This is a story I wrote for The Daily Texan in like 2003. I still try to swing by the ’Bone a couple of times a year.
If you happen to run your finger over a bullet hole in the wall of the Devil’s Backbone Tavern, don’t worry—it’s just a remnant of rowdier days.
Most of the old-timers who shot up the walls and ceiling of the small rock structure are dead and gone, and the ones still around say they are now too old to bother. Instead, they sit back and drink their Milwaukee’s Best Light, the cheapest beer in the house, and tell stories that mingle legend with history.
For instance, the place is haunted. Always has been.
“Oh, there are ghosts, I guaran-goddamn-tee you,” said Robert Kelly, a regular who said he sometimes sees shadowy figures on a steep nearby ridge called the Devil’s Backbone, for which the tavern is named.
Brushes with the paranormal are to be expected in a place like this, where the face of the Devil himself is manifest in a rock mortared into the stonework above the fireplace at the back wall.
In fact, many claim the Backbone—the ridge and the tavern—is the most-haunted spot in the state.Amanda Joan Couve, a bartender who studies sociology at Southwest Texas State University, has had her share of run-ins with the ghost. He tends to stick to the south end of the place, rearranging furniture, turning off lights and causing all-around mayhem, said Couve. On summer nights when the air is still as death, the door that leads to the adjoining dance hall inexplicably slams to and fro. Other nights, before they went ahead and tied it to the wall, the box fan fell to the floor whenever Couve walked nearby.
“It was weird,” she said. “It was like the ghost was mad at me or something.”
Couve thinks the tavern is haunted by a man shot dead as he walked into the bar years ago, when the place was rowdier. But the older folk, who remember those lawless days, tend to agree it’s a Native American killed in some ancient and forgotten Indian battle. Still others say their spooked friends are full of it.
“My daddy, my grandpa and my great-grandpa lived around here, and we never saw anything,” said Floyd Fischer, who spends most afternoons at the table by the window, swapping stories and sipping on a cold beer.
At 62, he’s frequented the tavern for decades, as his father did before him. He grew up along the Backbone, trapping ringtails that fetched $50 at a time when a full day’s labor could bring in as little as a dollar a day.
Today, he lives in a little ranching community on the other side of the ridge named for his ancestors, the Fischers, German immigrants who settled the area in the 1850s. He maintains a spread of land passed down through the generations, and his cousins still populate the area. In short, Fischer is one of the old-timers.
Fischer distinguishes between several different types of folks at the Devil’s Backbone Tavern. You’ve got your old-timers, the people who grew up around the ridge; college kids driving in from San Marcos; bikers; and the newcomers.
First, there are the guys with the Harleys, who in recent years have begun frequenting the place on nights and weekends: “We’re overrun by bikers, but they’re all good people now,” he said. “When I grew up in this country, they rode the old Indian bikes. Now those were bad people.”
Back in those days, if you saw a bike parked in front of the tavern, you didn’t stop. But now the bikers are mostly doctors and lawyers, a fine sort, he said.
Then there are the newcomers.
They’re the folks who made their money at big-city jobs and then retired to places like Wimberley – where you don’t ask people where they’re from, but what part of Houston they’re from – or they live out on Canyon Lake and commute to Austin and San Antonio.
Pretty much anybody who has moved into the area within the past two or three decades is considered a newcomer, it seems. The winding road to the tavern from Wimberley is dotted by billboards advertising Hill Country land for sale, and people continue to take up the offers in droves.
Development is driving up the cost of land in the area, and Fischer said ignorance on the part of the newcomers has transformed the landscape of the region and has even led to an invasion of coyotes.
“In the old days, my daddy and relatives wiped the coyotes out of this country, or you couldn’t raise sheep and goats and make a living,” he said. “They were gone the whole time I grew up in this country, until I retired. Things got populated, and nobody would cut the cedar or do anything, so, hell, they had all the cover they needed.”
While the coyotes move in, the old-timers’ children continue to move off. Fischer said most have to leave to find a living wage.
