Site of Vinegarroon

The camp took its name from the whip scorpion, common in the area, which gives off a vinegar-like smell when it is alarmed. It stood near the junction of the Pecos and the Rio Grande, where the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio built its tracks in 1882 and made Vinegarroon a construction camp. Ten years later the Texas and New Orleans Railroad, then operating the line, rebuilt the Pecos Loop tracks and built the Pecos High Bridge, and Vinegarroon was abandoned as the railroad's crossing. With the railroad gone and Bean moved on to Langtry, the camp vanished.

What the plaque says

Site of Vinegarroon Crossing the Pecos River Canyon was the last major obstacle in the Souther Pacific Railroad faced in completing its southern transcontinental route linking New Orleans and San Francisco. At "Tunnel No. 2" was excavated on the west side of the canyon in 1882, a camp for the railroad workers was established near the site. Named Vinegarroon for a type of scorpion found in the area, the camp served as a temporary home for thousands of primarily Chinese laborers. Roy Bean had a saloon and served as Justice of the Peace in Vinegarroon until it was abandoned after the rail line was complete in 1883. (2001)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Pecos River Overlook — 4.6 mi
  A roadside pullout at the east end of the US-90 bridge, looking down into the gorge that made the Pecos a barrier for travelers and a byword for the edge of the law.
• Seminole Canyon State Park and Historic Site — 6.3 mi
  The state park west of Comstock where rangers lead visitors down to Fate Bell Shelter and its Pecos River-style paintings, some three to four thousand years old.
• Judge Roy Bean Visitor Center — 11 mi
  The state travel center at Langtry, built around the saloon where Roy Bean held court as justice of the peace for twenty years, in a town named for a railroad foreman.
• Shumla Archaeological Research and Education Center — 14 mi
  The Comstock research center that documents the Lower Pecos murals, which it calls the oldest books in North America, and opens its headquarters to visitors four days a week.

More markers nearby

• Near Site, Southern Pacific Ceremony of Silver Spike — steps away
• Railroad Bridges Over the Pecos — 4.6 mi
• Medal of Honor Fight, 1875 — 4.6 mi
• The Pecos River in Literature and Folklore — 4.6 mi