Okay, last time, I had us in the little city of Sonora, Texas, while we were on our way to Marfa. The next morning, we got up, had breakfast, and then hit the road again. We didn’t know it...but we were about to enter Judge Roy (“Law West Of the Pecos”) Bean country.
Not that we knew it at first. For a long time, not much seem to be happening. Mostly we had a great deal of landscape to look at. But, then, we noticed that it was changing. It was shifting from range land to something more arid. It wasn’t yet desert, but it was definitely different then it had been before...and, in the process, it was beginning to look a lot more like New Mexico.
After several hours, we came to another town, Ozona, Texas. It, too, has its Wikipedia entry(1). That notes that Ozona “is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) that serves as the county seat of Crockett County, Texas, United States.” It has a population of 2,663, at least according to the 2020 census. If I’m reading the numbers right, then that makes it the single largest community in all of Crockett County, which (Wikipedia informs me) has a total population of 3,098. Again, if I’m reading the numbers right, that means that in the rest of the entire county, which has an area of 2,807 square miles (7,270 km2), there are only 435 people who don’t live in Ozona--at least as of the 2020 census.
Did I mention that Western Texas is somewhat thinly populated?
About the photos. First, a shot from just outside the town of Ozona.
Uh, did I mention that far Western Texas is somewhat sparsely
populated? Note, though, how much it looks like Southern New Mexico.
Second, here’s a picture of Martha giving me a none too approving stare
while we were in Ft. Worth back in 2022. We were waiting for one of the
town’s attractions, a daily, “exciting cattle drive” of long horns down one
of the main streets. Honestly, it was not so much a drive as a weary plod.
I have seen, I guess, a few more exciting things in life.
Anyway, I had done some research on Ozona before we left. I’d thought the name Ozona must be Native American. It wasn’t. It’s from “Ozone.” The town’s original name was Powell Well, after E. M. Powell, who was a land surveyor active in the area when the town was founded in 1891. Then, in 1897, the town renamed itself “Ozona,” I assume as a promotion. At the time, Ozone could also mean “pure air,” and the town was eager to sell itself as a place where you could breath freely. It had fresh air, in other words.
I suppose it makes sense. A lot of communities, all over the western United States, were selling their air at the turn of the twentieth century. In California, New Mexico, Montana, Colorado (particularly), and, yes, Texas, communities offered their climates to people with respiratory illnesses, particularly, the White Death, i.e., tuberculosis. The idea was that if you were sick with one of those diseases, you should get away from the damp and fetid airs of cities and swamps, and head up the mountains or into the desert for a breath of pure air.
This was, of course, before antibiotics, and there weren’t many other options for treatment. And, who knows? Maybe going to a nice quiet sanatorium in a picturesque setting actually did some good. Or, at least, did very little harm.
I don’t know if Ozona ever managed to attract TB tourists, but it did flourish as a center for the ranching and oil and gas industries. I gather it’s kept that role and done its best to prosper. (Though, it is losing population. In 2000, it had 3,436 in habitants. In 2020, it was down to 2,663. People are simply moving away. It is the story you hear time again in small town America.)
However, I think the town is working hard to improve matters. It has an impressive website and is pressing hard to attract new businesses.(2) And, equally important, I think Ozona’s city fathers and mothers are trying to build up a new, western-themed tourist industry.
Thus, if you go to the Ozona webpage referenced above, and select the “Tourist Info” option, you’ll find on the pulldown menu “Travel Itineraries.” These are exactly what they say they are. They’re lists of scenic drives you can make in the area.
One of the Itineraries, listed under an “all day” drive is the “Law West of the Pecos Loop.” (3)
Recognize the catchphrase? Yes, that was the slogan of Judge Roy Bean, Law West of the Pecos. And the loop is meant to take you to some of his more famous (or notorious) hang-outs.
When I first heard something about Bean and Ozona being linked, I was startled. Bean spent most of his time in Texas far from Ozona. He wasn’t even in the same county. He was in Val Verde County, Texas, and his headquarters was not Ozona, but Langtry, Texas, which is right on the Mexican border and a good 110 miles away.
So why was Ozona laying claim to the goodly Judge?
The answer, I would learn, is that there are those in those town who have a claim on Judge Roy Bean, that weird and fabulous figure, nearly mythical, larger than life and much, much stranger than fiction...
A claim...based, in fact...
On blood.
More to come.
2. You can see it here: https://www.ozona.com/
3. “Itinerary - Law West of the Pecos Loop” : https://www.ozona.com/articles/view/the-law-west-of-the-pecos-loop-55b2a8d8-6630-45db-9efb-33c90abbf9b3
Copyright©2024 Michael Jay Tucker
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