I Got Hitched At Knott's Berry Farm! (Judge Roy Bean's Saloon)

Back in the 1990s, I got "hitched," and it happened at Knott's Berry Farm. "Hitchin' ceremonies" were performed inside Judge Roy Bean's Saloon, by the "judge" himself. After the ceremony, couples would receive this official Hitchin License.

The "Hitchin'" also included two rings, made from bent "antique" nails.

Judge Roy Bean was actually a real person, who lived from circa 1825 to 1903.  He was a saloon keeper and a "self-appointed" justice of the peace, in Eagle Nest, Texas (later renamed Langtry).  The judge gave himself the title, "The Only Law West Of The Pecos."

In 1947, Walter Knott built an "exact" replica of Roy Bean's saloon in his Ghost Town.

This sign outside the building gives a very brief bio of Judge Roy Bean.

A sign inside explains why Judge Roy Bean named his place, "The Jersey Lily," and why he named the Texas town it was located in, "Langtry."  However, info from Wikipedia contradicts this, and claims that the town was named for, "George Langtry, an engineer and foreman, who supervised the immigrant Chinese work crews building the railroad in the area", and Wikipedia is NEVER wrong.  ;-)

There are five different portraits of the famous stage actress, Lily Langtry, inside the Knott's version of the saloon.  That sign states that Bean was, "a life-long admirer," but I'd say, "STALKER!"  ;-)

I wonder if these were all reproductions, or if Walter Knott managed to acquire the original portraits?

Judge Roy Bean himself, can be seen in the black and white photograph on the wall.

Judge Roy Bean's place originally sat just off of Market Street, facing east towards the Bottle House and the Music Hall.

This map shows the original location (circled in red).

In 1992, Judge Roy Bean's was relocated to Calico Square, next to the Calico Stagecoach's entrance and loading platform (the spot circled in blue, on the map above).  The photos below, show the building in it's new location.

Hitchin' licenses are still offered today, along with a Hitchin' ceremony.

That price doesn't seem too bad.  I can't remember what the charge was thirty years ago.

The same year that Judge Roy Bean's place was relocated, "Indian Trails" opened on it's former site.

Indian Trails also extends over towards the Bottle House.

In 2004, the "Silver Bullet" roller coaster was built over part of Indian Trails.

This is the exact spot where Judge Roy Bean's used to sit (up against that building, which has always housed restrooms).  The elevated circle to the right, is used for Native American dancing and storytelling.

Here are two photos that I took inside of Judge Roy Bean's (in it's former location), back in 1986. The employee in the photo was only giving a break at that moment, and was not wearing the "saloon bartender" attire that the regular Judge Roy Bean employees wore.

The stuffed bear always had the hat on his head, and the noose around his neck, but the pickle was placed in his mouth specifically for this photo.  Don't worry, we did not put it back in the pickle jar, afterwards!  (Or did we?)

Here's the same bear, twenty-seven years later (in 2013).  He was still wearing the noose, but someone had taken his hat!

And this is what the official Judge Roy Bean employees wore back in the day.  This photo was actually taken in the Silver Dollar Saloon over on Main Street (now a tacky electronic shooting gallery), but the costumes were the same for both locations, as well as for the Calico Saloon in Calico Square.

Judge Roy Bean's and the Silver Dollar Saloon both sold the same snack food items; whole dill pickles, beef jerky, chips, pre-packaged flavored popcorn, and soft drinks.  They also sold the same souvenir items; boot-shaped mugs (filled with your choice of soft drink), garters, shot glasses, and small bottles of pure maple syrup.  The garters, along with their prices, can be seen in the photo above.  There are also small and large boot mugs visible on the shelf (turned upside-down).

The boot mugs were made by Anchor Hocking.  Back then, they were void of any writing or printed design.  Today, the mugs have "Knott's Berry Farm, Buena Park, California" printed on them, along with a couple boysenberries.

 

There were three different styles of garters available; single lace, double lace, and "gun garters."

The "gun garters" had a holster with a little removable gun.

They came prepackaged so that the guns wouldn't fall out and get lost.

The gun garters were the most expensive of the garters, but still sold for only $1.79!

The mugs and the garters were very popular items with guests, but one of the souvenirs which did not sell very well, were the mini bottles of pure maple syrup.  They were made to look like mini bottles of booze, and had names like "Ole Polecat" and "Sudden Discomfort."

Here's a 2007 photo of the building's interior.  It was closed at the time, so I took the picture through the metal bars/gate that went across the open doorway.  Even though it was closed that day, they still could have put those boxes of stock behind the bar, just to prevent the place from looking so "junked" up.  But that's pretty much par for the course at Knott's.

