Texas History
Fort Burrows, B&B Ranch
15.1 - 1850s to 1910ish
Read - Pgs 354-357
Timeline:
1852 – Texas initiates land grants to
railroad companies
1865 – 1st Coed ( coeducational ) college in
Texas
1867 – 1st Cottonseed Mill opens in Texas
1888 – New Capitol is completed in
Austin
1890 – Texas passes laws ‘enforcing’
segregation
1904 – State Banking System is Established
Average Yearly Value of Manufacturing
Products ( in Millions $$$ )
Texas
1860 1870 1880 1890 1900
6.6 11.5 20.7 70.4 119.4
Alabama 10.6 13.0 13.6
Georgia
51.2 80.7
16.9 31.2 36.4 68.9 106.7
Louisiana 15.6 24.2 24.2 57.8 121.2
Mississippi 6.6 8.2
7.5
18.7 40.4
Main Idea:
Railroads expanded rapidly in Texas after the Civil War. This expansion had
major effects on the state’s population and economy.
Vocabulary:
rural – relating to the country as in people or life or agriculture
bonds – certificates that promise to repay the amount paid for them plus interest
land grants – a block of public land that a government gives to a business, school,
or other organization
diversity – the condition of being different
regulation – a rule or order having the force of law issued by government
Before the Civil War, Texas had few roads.
When it rained, they became muddy. Many
people lived along the rivers.
They used
steamboats to move goods up and down the
river. It was expensive to ship goods. Some
Texans thought building railroads would solve
their transportation problems. A few railroads
were built. They only served a small area of
Texas. Houston was the center of these early
rail lines.
During the Civil War, railroad building
slowed. The rate of construction was not rapid
in the first years after the war. In the late 1800s,
many miles of railroad track were built. By
1900, Texas had more than 10,000 miles of
track. The State Government and towns/cities
took steps to make it easier to build railroads.
In 1880s, the railroads in Texas were linked
to rail lines outside the state. The Southern
Pacific Railroad controlled a route that
connected Texas to both the Pacific Ocean and
the Atlantic Ocean. Railroads changed Texas.
The work of building the railroads brought
different groups of people to the state. Chinese
workers played a major role in building the rail
lines. The railroads helped the state’s economy
grow. They brought new settlers to Texas. New
towns were built along the rail lines and some
existing towns and cities grew larger. Railroads
made it faster and easier to travel in Texas.
The railroads also brought problems. Many
Texans felt that the people who ran the railroads
were ‘greedy’. They felt that ordinary Texans
suffered as a result.
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Railroads
 CAUSES 
® Texans lack reliable Transportation
® Texans lack effective ways to Transport Goods
® Texas is NOT connected with the rest of the Nation
RAILROADS
ARE
BUILT
 EFFECTS 
® Railroad workers and other new people arrive in Texas
® Goods can be shipped to other places; this boosts the economy
® Travel time to any and every where is Greatly REDUCED
Texas Railroads Before the Civil War
no railroads in Texas prior to 1850
most Texans lived near Rivers or the Gulf Coast
Steamboats hauled people and products
lack of depth and seasonal rains, made the rivers unreliable year-round
Railroads provided fast and reliable transportation all around the U.S.
first attempted at a Texas Railroad
1836, the Republic of Texas granted the Texas Rail Road, Navigation, and
Banking Company, ALL RIGHTS would belong to Texas
the company went out-of-business before it built any tracks
1851, the Buffalo Bayou, Brazos, & Colorado Railroad became the 1st
successful railroad in Texas
also known as the Harrisburg Railroad
Houston was the rail center of the state
The Expansion of the Railroad
by 1900, more than 10,000 miles of Texas Railroad Track
by 1911, more track than any other state
Bonds helped pay for construction of railroads
Land Grants 1852—1869 Texas gave Railroads land to build. Approximate total
of acreage given away,,,,, 30 million acres ( the size of Alabama )
the Linking of the East Coast and the West Coast, happened in Texas
Southern Pacific Railroad, 1883, joined the East to the West in Texas
**The Silver Spike
(Bonus Points – What was the name of the town or city ?)
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The Growth of Railroads in Texas
The Republic grants the right to lay track in 1836
Many people are suspicious of railroad companies and the
building of railroads is prevented
In 1851, work begins on the 1st rail line in Texas
The Civil War begins. Tracks fall apart with few people to
care for them
After the War, railroads are slowly rebuilt
The state gives rewards to railroad companies and raises funds
to encourage production
Texas has a successful railroad system with many miles of
track
Texas Government gave railroad companies more than 30
million acres of ‘public’ land grants in the 1800s
Railroads Change Texas
Diversity, many different ethnic groups worked on Texas railroads
Railroad companies solicited people in other states to invest in Texas with
brochures
Railroads connected Houston to Dallas to Fort Worth to San Antonio
the actions of Greedy Railroad Owners would soon cause regulation
1870s, Chinese workers started arriving in Texas
Judge Roy Bean of Langtry, Texas, ruled it would be legal to kill a Chinese
person
JUDGE ROY BEAN
"LAW WEST OF THE PECOS"
Although many colorful characters have become
legends of the Old West, "Hanging Judge Roy Bean,"
who held court sessions in his saloon along the Rio
Grande River in a desolate stretch of the Chihuahuan
Desert of West Texas, remains one of the more
fascinating (Judge Roy Bean is pictured left).
