While the three men talked, Courtright’s thumbs were hooked in the armholes of his vest. The three men walked about half a block and stood talking in front of Ella Blackwell’s Shooting Gallery. A disagreement lead Johnson to summon Luke Short outside. The story goes that on February 25, 1881, Jake Johnson, who was a partner of Luke Short, was talking to Courtright on the sidewalk in front of The White Elephant. He also worked in Dodge City, Kansas, in a gambling ring protected by Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson.

In Tombstone, Arizona, he faced and killed well-known gunman Charley Storms. In Leadville, Colorado, Short had killed a local villain in a celebrated gunfight. Short’s reputation as a gunfighter was on a par with that of Courtwright. Luke Short owned the gambling concession at the White Elephant Saloon, which at that time was located at 308-310 Main Street. Courtright, described as working both sides of the law, was also a gambler, private detective and known gunfighter. The story purports Timothy “Longhair Jim” Courtright was extremely popular in Fort Worth, even after leaving office as the Fort Worth City Marshal. While little is known about Shipp individually, he was Sheriff during one of the most famous tales of Fort Worth and Tarrant County history. Maddox’s firm was one of only two wholesale furniture companies in Texas.īen H. In 1887 Maddox became a partner in Ellison and Company, dealers in furniture and undertaker supplies before the turn of the century. (Dick) Townsend was shot and killed during an infamous railroad strike. It was during Sheriff Maddox’s watch in 1886 when Deputy R.W. He was re-elected twice – serving six years as the Sheriff. In 1880 Maddox was elected Sheriff of Tarrant County. Fort Worth had a Volunteer Fire Department in the early years where Maddox served as a Fire Chief.

In 1873, Maddox moved to Fort Worth where he ran a livery stable for eight years.

He saw service on the Red River front and at one point went ten days and nights without removing the saddle from his horse. Although a schoolboy, Maddox enlisted in the Fifth Louisiana Cavalry. His father was a Colonel and a Confederate hero of the Louisiana 17 th Infantry. Maddox was born in Georgia in 1844 and grew up on a Louisiana plantation.

Texas gambling laws 1880