The Dark Reality of Old West Saloons
The first Western saloon, Brown's Saloon in Brown's Hole, Wyoming, opened in 1822 for fur trappers. Saloons were whites-only, excluding Native Americans and Asians; Black men could sometimes enter. Women deemed 'respectable' were barred, fueling the prohibition movement. Famous figures like Wyatt Earp, Judge Roy Bean, Wild Bill Hickok, Bat Masterson, and Doc Holliday owned saloons. Faro, not poker, was the most popular gambling game. Saloons declined due to mining busts, railroad bypasses, prohibition, and social pressures, vanishing by the early 1900s.
Key facts
- First saloon: Brown's Saloon in Brown's Hole, Wyoming, 1822.
- Saloons were whites-only, excluding Native Americans and Asians.
- Respectable women were not allowed inside saloons.
- Wyatt Earp owned saloons in Idaho, California, Alaska, Kansas, and Tombstone, Arizona.
- Judge Roy Bean ran a saloon-courthouse in Val Verde County, Texas.
- Faro was more popular than poker in saloons.
- Wild Bill Hickok held the 'dead man's hand' (two aces and two eights) when shot in Deadwood, South Dakota.
- Prohibition and social pressures caused saloon decline by early 1900s.
Entities
Institutions
- Brown's Saloon
- Oriental Saloon
- The Northern
- Alhambra Saloon
- Sweetwater Saloon
- Orient Saloon
- University of North Texas
- National Archives
- Wikimedia Commons
- Western Mining History
- 1st Dibs
Locations
- Brown's Hole
- Wyoming
- Green River
- Tombstone
- Arizona
- Idaho
- California
- Alaska
- Kansas
- Val Verde County
- Texas
- Rio Grande River
- Deadwood
- South Dakota
- Bisbee