Editing Langtry, Texas

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name            = Langtry, Texas
|settlement_type          = Unincorporated community
|image_skyline            = LangtryTX.JPG
|imagesize                =
|image_caption            = Main Street in Langtry
|pushpin_map              = Texas
|pushpin_map_caption      = Location within Texas
|pushpin_relief           = y
<!-- Location -->
|subdivision_type         = Country
|subdivision_name         = [[United States]]
|subdivision_type1        = State
|subdivision_name1        = [[Texas]]
|subdivision_type2        = [[List of counties in Texas|County]]
|subdivision_name2        = [[Val Verde County, Texas|Val Verde]]
<!-- Government -->
|government_footnotes     =
|government_type          =
|established_title        =
|established_date         = 1882
<!-- Area -->
|unit_pref                =  Imperial
|area_footnotes           =
|area_total_km2           = 
|area_land_km2            = 
|area_water_km2           = 
|area_total_sq_mi         = 
|area_land_sq_mi          = 
|area_water_sq_mi         =
<!-- Population -->
|population_as_of         = 2016
|population_footnotes     =
|population_total         = 12
|population_density_km2   = 
|population_density_sq_mi =
<!-- General information -->
|timezone                 = [[North American Central Time Zone|Central (CST)]]
|utc_offset               = -6
|timezone_DST             = CDT
|utc_offset_DST           = -5
|elevation_footnotes      = <ref name=gnis/>
|elevation_ft             = 1289
|coordinates              = {{coord|29|48|31|N|101|33|31|W|region:US_type:city|display=inline,title}}
<!-- Area/postal codes and others -->
|postal_code_type         = [[ZIP code]]s
|postal_code              = 78871
|area_code_type           = [[North American Numbering Plan|Area code]]
|area_code                = [[Area code 830]] 
|blank_name               = 
|blank_info               = 
|blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
|blank1_info              = 2034106<ref name=gnis>{{GNIS|2034106}}</ref>
|footnotes                =
}}
'''Langtry''' is an [[unincorporated area|unincorporated community]] in [[Val Verde County, Texas]], United States. The community is notable as the place where Judge [[Roy Bean]], the "Law West of the Pecos", had his saloon and practiced law.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Langtry |url=https://texastimetravel.com/cities/langtry/ |access-date=2024-06-01 |website=Texas Time Travel |language=en-US}}</ref>

==History==
Langtry was originally established in 1882 by the [[Southern Pacific Railroad]] as a [[Land grading|grading]] camp called Eagle Nest.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Langtry |url=https://texastimetravel.com/cities/langtry/ |access-date=2024-06-01 |website=Texas Time Travel |language=en-US}}</ref> It was later renamed for George Langtry, an engineer and foreman, who supervised the immigrant Chinese work crews building the railroad in the area.

Roy Bean arrived soon after completion of the railroad, and set up a tent [[Western saloon|saloon]] on company land. He later built a wooden structure for his saloon, which he called The Jersey Lilly after the well-known British actress [[Lillie Langtry]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Langtry |url=https://texastimetravel.com/cities/langtry/ |access-date=2024-06-01 |website=Texas Time Travel |language=en-US}}</ref> She was a native of the island of [[Jersey]]. (Née Le Breton, Langtry was her married name, and she was not related to George Langtry.) Bean used the saloon as his headquarters when authorized as a [[justice of the peace]] and notary public. He called himself the "Law West of the [[Pecos River|Pecos]]". After a notable career as justice of the peace, Bean died in 1903.

In 1884, the town was authorized a post office. In 1892, it had a general store, a [[railroad depot]], and two saloons. Langtry began to decline after the highway was moved slightly north in the early 1900s for a more direct east-west route. Once bypassed, the town's businesses lost revenue and jobs. In the 1920s, Southern Pacific moved its facilities away, more jobs were lost, and the town population dwindled to 50.

By the 1970s, its population dipped as low as 40. Tourism to the [[Judge Roy Bean]] Visitor Center continues to keep the town alive.

==Transportation==

Langtry is located along [[U.S. Route 90 in Texas|US 90]]. 

There are no transportation services that directly serve Langtry. The nearest transportation option is served by [[Amtrak]]’s [[Sunset Limited]], which passes through the town on [[Union Pacific]] tracks on the [[Sanderson Subdivision]], but makes no stop. A stop is located 60 miles (96&nbsp;km) northwest in [[Sanderson station|Sanderson]], or 60 miles (96&nbsp;km) southeast in [[Del Rio station|Del Rio]].

