Liquor stores spread like wildfire among Erath County 

By: Hayden Hewitt

Staff Writer

Since Erath County legalized the sale of liquor, there has been an insurgence of liquor stores, causing mixed feelings across the county. 

Sonny and Judy Thackerson, residents of Erath County for 71 years, were not too happy about the change. 

“I thought it was just leading to making it easier for those that didn’t really need it. I was against it at a young age,” Judy said. 

Sonny’s opinion on the issue was even stronger than Judy’s. 

“If somebody was dependent on me to buy beer and liquor, they’d go broke, cause I’ve never bought one in my life. And don’t intend to,” he said. 

Not everyone feels so strongly about liquor being available in Erath County.

“I wasn’t surprised because I expected it sooner.  I think that most people didn’t realize how much traffic was coming to the county line to buy alcohol,” Darren Turley, a 1990 Tarleton graduate and 54-year resident of Erath County, said. “Living there, I had seen that, so I expected there to be a strong demand in Stephenville once it was opened up.” 

However, some residents did not know about the change in the county. 

“I wasn’t aware that it wasn’t [a fully wet county]. It makes it convenient for me when I do turn 21, I suppose,” 20-year old Erath County resident Chance Peacock said.

Although Peacock remained mostly neutral about the topic of liquor stores in the county, he did draw a correlation between the right to purchase alcohol and the freedoms possessed by citizens of the United States.

“We’re supposed to live in a free country, so alcohol is a part of that freedom,” Peacock said.

There are currently a total of four liquor stores in Stephenville alone, including Liquor Town, Texan Liquor, Discount Liquor and Fossil Creek Liquor.

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