According to the myth, Roy Bean named his saloon
and town after the love of his life, Lily Langtry, a
British actress he'd never met. Calling himself the
"Law West of the Pecos," he is reputed to have kept a
pet bear in his courtroom (see photo of courtroom
above) and sentenced dozens to the gallows, saying
"Hang 'em first, try 'em later." Like most such
legends, separating fact from fiction is not always so
easy.
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Railroads Change Texas
Diversity
Members of different ethnic groups helped build the
railroads. Many of them stayed and settled in Texas
Population Railroads put out brochures to attract settlers. Trains
made it easier for people to travel and move further West
Economy
Travel
Problems
1.
2.
3.
The railroads put Texas in contact with distant markets
quickly and cheaply
The railroad made it easier to travel between towns. Texas
cities became ‘trade centers’
Railroad Companies often engaged in unfair business
practices to increase their profits
Who offered land grants to the railroad ?
A.
Texas farmers
B.
C.
Texas government
D.
Texas ranchers
Texas towns
What are bonds ?
A.
investment money that is used to start up a new company
B.
bad loans
C.
lottery tickets used to award land grants
D.
certificates that promise to repay the amount paid for them plus interest
What transportation problems did Texans face before the building of
Railroads ?
a. __________________________________________________________________
b. __________________________________________________________________
c. __________________________________________________________________
4.
How did Texans encourage companies to build railroads in their state?
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
5.
How did railroads change Texas ?
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
( End of Section 1 Notes )
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Extra Reading about “ Judge Roy Bean”
( not part of this section )
WESTERN RAMBLINGS Roy Bean was born in Mason County, Kentucky about 1825. Some records
suggest Roy Bean was born in 1823. At age 15 he left home to follow two older brothers west seeking
adventure. With Brother Sam, he joined a wagon train into New Mexico, then crossed the Rio Grande and set
up a trading post in Chihuahua, Mexico. After killing a local hombre, Roy fled to California, to stay with his
brother Joshua, who would soon become the first mayor of San Diego. There, Roy developed a reputation
for bragging, dueling and gambling on cockfights. Mayor Josh Bean appointed Roy a lieutenant in the state
militia and bartender of the Headquarters, his own saloon. In 1852, Roy was arrested after wounding a man
in a duel. He escaped, and after Mayor Josh was killed a few months later by a rival in a romantic triangle,
Roy headed back to New Mexico where brother Sam Bean had become a sheriff. Roy tended bar in Sam's
saloon for several years while smuggling guns from Mexico through the Union blockade during the Civil
War. Afterward, he married a Mexican teenager and settled in San Antonio, where throughout the 1870s, he
supported 5 children by peddling stolen firewood and selling watered-down milk. His notorious business
practices eventually earned his San Antonio neighborhood the nickname Beanville.
WEST OF THE PECOS In 1882, the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railroad hired crews to link
San Antonio with El Paso, Texas across 530 miles of scorching Chihuahuan Desert, infested with bobcats,
rattlesnakes and scorpions (locally called vinegaroons by local Texans). Fleeing his marriage and illegal
businesses in San Antonio, Roy headed to Vinegaroon to become a saloonkeeper, serving railroad workers
whiskey from a tent. As his own best customer, he was often drunk and disorderly. But with the nearest
courtroom a week's ride away, and County Commissioners eager to establish some sort of local law
enforcement. They appointed Roy Bean Justice of the Peace for Precinct No. 6, Pecos County, Texas. Roy
was just crazy, or drunk enough to accept. He packed up and moved north from Vinegaroon to a small tent
city on a bluff above the Rio Grande named Langtry in honor of a railroad boss who had run the Southern
Pacific's tracks through it. The name also happened to belong to a beautiful British actress, Lillie Langtry
Roy had read about and become enchanted with. Roy built a small saloon, he named the Jersey Lilly (Lillie's
moniker) which also served as his home. He hung a tattered picture of Miss Lillie behind the bar, and above
the door, posted signs proclaiming "ICE COLD BEER" and "LAW WEST OF THE PECOS." From here
Roy Bean began dispensing liquor, justice and various tall tales, including that he himself had named the
town for actress Lillie Langtry.