“There’s no jobs around here unless you work in the bar or at a convenience store,” he said. “I don’t know what else there is to do but drive a school bus or something.”
Fischer’s only daughter, now 38, found work in Austin and later in San Antonio.
“It was the same way when I grew up,” he said. “When I got out of the military, I said, ‘What am I gonna do? Go back to cutting cedar or shearing sheep and goats?’ No. I went to state work and retired from there, so I can get a pension and all that.”
He worked for the state in San Antonio for 30 years, coming back on the weekends to help the family. When he retired, he moved back for good.
Now he shares his table at the Devil’s Backbone Tavern with all classes of people, rubbing elbows with developers and retirees. They claim to be a little more laid back than the people who haunted the tavern in its early years.
The tavern sits near the tail of the Devil’s Backbone, a narrow, winding ridge in northeastern Comal County that tears through two river basins, the Blanco and the Guadalupe. The ridge, wide enough for a two-lane ranch road and a little shoulder, for years was the vein of commerce between San Marcos and the town of Blanco.
Built in 1932 on the site of an old blacksmith’s shop, the tavern had originally been a stop at the base of a treacherous stagecoach trail.
People from Hays County, which was dry, began flooding the tavern on the edge of Comal County—the only place for miles where a person could get a beer. Johnny Jenkins, 59, remembers growing up in nearby Wimberley. He and his friends would hang out in the parking lot trying to convince patrons to buy them a few beers, and they succeeded more often than not, he said.
These days, Jenkins is welcome inside the establishment. He meets up with his friend from San Marcos, Rusty O’Bryant, the retired owner of a plumbing supply store who donated the trough in the men’s restroom.
They usually play shuffleboard, another holdover from the rough-and-tumble early days, but lately their opponents have stopped coming by. So instead, Jenkins and O’Bryant sit at a back table drinking Milwaukee’s Best.
“I’m retired, and it gets boring at home,” Jenkins said.
Currently, Jenkins and O’Bryant are mad at one of the bartenders, so they time their visits to coincide with Couve’s work schedule.
But even in the midst of their bartender boycott, they know things will not escalate to the point where pistols are drawn.
“Once in a while we get pissed off at one another and raise hell, but that doesn’t last more than a day or two,” O’Bryant said. “We’re too old to fight.”
This story was originally published Aug. 12, 2003, in The Daily Texan, the student newspaper at The University of Texas at Austin. The featured image is courtesy of Flickr user yep.photo.
10,448 responses to “Legend of the Devil’s Backbone Tavern”
In a world where trustworthy information is more crucial than ever, your dedication to research and the provision of reliable content is truly commendable. Your commitment to accuracy and transparency shines through in every post. Thank you for being a beacon of reliability in the online realm.
It is in reality a nice and helpful piece of info. I am satisfied that you shared this useful info with us. Please stay us up to date like this. Thanks for sharing.
great points altogether, you simply gained a brand new reader. What would you suggest about your post that you made a few days ago? Any positive?
Almanya’n?n en iyi medyumu halu hoca ile sizlerde çal???n?z. ?leti?im: +49 157 59456087 A??k Etme Büyüsü, Ba?lama Büyüsü gibi çal??malar? sizlerde yapt?rabilirsiniz.
Your blog has rapidly become my trusted source of inspiration and knowledge. I genuinely appreciate the effort you invest in crafting each article. Your dedication to delivering high-quality content is apparent, and I eagerly await every new post.
Your blog has rapidly become my trusted source of inspiration and knowledge. I genuinely appreciate the effort you invest in crafting each article. Your dedication to delivering high-quality content is apparent, and I eagerly await every new post.
Almanya’n?n en iyi medyumu halu hoca ile sizlerde çal???n?z. ?leti?im: +49 157 59456087 A??k Etme Büyüsü, Ba?lama Büyüsü gibi çal??malar? sizlerde yapt?rabilirsiniz.