==Education==
It was formerly in the Langtry Common School District, but sometime prior to 1976 the Langtry district merged into the [[Comstock Independent School District]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Bryant|first=Don|title=County School Superintendent's Job Diminishing|newspaper=[[Del Rio News Herald]]|place=[[Del Rio, Texas]]|date=1976-11-24<!--Page says 24, even though online record says 23-->|page=4}} - [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/104909662/ Clipping] from [[Newspapers.com]].</ref> In 1964 Langtry's student count exceeded 60.<ref>{{cite news|title=Four County Schools Are Holding Classes|newspaper=[[Del Rio News Herald]]|place=[[Del Rio, Texas]]|date=1964-09-08|page=3A}} - [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/104912775/ Clipping] from [[Newspapers.com]].</ref>

The whole county is served by [[Southwest Texas Junior College]] according to the Texas Education Code.<ref>[https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/ED/htm/ED.130.htm Texas Education Code: Sec. 130.200.  SOUTHWEST TEXAS JUNIOR COLLEGE DISTRICT SERVICE AREA.]</ref>

==Archeology==
{{main|Bonfire Shelter}}
Found on [[Mile Canyon]] right near Langtry is [[Bonfire Shelter]], an archeological site that has yielded bones from butchered animals, including [[American bison|bison]], driven to their deaths over the cliff by [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]] thousands of years ago.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/bonfire-shelter| title = Bonfire Shelter| last = Turpin| first = Solveig A.| date = November 1, 1994| website = tshaonline.org| publisher = Texas State Historical Association| access-date = May 15, 2024| quote = 
}}</ref>

==Popular culture==
* ''[[The Westerner (1940 film)|The Westerner]]'' (1940) is a film featuring [[Walter Brennan]] as Judge Roy Bean and [[Gary Cooper]] as a fictional interloper. It repeated the myth of the town's being named for Lillie Langtry.
* ''[[The Wild Bunch]]'' (1969) has a passing reference to Langtry as a place where Freddie Sykes ([[Edmond O'Brien]]) had been active as a desperado many years before the events depicted the film.
* ''[[Lillie (TV series)|Lillie]]'' (1978), a TV miniseries about Lillie Langtry, was produced by Britain's [[London Weekend Television]], also related the myth of the Texas town's name.
* ''[[Judge Roy Bean (TV series)|Judge Roy Bean]]'' (1955–1956), a Western television series set in Langtry, but filmed in Pioneertown, California, aired in syndication with [[Edgar Buchanan]] in the title role.<ref>Billy Hathorn, "Roy Bean, Temple Houston, Bill Longley, Ranald Mackenzie, Buffalo Bill, Jr., and the Texas Rangers: Depictions of West Texans in Series Television, 1955 to 1967", ''[[West Texas Historical Association|West Texas Historical Review]]'', Vol. 89 (2013), pp. 109-110</ref>
* ''[[The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean]]'' (1972), a film set in Langtry and starring [[Paul Newman]], sparked new interest in Texas history.
* Roy Bean appears as a main character in ''[[Le Juge]]'', part of the ''[[Lucky Luke]]'' series.
* ''The Other Roswell: UFO Crash on the Texas-Mexico Border'' (2008) is a nonfiction book about a reported UFO crash at Langtry in 1955.
* The town plays a major role in R.A. Lafferty's science-fiction novel ''[[Fourth Mansions]].''
* Langtry is mentioned in the Cormac McCarthy novel ''No Country for Old Men''. Langtry could be the hometown of the novel's protagonist Llewelyn Moss.
* Langtry and the surrounding area have long been favorite hunting grounds for legions of amateur and professional herpetologists looking for a variety of reptiles endemic to the area.
* The episode "A Picture of a Lady" in the Western series ''[[Death Valley Days]]'' depicts Judge Roy Bean renaming the Texas town of Vinegaroon as Langtry in honor of Lillie Langtry. Stars [[Peter Whitney]] as Judge Roy Bean, and his friend Doc [[Paul Fix]]
* Langtry inspired the fictional town of Langtree in the video game ''[[Wandersong]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lootpots.com/articles/an-interview-with-wandersong-creator-greg-lobanov-16012019/|title=An interview with Wandersong creator Greg Lobanov|date=16 January 2019}}</ref>

==Climate==
Langtry has a hot semiarid (''BSh'') climate.

