Dr. John R. Brinkley

Brinkley's medical credentials came from diploma mills such as Bennett Medical College of Chicago and Eclectic Medical University of Kansas City, yet Arkansas licensed him. Running as a write-in candidate for governor of Kansas in 1930, he came close to winning after thousands of his votes were thrown out. In Del Rio he set up in the Roswell Hotel, rarely implanted goat glands, and sold ampules of colored water at six for $100. He earned an estimated $12 million from 1933 to 1938. Then came a lost libel suit, back taxes and bankruptcy, and he died in 1942.

What the plaque says

Dr. John R. Brinkley North Carolina native John R. Brinkley (1885-1942) opened a medical clinic and radio station in Kansas and promoted controversial medical practices, including one that used goat gland implants to increase sexual "pep" in men. He became rich but was criticized by the American Medical Association and the Federal Radio Commission. In 1933, he moved his family to Del Rio, opening a hospital and setting up the powerful radio station XER in Villa Acuña, Mexico. He was a colorful, charitable individual, known for his lavish lifestyle. He buoyed the local economy during the Great Depression and brought much attention to Del Rio. Despite fame and wealth, authorities shut down the Brinkley enterprise in 1938. (2004)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Val Verde Winery — 0.5 mi
  The family winery an Italian immigrant founded on Del Rio's irrigated land in 1883, which outlasted Prohibition by selling table grapes and kept Texas wine alive into the 1970s.
• Whitehead Memorial Museum — 0.8 mi
  A village of old Del Rio buildings set along a working irrigation canal, from an 1870 store to a 1925 doctor's office, with Judge Roy Bean buried on the grounds.
• San Felipe Creek — 1.7 mi
  The spring-fed creek that made Del Rio, rising from the third largest springs in Texas and running past swimming holes and a hike-and-bike trail through town.
• Amistad National Recreation Area — 10 mi
  The American side of the reservoir the United States and Mexico finished in 1969 where three rivers meet, with painted shelters still reachable by boat when the water allows.

More markers nearby

• Val Verde Winery — 0.5 mi
• Taylor-Rivers House — 0.7 mi
• Roy Bean C. S. A. — 0.8 mi
• Seminole-Negro Scouts — 0.8 mi