Booth in the Nutshell!

John Wilkes Booth Did Not Die! Murals

Granbury, Texas

According to a theory that still holds traction in Texas, Lincoln's assassin, John Wilkes Booth, renamed himself John St. Helen and tended bar in a saloon in Granbury long after he was officially dead. He confessed to the crime in 1877 to Finis L. Bates, grandfather of actress Kathy Bates.

The building where St. Helen/Booth tended bar still stands on the courthouse square. Formerly the Nutshell Cafe, on its interior walls are painted murals -- now partly covered by latter-day store merchandise -- of Booth behind the bar (and Jesse James about to shoot a bear). In the mural there's a Wanted poster for the capture of the President's assassin.