DISPENSER OF "JUSTICE" Roy Bean's justice was not complicated by legalities; it was characterized by
greed, prejudice, a little common sense and lots of colorful language. "It is the judgment of this court that
you are hereby tried and convicted of illegally and unlawfully committing certain grave offenses against the
peace and dignity of the State of Texas, particularly in my bailiwick," was a typical Bean ruling. "I fine you
two dollars; then get the hell out of here and never show yourself in this court again. That's my rulin'." One
of Bean's most outrageous rulings occurred when an Irishman was accused of killing a Chinese worker.
Friends of the accused threatened to destroy the Jersey Lilly if he was found guilty. Court in session, Bean
browsed through his law book, turning page after page, searching for another legal precedent. Finally,
rapping his pistol on the bar, he proclaimed, "Gentlemen, I find the law very explicit on murdering your
fellow man, but there's nothing here about killing a Chinaman. Case dismissed." In legend, Judge Roy Bean
is a merciless dispenser of justice, often called "The Hangin' Judge." But that title goes to Isaac Parker of
Fort Smith, Arkansas, who sentenced 172 men to hang and actually strung up 88 of them. In his book "Judge
Roy Bean Country," Jack Skiles says that although Bean threatened to hang hundreds, "there's no evidence to
suggest that Judge Roy Bean ever hung anybody." One or two were sentenced and taken to the gallows, but
allowed to escape.
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Despite his self-serving antics, Roy was duly elected to the office in 1884 and often reelected, so that
between 1882 and 1902, most of Roy's bizarre rulings were the law. Except for an occasional murder, his
cases consisted mostly of misdemeanor counts of drunkenness and the crimes of smalltime con men like
himself. Roy spent most of his days sitting on the porch of his saloon, with rifle handy. In his spare time, he
served customers. His favorites were railroad passengers, desperate for something to drink while the train
took on water. Bean served them quickly, then lingered before giving them their change. When the train's
warning whistle blew, customers swore and demanded their change. Roy then fined them the exact amount
and sent them cursing back to their railroad cars.
BIRTH OF A LEGEND In 1898, prizefighting had become illegal in most Western states, as it was in
Mexico, and promoters could find nowhere to hold the world championship title bout between Bob
Fitzsimmons and Peter Maher. On February 22, the Jersey Lilly was packed with 200 fight fans that, after a
few rounds of drinks, followed Roy to a bridge he built to a sand bar in the Rio Grande River. While Texas
Rangers watched the makeshift ring helplessly from atop the bluff, Fitzsimmons decked Maher in only 95
seconds. After returning to the saloon for more drinks, the fans and sportswriters headed for El Paso, where
news stories were filed to papers throughout the U.S. This event launched the birth of the Roy Bean legend,
which burgeoned after continued newspaper and dime novel accounts of his exploits, many fabricated by
Roy himself. The myth of Roy Bean eventually became part of Texas folklore. In 1936, the Texas Centennial
Fairgrounds displayed replicas of Roy's saloon and office. In 1940, Walter Brennan received an academy
award for his portrayal of Roy Bean opposite Gary Cooper. In 1956, Edgar Buchanan played him in a
weekly TV series, and in the 1972, Paul Newman portrayed him in the movie, The Life and Times of Judge
Roy Bean.
MISS LILLIE
For years, Roy boasted of his "acquaintance with Miss Langtry," and promised locals she would one day
arrive and sing in Langtry. In 1896, after his first saloon was destroyed by fire, Roy rebuilt the Jersey Lilly
and constructed a home for himself across the street, which he called the Opera House, anticipating the day
when Lillie would perform there. Roy never met Miss Lillie, but he often wrote her, and she is purported to
have written back, even sending him 2 pistols, which he cherished till his dying day. Contrary to the Larry
McMurtry novel and movie Streets Of Laredo, Roy was not gunned down by a Mexican outlaw on the steps
of the Jersey Lilly. In March 1903, Roy went on a drinking binge in Del Rio and simply died peacefully in
his bed the following morning. Ten months later, the Southern Pacific stopped at Langtry and finally
disgorged Lillie herself on the way from New Orleans to San Francisco. She had decided to take the judge up
on his invitation. She visited the saloon and listened as locals told her how Roy Bean had fined a corpse,
freed a murderer and lined his pockets by shortchanging train passengers. "It was a short visit," Lillie later
wrote in her autobiography, "but an unforgettable one."
LANGTRY TODAY
These days, almost 100,000 sightseers visit Langtry each year. Tourists from all over the world arrive by car,
train and tour bus, seeking the romance of the American West. "Where's your hangin' tree?" is their most
common question. But from the steps of the Jersey Lily saloon, one can only see the remnants of an old
mesquite tree, a dozen sad and dusty buildings and the hot, unforgiving Chihuahuan Desert all about. The
nearest courtroom is in Del Rio, 50 miles away.
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