The Torres Family

The Torres family's rivalry with Roy Bean began over land. Cesario Torres, one of the original commissioners of Pecos County, and his Torres Manufacturing and Irrigation Company owned most of the land beside the railroad right-of-way at Langtry. When Bean arrived from another camp and squatted on part of the railroad's land, Torres tried and failed to keep him out, and the quarrel carried on between Bean and Torres's son Jesus. By 1892 the town had two saloons, one Bean's and the other owned by Torres. By 1900 Langtry was the commercial center for the area's ranching.

What the plaque says

The Torres Family In the 1870-80s, brothers Cesario, Bernardo and Juan Torres were prominent West Texas citizens due to their irrigation work in the region. For work out west, Bernardo received land in Val Verde County at the Rio Grande-Pecos river confluence. His land was chosen as the route of the Galveston, Harrisburg & San Antonio rail line. After Bernardo's death in 1882, Cesario acquired the land, established the 7D Ranch and gave land for the railroad tracks and depot. His son, Jesus Pablo J.P." Torres, was reportedly the first permanent resident of Langtry, then called Eagle's Nest. J.P. was also Val Verde county's first Hispanic elected official. He and his rival Roy Bean alternately served as justices of the peace in the 1890s. (2003)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Judge Roy Bean Visitor Center — 0.7 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.
• Pecos River Overlook — 14 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 — 17 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.
• Shumla Archaeological Research and Education Center — 24 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

• William H. Dodd — steps away
• Langtry — steps away
• Langtry School — steps away
• Law West of The Pecos — steps away