Site of Curfew by John J. Clinton
Abilene, Taylor County, Texas
Marker Inscription
(1848-1922) Here each New Year's Eve at midnight for thirty-seven years John J. Clinton, Abilene chief of police, emptied his revolver. He began in 1885, decreeing that saloons close at midnight, and that trigger-happy cowboys and townsmen observe the curfew. After saloon era passed, his practice became a commemoration. Ireland-born Clinton was a Confederate soldier; later scout for U.S. Army, was wounded at "The Fight for the Water Hole." He was policeman at Dodge City, Kansas, then served Abilene until his death. Men respected him for his courage and integrity. (1967)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Beginning in 1885, Abilene police chief John J. Clinton (1848–1922) fired his revolver into the air each New Year's Eve at midnight—first to signal that saloons must close and that rowdy cowboys and townsmen observe the curfew, and later, once the saloon days had passed, simply as a beloved tradition he kept for thirty-seven years. Irish-born, Clinton had been a Confederate soldier and later an Army scout wounded at "The Fight for the Water Hole," and had policed Dodge City before Abilene.
Why it matters
The ritual marks the taming of a raucous cattle-town frontier into a settled community, and the lawmen who bridged the wild and civic eras of the American West.
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Related people
- · John J. Clinton
Themes & tags
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