One of Pecos's main claims to fame is that it was the roughest frontier town int he Old West - a short period of time between the 1880s and the early 1900s. Back then, the town's name could be used as a verb; to "pecos" somebody was to shoot him and dump his body in the Pecos River. All that remains of this legacy is the West of the Pecos Museum.
Another claim if that the first American rodeo was held here, motivated by a saloon argument between cowhands from several local ranches about riding and roping skills. to decide who were the best steer ropers and saddle-bronc riders among them, they held a competition o n July 4, 1883, next to the courthouse. The purse was $40 and a thousand spectators showed up to watch the event. The West of the Pecos River Rodeo has been held every year since.
West of the Pecos Museum at Cedar St (US 285) and 1st Street, occupies a former saloon, built in 1896, and 30 rooms of the adjacent Orient Hotel, which was added in 1904. At one time this hotel was the classiest hostelry between El Paso and Fort Stockton but it stopped taking guests in the mid 50s and was converted into a museum in the early 60s. The rooms contain a variety of exhibits with a local history focus.
The saloon has been restored to its original appearance and features bronze plaques that mark the spots where two men fell dead in a gun duel with Barney Riggs, a Pecos man, in 1896.
In back of the museum is a collection of local artifacts commemorating Pecos's Wild West reputation; a hanging tree, a replica of Judge Roy Bean's saloon-courthouse, a jail, and the grave of Clay Allison, "The Gentleman Gunfighter." Mon-Sat 9-5. Admission $2 ph: 915-445-5076