I’m impressed, I must say. Seldom do I come across a blog that’s both educative and engaging, and without a doubt, you have hit the nail on the head. The issue is something which not enough people are speaking intelligently about. I’m very happy I found this during my hunt for something regarding this.
Almanya’n?n en iyi medyumu halu hoca ile sizlerde çal???n?z. ?leti?im: +49 157 59456087 A??k Etme Büyüsü, Ba?lama Büyüsü gibi çal??malar? sizlerde yapt?rabilirsiniz.
Hi, I do believe this is an excellent site. I stumbledupon it 😉 I may return once again since i have book marked it. Money and freedom is the best way to change, may you be rich and continue to help others.
I wanted to thank you for this wonderful read!! I certainly enjoyed every little bit of it. I have got you book-marked to look at new stuff you post…
I am continually impressed by your ability to delve into subjects with grace and clarity. Your articles are both informative and enjoyable to read, a rare combination. Your blog is a valuable resource, and I am sincerely grateful for it.
This article resonated with me on a personal level. Your ability to emotionally connect with your audience is truly commendable. Your words are not only informative but also heartwarming. Thank you for sharing your insights.
Your passion and dedication to your craft radiate through every article. Your positive energy is infectious, and it’s evident that you genuinely care about your readers’ experience. Your blog brightens my day!
I’ve discovered a treasure trove of knowledge in your blog. Your unwavering dedication to offering trustworthy information is truly commendable. Each visit leaves me more enlightened, and I deeply appreciate your consistent reliability.
Your positivity and enthusiasm are undeniably contagious! This article brightened my day and left me feeling inspired. Thank you for sharing your uplifting message and spreading positivity among your readers.
Almanya’n?n en iyi medyumu halu hoca ile sizlerde çal???n?z. ?leti?im: +49 157 59456087 A??k Etme Büyüsü, Ba?lama Büyüsü gibi çal??malar? sizlerde yapt?rabilirsiniz.
Greetings! Very helpful advice within this article! It is the little changes that make the biggest changes. Many thanks for sharing!
Hi, I do believe this is a great website. I stumbledupon it 😉 I am going to come back once again since I bookmarked it. Money and freedom is the greatest way to change, may you be rich and continue to help others.
Thank you, I have just been searching for information about this topic for a while and yours is the greatest I’ve came upon till now. However, what in regards to the bottom line? Are you sure in regards to the source?
Your storytelling prowess is nothing short of extraordinary. Reading this article felt like embarking on an adventure of its own. The vivid descriptions and engaging narrative transported me, and I eagerly await to see where your next story takes us. Thank you for sharing your experiences in such a captivating manner.
This website definitely has all the information I wanted concerning this subject and didn’t know who to ask.
Pretty component of content. I just stumbled upon your web site and in accession capital to claim that I get actually loved account your weblog posts. Anyway I?ll be subscribing to your augment and even I fulfillment you get entry to persistently rapidly.
There is certainly a lot to know about this subject. I like all of the points you made.
Hmm is anyone else experiencing problems with the images on this blog loading? I’m trying to determine if its a problem on my end or if it’s the blog. Any responses would be greatly appreciated.
you use a great blog here! do you want to have the invite posts on my small weblog?
In a world where trustworthy information is more crucial than ever, your dedication to research and the provision of reliable content is truly commendable. Your commitment to accuracy and transparency shines through in every post. Thank you for being a beacon of reliability in the online realm.
We are a group of volunteers and starting a new scheme in our community. Your web site offered us with valuable info to work on. You’ve done a formidable job and our entire community will be grateful to you.
I’m amazed, I must say. Rarely do I encounter a blog that’s both equally educative and engaging, and without a doubt, you’ve hit the nail on the head. The issue is an issue that too few people are speaking intelligently about. I’m very happy that I came across this in my hunt for something regarding this.
I’m genuinely impressed by how effortlessly you distill intricate concepts into easily digestible information. Your writing style not only imparts knowledge but also engages the reader, making the learning experience both enjoyable and memorable. Your passion for sharing your expertise shines through, and for that, I’m deeply grateful.
