texas is well known for being friendly to everybody who happens along. We like Texas. We like life. We like you.

So it should come as no surprise that the very word "Texas" means friends. It comes from the Caddoan language of the Hasinai. Basically, that means that the Native Americans in the area lent us the name. The original word is "táyshay," but of course, it is now spelled Texas.

If you ever need a friend, just come on down and see us. We'll leave a light on.

Harris County, Texas, has a connection to Harrisburg, PA

John Harris, Sr., was a trader. He settled in the Harrisburg, PA, area around 1719. His business went well. In fact, it went so well that he bought up 800 acres of land and started a ferry service.

In 1785, his son, John Harris, Jr., developed plans for a town on his father's land. It was to be called Harrisburg in honor of his father.

TOTALLY WEIRD FACT: In 1786, Harrisburg was renamed Louisburg in honor Louis XVI for his help during the American Revolution. Harris threw a hissy fit. He was a major landowner, and he wasn't going to put up with the name change. He got his way by out-maneuvering his opponents in a business deal. What he did was he refused to sell land for the county seat until the name Harrisburg was reinstated. It was. Harrisburg began a rapid growth and by 1812 it was the state capital.

Moving forward in time a little, in 1826 the grandson of John Harris, Sr, proclaimed that the new town he had started in Texas was to be named Harrisburg. Some say he named it after himself. Others say he was honoring his granpappy. Still others say that he simply named it after the town that his daddy started up north. I like to think he was a good boy who put his family ahead of himself, so I say he named it after Harris, Sr.

Harrisburg, Texas, became a colorful city. It took a short turn as capital of Texas in 1835. The next year, 1836, two bigs things happened: 1) The surrounding county changed its name to Harrisburg and 2) Santa Anna burned the city into the ground.

After the fighting ended, the city of Houston sprouted up right next to Harrisburg. It grew rapidly. It had the advantage of not being totally destroyed by Santa Anna. Harrisburg never really recovered. In 1837, Houston, not Harrisburg, became county seat of Harrisburg County.

Two years later, 1839, they shortened the name to Harris County. It is now the largest county in Texas with about 3.5 million people. That also makes it the third biggest in America. The city of Houston annexed the city of Harrisburg in 1926.

So there you go. Harris County, Texas, has a strong (family) history with Harrisburg, PA. Cheesteaks and brisket for everybody!!!
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If you want to know more about Pennsylvania, this is our sister blog: I Luv PA. Both blogs are carrying this particular post since it is about both states.

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Texas -- It's Big

We are 21 million strong, not counting our 15 million or so cattle.

We have three of the Top Ten cities: Houston, Dallas and San Antonio.

We have over 200 cities with more than 10,000 residents.

Dallas, all by itself, has more residents than half of the US states.

Brewster County is so large that you could drop Connecticut right in it and not slop any over the edges.

Or you could stick Delaware in and still have room for Rhode Island.

Texas has 267,000 square miles. How big is that? El Paso is closer to California than it is to Dallas.



On March 27, 1984, it was 106 degrees in Brownsville. The weather report for Amarillo on that day was 35 degrees with snow.

Texas is big, big, big.

And we thank God.

Dr Pepper was invented in Texas

Dr Pepper got its start in Waco in 1885. It was named to honor a real person, Dr. Charles Pepper. The man who invented it was Charles Alderton. He was a pharmacist at Morrison's store in Waco. He was looking for a new drink to sell his customers. He found a real doozy.

By the way, do not put a period after the Dr in Dr Pepper. In the early days, there was a period, but it has been dropped.

So there you go, cowboy. Next time you are in need of a cold, refreshing drink, just belly up to the bar and order a Dr Pepper. If anybody laughs, you'll know that they aren't real Texans.

A Texan invented the hamburger

Several people claim to be the inventor of the hamburger. The meat came from Germany (Hamburg), but nobody thought to make it into a sandwich until the late 1800s. Our man, Texan Fletcher Davis is supposed to be the guy who introduced the hamburger at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair.

Davis ran a cafe in Athens, Texas and local stories say that he was serving hamburgers as early as the late 1880s. They weren't called hamburgers yet, but they were the real deal.

McDonalds and Dairy Queen have added their two cents to the story. McDonalds says the hamburger was, in fact, introduced at the 1904 World's Fair, but they don't know who introduced it. Dairy Queen once ran an ad that claimed that Athens, Texas, (Davis's hometown) was the birthplace of the hamburger.

So there you go. It took a cowboy to invent the world's most perfect food.