Old Rip, The Miracle Texas Horned Lizard

Texas is known for many reasons and beloved for many more. In Texas, there are a lot of lizards, and one of the most loved and known lizards in Texas are the horned lizards. Horned lizards are also known as Horney Toads as an affectionate nickname. My dad and I were both born in Texas, so even though I have mostly grown up in Arkansas, Texas will always be my home as well. When I was little, my dad used to tell me stories of how he would catch Horney Toads and play with them when he was growing up. Based on the stories he told me, I have always had respect and a place in my heart for them ever since. When I found this story about a Horned Lizard in Texas, I knew I had to share it. A little Horned Lizard has made a town in Texas famous. He never intended to be a miracle lizard, but somehow, he was.

In 1897, Eastland County was expanding and becoming more and more popular by the day. The people declared that they needed a new courthouse to keep up with the growing population. They held a ceremony for the new courthouse, and as part of the celebration, they decided to make a time capsule. They put a bible and some other documents and proclamations in the time capsule, but at the last moment, a justice of the peace decided to ad something. He had a Horned Lizard in his hand that his son had caught earlier that morning. He decided to put it in the marble block right before it was sealed and placed at the corner of the town square. The new courthouse was then built around it.

(As a side note, I feel so bad for that poor lizard because it was just living its life and then got placed in a box to die of starvation and no one cared.)

Thirty-one years later, in 1928, the courthouse needs to be replaced again because the population never stopped growing. The courthouse was torn down so they could make a new art deco courthouse in the same spot. The cornerstone (time capsule) was opened, they pulled out the Horned Lizard. It was flat and dusty but all of a sudden, it moved!

People were bewildered at the seemingly alive lizard. Lizards have a life capacity of usually only a couple of years. This makes it even more impossible to believe that a lizard could stay alive for three decades.

The community named the lizard Old Rip after the Rip Van Winkle legend. The lizard became a local celebrity from then on. Will Wood, who had found the lizard as a boy, took him on a grand tour to meet all kinds of people. One of the people Old Rip met was President Calvin Coolidge at the White House.

When Old Rip returned to Eastland, he was kept in a fishbowl with sand and received red ants for food. Unfortunately, a year after he was found in the time capsule, he was found dead of pneumonia.

When he died, Old Rip was embalmed and put on display in a velvet-lined casket. He was put on display in the lobby of the courthouse. Many people have paid their respects to him and continue to pay their respects to him today.

A decade after Old Rips’ death, someone stole his remains. The person who stole Old Rip claimed that he and some other people had put the Horned Lizard in the time capsule before people reopened it to make it look like the Lizard had been alive the whole thirty-one years. Luckily though, Old Rip was returned unharmed.

There is a festival each fall called Ripfest. The festival has a lizard theme. When school children come to see Old Rip, they are taken to a courtroom to make a left-handed oath stating that the Old Rip legend is true.

I love how a little Horned Lizard can make such a fuss in a town that his legend has withstood time itself. The Ripfest that they hold every year reminds me of our Toad Suck Festival. It’s crazy that little animals can have a significant effect on towns and bring so many people joy. I hope you guys enjoyed this story as much as I have had writing it.

Articles I used for research: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/texana/2018/10/05/the-strange-tale-of-old-rip-the-horned-toad-on-display-in-a-texas-courthouse/ https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/3631