{{Weather box|location = Langtry, TX 1981-2010, extremes 1969-2017
| single line = Y
| collapsed = Y
| Jan high F = 63.8
| Feb high F = 68.4
| Mar high F = 76.5
| Apr high F = 84.9
| May high F = 91.7
| Jun high F = 96.1
| Jul high F = 97.9
| Aug high F = 98.2
| Sep high F = 92.5
| Oct high F = 83.3
| Nov high F = 72.6
| Dec high F = 64.2
| year high F = 
| Jan low F = 35.4
| Feb low F = 40.3
| Mar low F = 48.9
| Apr low F = 57.4
| May low F = 67.3
| Jun low F = 73.8
| Jul low F = 75.8
| Aug low F = 75.8
| Sep low F = 69.3
| Oct low F = 58.8
| Nov low F = 46.4
| Dec low F = 36.3
| year low F = 
| Jan record high F = 93
| Feb record high F = 100
| Mar record high F = 100
| Apr record high F = 110
| May record high F = 110
| Jun record high F = 113
| Jul record high F = 111
| Aug record high F = 113
| Sep record high F = 112
| Oct record high F = 104
| Nov record high F = 99
| Dec record high F = 90
| year record high F = 
| Jan record low F = 13
| Feb record low F = 11
| Mar record low F = 21
| Apr record low F = 29
| May record low F = 42
| Jun record low F = 53
| Jul record low F = 55
| Aug record low F = 62
| Sep record low F = 40
| Oct record low F = 26
| Nov record low F = 15
| Dec record low F = 9
| year record low F = 
| precipitation colour = green
| Jan precipitation inch = 0.63
| Feb precipitation inch = 0.72
| Mar precipitation inch = 0.87
| Apr precipitation inch = 1.06
| May precipitation inch = 1.89
| Jun precipitation inch = 1.61
| Jul precipitation inch = 1.60
| Aug precipitation inch = 1.59
| Sep precipitation inch = 1.83
| Oct precipitation inch = 1.86
| Nov precipitation inch = 0.72
| Dec precipitation inch = 0.43
| year precipitation inch = 
| Jan snow inch = 0.4
| Feb snow inch = 0.0
| Mar snow inch = 0.0
| Apr snow inch = 0.0
| May snow inch = 0.0
| Jun snow inch = 0.0
| Jul snow inch = 0.0
| Aug snow inch = 0.0
| Sep snow inch = 0.0
| Oct snow inch = 0.0
| Nov snow inch = 0.0
| Dec snow inch = 0.0
| year snow inch = 
| unit precipitation days = 0.01 in
| Jan precipitation days = 4
| Feb precipitation days = 3
| Mar precipitation days = 3
| Apr precipitation days = 3
| May precipitation days = 5
| Jun precipitation days = 4
| Jul precipitation days = 3
| Aug precipitation days = 3
| Sep precipitation days = 4
| Oct precipitation days = 4
| Nov precipitation days = 3
| Dec precipitation days = 2
| year precipitation days = 
| unit snow days = 0.1 in
| Jan snow days = 0.1
| Feb snow days = 0.0
| Mar snow days = 0.0
| Apr snow days = 0.0
| May snow days = 0.0
| Jun snow days = 0.0
| Jul snow days = 0.0
| Aug snow days = 0.0
| Sep snow days = 0.0
| Oct snow days = 0.0
| Nov snow days = 0.0
| Dec snow days = 0.0
| year snow days = 
| source 1 = NWS Nowdata for Langtry (Austin/San Antonio Area)
}}

==Gallery==
<gallery class="center">
File:Langtry,_Texas._(6756777367).jpg|Langtry ca. 1880s.
Image:Pecos River east of Langtry IMG_0298.JPG|{{center|Scenic [[Pecos River]] east of Langtry: [[Judge Roy Bean]] claimed to have been "The Law West of the Pecos".}}
Image:Judge Bean historical marker IMG_0305.JPG|{{center|Judge Bean historical marker in Langtry}}
Image:Old_langtry_tx.jpg|{{center|Judge Roy Bean holding court at The Jersey Lilly}}
Image:JerseyLilly.JPG|{{center|The Jersey Lilly saloon (September 2005)}}
Image:Inside Judge Bean's saloon IMG_0303.JPG|{{center|Inside Judge Bean's saloon in Langtry}}
Image:Lilly Langtry Restaurant IMG_0306.JPG|{{center|A restaurant named for Lillie Langtry in Langtry, Texas}}
Image:Langtry windmill IMG_0304.JPG|{{center|The windmill at the Judge Roy Bean Visitor Center}}
File:Sunset Route, Mile Creek Canyon, Texas.jpg|Sunset Route, [[Mile Canyon|Mile Creek Canyon]] (3 miles east of Langtry, Texas, postcard, ''circa'' 1908)
File:Sunset Route, Mile Creek Canyon, near Langtry, Texas.jpg|Sunset Route (postcard, ''circa'' 1908)
</gallery>

==See also==
*{{portal-inline|Texas}}

==References==
{{reflist|22em}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
* {{Handbook of Texas|id=hll17|name=Langtry, Texas}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150215023200/http://jaynesjersey.com/lillielang.htm "Lillie Langtry"], JaynesJersey
* [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068853/ ''The Life & Times of Judge Roy Bean''], [[Internet Movie Database|IMDb]] - film
* [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048879/ ''Roy Bean''], IMDb - 1956 TV show

{{Val Verde County, Texas}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Unincorporated communities in Val Verde County, Texas]]
[[Category:Unincorporated communities in Texas]]
[[Category:Ghost towns in West Texas]]
[[Category:Texas culture]]