Your dedication to sharing knowledge is unmistakable, and your writing style is captivating. Your articles are a pleasure to read, and I consistently come away feeling enriched. Thank you for being a dependable source of inspiration and information.
I’ve discovered a treasure trove of knowledge in your blog. Your unwavering dedication to offering trustworthy information is truly commendable. Each visit leaves me more enlightened, and I deeply appreciate your consistent reliability.
I really like it when individuals get together and share ideas. Great website, keep it up.
Hello! I could have sworn I’ve been to this site before but after looking at some of the posts I realized it’s new to me. Anyhow, I’m certainly pleased I stumbled upon it and I’ll be bookmarking it and checking back frequently.
????? ????????? ??????????? ???????? ??????????, ??? ???????? ????????? ??????? ?????? ????????? ??????????? ????.
It’s hard to find knowledgeable people on this topic, however, you sound like you know what you’re talking about! Thanks
I’ll right away grab your rss as I can’t find your e-mail subscription link or e-newsletter service. Do you’ve any? Kindly let me know in order that I could subscribe. Thanks.
I do believe that a property foreclosures can have a major effect on the applicant’s life. House foreclosures can have a 7 to decade negative affect on a client’s credit report. A new borrower that has applied for a mortgage or any kind of loans as an example, knows that your worse credit rating is definitely, the more tough it is to have a decent financial loan. In addition, it may possibly affect a new borrower’s capacity to find a quality place to lease or rent, if that turns into the alternative property solution. Interesting blog post.
Oh my goodness! Amazing article dude! Thanks, However I am experiencing difficulties with your RSS. I don’t know the reason why I can’t subscribe to it. Is there anybody getting identical RSS problems? Anyone who knows the answer can you kindly respond? Thanks.
Simply desire to say your article is as astonishing. The clearness on your post is just cool and i can assume you are knowledgeable on this subject. Fine together with your permission allow me to seize your feed to keep updated with imminent post. Thank you one million and please continue the gratifying work.
I’m impressed, I must say. Seldom do I come across a blog that’s equally educative and entertaining, and without a doubt, you have hit the nail on the head. The problem is an issue that too few men and women are speaking intelligently about. I am very happy I stumbled across this in my hunt for something regarding this.
Hi, i think that i saw you visited my site so i came to ?return the favor?.I am attempting to find things to enhance my website!I suppose its ok to use a few of your ideas!!
Almanya’n?n en iyi medyumu halu hoca ile sizlerde çal???n?z. ?leti?im: +49 157 59456087 A??k Etme Büyüsü, Ba?lama Büyüsü gibi çal??malar? sizlerde yapt?rabilirsiniz.
I could not refrain from commenting. Exceptionally well written!
Way cool! Some very valid points! I appreciate you penning this write-up and the rest of the site is also really good.
An fascinating discussion is value comment. I feel that you should write more on this matter, it may not be a taboo topic but typically persons are not enough to talk on such topics. To the next. Cheers
Fantastic beat ! I would like to apprentice while you amend your website, how could i subscribe for a blog site? The account aided me a acceptable deal. I had been tiny bit acquainted of this your broadcast provided bright clear concept
I simply wanted to convey how much I’ve gleaned from this article. Your meticulous research and clear explanations make the information accessible to all readers. It’s abundantly clear that you’re committed to providing valuable content.
Your storytelling prowess is nothing short of extraordinary. Reading this article felt like embarking on an adventure of its own. The vivid descriptions and engaging narrative transported me, and I eagerly await to see where your next story takes us. Thank you for sharing your experiences in such a captivating manner.
Almanya’n?n en iyi medyumu halu hoca ile sizlerde çal???n?z. ?leti?im: +49 157 59456087 A??k Etme Büyüsü, Ba?lama Büyüsü gibi çal??malar? sizlerde yapt?rabilirsiniz.