DUANE
Duane's take
The marker at the Lampasas Saloon site tells it this way, and I'm just passin' it along. Now, if you were rollin' through Lampasas in the early 1870s, you were rollin' through a wild frontier town. That's not editorializing — that's just the lay of the land.
And like most wild places, it didn't stay quiet for long. January of 1873. Sheriff S.T.
Denson moves to arrest two brothers — Wash Short and Mark Short. Straightforward enough, you'd think. Except it wasn't.
Denson was shot in the process. So the district judge sends a posse to apprehend the Short brothers. That posse never got to finish the job.
Ben Horrell, Tom Horrell, Mart Horrell, and several others stopped them cold. Now at this point, Sheriff Denson — shot, mind you — along with the justices of the peace of Lampasas County, reach all the way up to Governor Edmund J. Davis.
They want state help. They need it. And the Governor obliges.
On February 10th, Davis issues a proclamation: no carrying of sidearms in Lampasas. Just like that, by order of the governor. March 14th.
Captain Thomas Williams rides into Lampasas with seven state policemen. They are there to enforce that proclamation, and they mean it. First order of business — they arrest a man named Bill Bowen for carrying a gun in town.
Seems clean enough. Bowen, though, he's got a silver tongue. He persuades Captain Williams and two of his men to step inside Jerry Scott's Lampasas Saloon.
Steep breath here, friend. Because that invitation is where this story turns. Inside that saloon, the Horrell brothers and their associates were waiting.
And what followed was a gunfight. Three state policemen were killed inside those walls. A fourth was fatally wounded trying to escape.
Four officers. Gone. The police were buried in Lampasas.
Captain Thomas Williams, though — he was reinterred in the Texas State Cemetery in Austin. What came next was a manhunt. More State Police flooded into Lampasas.
They joined up with the sheriff and the Minute Men companies of both Lampasas and Burnet Counties. They searched. They arrested four men connected to the incident.
But the Horrell gang wasn't finished. In early May, they attacked the Georgetown Jail and pulled Mart Horrell and Jerry Scott right out of custody. The gang kept close to the Lampasas area through the summer.
September came, and they left — headed for New Mexico. Thought that might be the last of it. It wasn't.
In 1874, they came back to Lampasas. And in 1876, the Horrell brothers stood trial for the murder of the State Police. They were found not guilty.
Four officers dead, a saloon soaked in smoke and consequence, and in the end — not guilty. That's not a tall tale. That's just Lampasas, 1873.
What the marker says
In the early 1870s Lampasas was a wild frontier town. In January 1873 Sheriff S.T. Denson was shot while arresting brothers Wash and Mark Short. The district judge sent men to apprehend the Short brothers, but the posse was stopped by Ben, Tom, and Mart Horrell and several others. Sheriff Denson and the justices of the peace of Lampasas County appealed to Governor Edmund J. Davis for the assistance of the State Police. On February 10, Governor Davis issued a proclamation prohibiting the carrying of sidearms in Lampasas. On March 14, Captain Thomas Williams and seven state policemen entered Lampasas to enforce the proclamation. The State Police immediately arrested Bill Bowen for carrying a gun in town. Bowen persuaded Captain Williams and two of his men to enter Jerry Scott's Lampasas Saloon, this led to a gunfight between the State Police and the Horrell brothers and their associates. Three officers were killed in the saloon and a fourth was fatally wounded while trying to escape. The police were buried in Lampasas, but Captain Williams was reinterred in the Texas State Cemetery in Austin. More State Police came to Lampasas and joined forces with the sheriff and Lampasas and Burnet County Minute Men companies to search for the Horrell Gang. They arrested four men connected with the incident. In early May the Horrell gang attacked the Georgetown Jail and released Mart Horrell and Jerry Scott form custody. The Horrell gang remained in the Lampasas area until September when they left for New Mexico. In 1874 they returned to Lampasas. In 1876 the Horrell brothers stood trial for the murder of the State Police, but were found not guilty. (2000)