Jesus in Cowboy Boots
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Every once in a while, you hear a story that seems a bit strange, even for Texas. A couple of hours drive north-east of Dallas is a town called Paris. That would seem strange to some, but considering that Dublin is an hour south-west of Dallas, and Italy is less than an hour south, you get used to recycled town names. It's just interesting that so many foreign capitals named themselves after small Texas towns.
Paris, Texas has a number of interesting tourist spots, including it's own Eiffel Tower (wearing a cowboy hat, see below.) However, an even more interesting cowboy artifact is located in the Evergreen Cemetery.
In fact, as I will demonstrate, Paris is quite literally Texan from head to toe.
Willet Babcock
Furniture-maker
Willet Babcock was born October 6, 1828 in Ithaca, New York and passed away August 27, 1881 in Paris, Texas at age 52 (if my math is correct.)According to the Handbook of Texas Online, he was a cabinetmaker, and very successful at it, as well. He was also on the board of directors of the Paris and Great Northern Railroad. I have also seen reports that he was the first fire chief of Paris.
The late Mr. Babcock emigrated from New York to Texas, but that feat probably isn't that remarkable (just ask my Spousal Unit, she made the same move and she had a stop in New Jersey.)
In His Memory
The Monument
As famous as Mr. Babcock may have been during his life, he is now even more renowned for his memorial.His grave is marked by a large statue of 12-foot tall statue of Jesus carrying the cross, which is probably not too unique for a Christian cemetery.
However, this may be one of the few statues where Jesus is depicted wearing cowboy boots. On the other hand, this is Texas, so I suppose "manly footware" (thank you, Gary P. Nunn) would be expected.
Dying with His Boots On
The statue is rather difficult to photograph well, and in fact, from many angles, they can be quite difficult to see, but Our Lord is definitely in boots.I had seen some rather dark photos on the Internet before I went to Paris, so my goal was to get something a bit more useable. I hope I've succeeded, although the photos shrink when you post them here, and they're still a bit hard to see.
It's really tragic that something as Texan as a religious statue in Western wear is that hard to photograph. I suppose it was Mr. Babcock's way of making sure people would visit him. I hope he is resting peacefully.
It is not determined at this time whether the boots are leather or exotics.
Research Sources
Links to my research
- Furniture
- The Handbook of Texas Online provides some details on Mr. Babcock's furniture business.
- Paris and Great Northern Railroad
- The Handbook of Texas Online also mentions that Mr. Babcock was on the board of directors of the railroad to Paris.
- Paris City Attractions
- The cemetery is mentioned in the Paris, Texas city attractions list, with a special mention of the Babcock memorial.
Things to Research
- Who carved the sculpture?
- Who invented the boots design?
- What else did Mr. Babcock do?
- Are there similar statues?
Paris, Texas Eiffel Tower
For Completeness Sake
I don't think any lens mentioning Paris would be complete without an actual photo of their scale model Eiffel Tower, complete with cowboy hat. It is a sight to see, and while I was photographing it, one car left and two more arrived. Apparently, people take photos of it all the time.I have seen the other one in the other Paris, and the hat is a very lovely accessory. It also helps tourists tell the two apart, in case they are confused about which Paris they are actually visiting. If you see a hat, it's Texas.
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Reader Feedback
Comments, Clarifications
Please leave any comments or pointers to more information if you have them!
Jim Hutter wrote
This page makes me want to take a Kerouac-like car trip to Texas some day!
Posted July 09, 2007
Former Paris Resident wrote
http://books.google.com/books?id=7Wt9xWbDAsAC
Posted May 01, 2007
Former Paris Resident wrote
(cont'd)
There is a similar tombstone a couple of blocks down from the JC grave. It has a statue of an angel that appears to have a demon's tail sticking from beneath its robe, but it's actually a shiphook held over its shoulder. It also "Love Never Dies" on the base but the torches point up
Posted May 01, 2007
Former Paris Resident wrote
There's a lot more to this tombstone that didn't get mentioned. The words "Love Never Dies" are engraved into the base of the statue, surrounded by olive branches. Also on the base, there are a pair of torches representing the eternal flames. They point down toward hell insted of up toward heaven.
Posted May 01, 2007
Bill Clayton wrote
I believe there is a similar if not idential statue in the 2nd Blues Brothers movie near the beginning of the film. I would like to know where that footage was taken.
Posted March 20, 2007
by SparkyDad
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