King Fisher
Uvalde, Uvalde County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Celebrated outlaw who became a peace officer. Once undisputed ruler of a 5,000-square-mile area of Southwest Texas, centered in Eagle Pass and known as King Fisher's Territory. Son of Jobe and Lucinda Fisher, at age 17 Fisher settled on Pendencia Creek in Dimmit County, hired by ranchmen to guard their herds from bandits who frequently raided from Mexico, across Rio Grande. A complex and forceful individual, he imposed order in lawless border area. His henchmen rustled cattle and terrorized resisting settlers but also protected them from outside intruders. Near his ranch was sign reading: "This is King Fisher's Road. Take the other". Many prominent men, including Porfirio Diaz, President of Mexico, counted him a friend. Tall, charming, and quite handsome, Fisher wore fine clothes and tiger skin chaps. An expert shot-- with either hand-- he was indicted on six murder charges and 15 lesser counts but was never convicted. Devoted to wife and daughters, he reformed after being arrested in 1876 by Ranger Capt. L. H. McNelly. He was acting Uvalde County sheriff, when, on March 11, 1884, he and the notorious Ben Thompson were killed from ambush at a vaudeville theater in San Antonio. 1973
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
King Fisher rose from teenage ranch hand to the undisputed power over a vast stretch of Southwest Texas known as "King Fisher's Territory," centered on Eagle Pass. Hired to guard herds from cross-border raiders, he imposed a rough order — his henchmen rustled cattle and terrorized some settlers while protecting others — and a roadside sign reputedly warned travelers to "take the other" road. Indicted many times but never convicted, he reformed after a Texas Ranger arrest in 1876 and was serving as acting Uvalde County sheriff when he and gunman Ben Thompson were killed from ambush in a San Antonio theater in 1884.
Why it matters
Fisher's arc from feared outlaw to peace officer captures the blurred line between lawlessness and authority on the violent Texas–Mexico border in the years after the Civil War.
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Related people
- · King Fisher
- · Ben Thompson
- · L. H. McNelly
Themes & tags
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