A close up of the bar's carved details:

We will end today's post, with this artwork that currently hangs inside Judge Roy Bean's, titled, "The Famous "Judge" Roy Bean Horse Thief Trial."  It was a promotional print for the San Antonio Brewing Company, but I don't know the year that it was created.

The artwork was based on this original 1900s photograph.  The real Judge Roy Bean can be seen sitting on that barrel on the porch of his building, holding his "law book."

For anyone who's interested in learning more about Judge Roy Bean, his Wikipedia page has quite a bit of information about his life.  There was also a 1972 film, "The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean," starring Paul Newman, but I don't know how accurate it was, since Hollywood tends to "tweak" the facts when doing a biopic film on someone famous.

Bonus:

Since today is Valentine's Day, here is something extra.  This is a page from the February 11th, 1983 issue of The Berry Vine, a weekly Knott's Berry Farm employee publication.  The photo shows an employee in The Berry Market, decorating/personalizing chocolate hearts for Valentine's Day.  I previously posted this page along with the rest of that article on the left, which gave a description of the soon-to-open Camp Snoopy.  To see that whole Berry Vine article, you can click here for my Camp Snoopy - 40th Anniversary post from June of 2023.

Knott's Berry Farm - Calico Print Shop

Once upon a time, visitors to Knott's Berry Farm could purchase a souvenir newspaper with custom headlines, or an old-time "wanted" poster with their name on it.

The photo below shows an example of one of the "wanted" posters that were printed and sold in Knott's very own Print Shop. (By the way, the name "Bad Barlow" is a nod to Max Barlow, who was the "Marshall" and Manager of Ghost Town for three decades!)

In this publicity photo of actors Mike and Judy Farrell, Mike is being presented with his own personalized wanted poster.

The Calico Print Shop was located on Main St. in Ghost Town, between the Drug Store and the Sheriff's office.

Unfortunately, the Print Shop closed years ago. Since it's closure, the space has had various tenants, including a Teddy Bear shop. This photo was taken in 2007.

Note the banner that reads, "Celebrating 100 Years of Teddy Bears." (Incidentally, the first Teddy Bear was created in 1902 and was named after then-president, Teddy Roosevelt.)

Later, the space changed to "Inspirations" and sold wind chimes, flags, painted rocks, and hand-dipped candles.

Today the shop is called Miss Doolittle's and sells make-it-yourself necklaces, bracelets, keychains, "princess wands", and a variety of other crafty-type items.

I wish I had thought to photograph the Print Shop myself, at some point before it's closure. Here are two photos showing the exterior and interior of the shop, courtesy of Major Pepperidge over at Gorillas Don't Blog.....thank you, Major! Both photos were taken in 1960. Note the two sample wanted posters hanging on either side of the doorway to the shop.

Compare this pic to the current interior shot and you will see the same overhead beam in the upper right hand corner of both photos. (Or maybe it's a new beam that replaced the older one at some point?)

And lastly, here is my very own souvenir poster from the Print Shop. My aunt and uncle had gone to Knott's in the early seventies, and brought back custom-printed wanted posters for my brother and me. Before giving them to us, my aunt tacked them onto wormwood planks to give the effect that they were posted on a rustic fence.

My poster hung in my bedroom from about the time I was 5 years old, until I was in my teens. Unfortunately, the posters started to "crumble" as they became brittle with age. I eventually mounted mine on a piece of poster board to keep it from completely disintegrating, which is basically what happened to my brother's. His was the "Stage Robber" poster like the one in the first photo. Many years ago, I removed the poster from the wood mount and tucked it away for safe keeping, but I recently found the wood in my mom's garage, so I tacked it back up for this photo. Actually, I think I will just keep it this way! I wish I could go to Knott's today and purchase a replacement poster as a gift for my brother! :-(

Here are some close-ups of the artwork:

We will end today with this small tribute to actor Dean Jones, who passed away earlier this week. Mr. Jones acted on the stage of the Bird Cage Theater at Knott's back in the 1950's. He is pictured below with Walter Knott, standing in front of the ticket windows of the Calico Railroad Station. Note the reflection of the train's water tower in the windows. I believe this photo would have been taken some time after he became established on the stage and screen, rather than at the time he would have been working at Knott's.

Of course, Dean Jones eventually went on to make over a dozen movies for Disney, including two of my favorites, "That Darn Cat!" and "The Million Dollar Duck."

Rest in peace, Mr. Jones!