Old Fort Cemetery Guestbook - Fort Stockton TX
N 30° 53.516 W 102° 52.680
13R E 702829 N 3419554
The old Fort Cemetery at Fort Stockton is one of the city's most visited tourist attractions, because of the lurid frontier era story of Sheriff Royal, and the enduring unsolved mystery of his death
Waymark Code: WMTX95
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 01/18/2017
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Fort Stockton's old Fort Cemetery holds the earthly remains of two men responsible for most of turmoil in Fort Stockton, and its reputation for lawlessness in the 1890s.
Sheriff A. J. Royal and his reign of terror his favorite story in Fort Stockton. His tombstone at the old Fort cemetery reads as follows:
A. J. ROYAL
Born
Nov. 25, 1855
Assassinated
Nov. 21, 1894
Sleep husband dear and take thy rest.
God called the home; He thought it best.
It was hard indeed to part with thee.
But Christ's strong arm supporteth me.
Gone but not forgotten."
The full story can be found on the Legends of America website: (
visit link)
The story is so involved and so lurid that it is impossible to summarize it here and do the tale justice. Sheriff Royal was one of the most hated men ever to set foot in Fort Stockton, and not because he was a law-and-order, clean-up-the-lawless-toewn kimd of Sheriff. Quite the opposite: He was a violent and vindictive man who actively fomented strife and chaos in the city, and making enemies of powerful men, who he had imprisoned and tied in charges that the sheriff himself had trumped up.
Sheriff Royal (who also operated a bar) was fond of making drunken public pronouncements of who the next man he was looking forward to killing was. Many of these named men were advised by the Texas Rangers to arm themselves at all times. Many of these named targets were from wealthy or powerful families in Fort Stockton.
Amid escalating tensions, the Texas Rangers were called in, but even the Texas Rangers could only respond to the drama; they could not stamp it out. It is therefore no surprise that the sheriff was assassinated while sitting at his desk in the County Courthouse. It is said in Fort Stockton that nine of the city's leading citizens (many who had been falsely accused of crimes or jailed unjustly by the sheriff) met and decided that the sheriff had to die. They drew lots to determine who would be the man to fire the fatal shot.
No one was ever identified as the shooter.
No one ever stood trial for the murder of Sheriff Royal.
Even today, 120 years after he died, "who shot the sheriff" is a favorite Fort Stockton unsolved mystery and source of speculation.
Sheriff Royal and his deputy, Barney Riggs, are buried close together in this cemetery.
The Fort Stockton and Pecos County Historical Commission has thoughtfully provided a guestbook for visitors to record their impressions, date of visit to Fort Stockton.