When the West was wild: Fascinating 19th century photographs reveal the brawl-heavy, liquor-filled world of cowboy saloons
- The bars were often the first establishments to open up in the frontier boomtowns of the American West
- Their clientele would feature a mix of cowboys, miners, fur trappers and gun-toting gamblers
- Two drinks of hard liquor could be bought for a quarter - but often cut with ammonia or even gunpowder
- The vice and violence of saloons became so notorious an 'Anti-Saloon League' was formed in 1893
The saloons of the Wild West conjure up images of gunfights, heavy drinking and dangerous outlaws.
And these astonishing photographs prove that the Old West watering holes really did live up to their notorious historical reputation.
The pictures, taken in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in states from Montana to Texas, show what life was like inside the bars and taverns.
The saloon, which were were particular to the Wild West, were often the first establishments to open in frontier towns. Cowboys, miners, fur trappers and gamblers would all flock to them.
They quickly gained a reputation as dens of vice, often housing brothels and opium dens, and brawls would frequently spill out into the street. Women who weren't parlor girls were barred from entry.
However those same respectable women got their revenge when they helped found the Anti-Saloon League, which lobbied for the prohibition of alcohol in the United States in the early 20th century, leading to the closure of many of the Wild West bars.
Gamblers play Faro, a French card game, at a saloon in Bisbee, Arizona, in this late 19th century photograph. Gambling became a quintessential part of saloons, but the combination of liquor, money and hot-tempers meant that any gambler had to brush up on his shooting skills as well as his card-playing
The Cowboy Bar in Jackson, Wyoming, 1908. During the late 19th and early 20th century saloons were an ever-present feature in American frontier towns. Over time they developed into sleekly designed affairs, as seen here in Wyoming
A trio of cowboys enjoy a drink while conversing with the barman at the Equity Bar in Old Tascosa, northern Texas, 1907. For years Tascosa was considered the cowboy capital of Texas. Its remote location, combined with a population hardened by years in the West, made its saloons perfect places for fugitives to escape to
Armed and ready: Texas Rangers Nate Fuller and AJ Beard enjoy a drink at Livinston's Ranch Supply, in Marfa, west Texas, 1916 (left). Right, a patron cradles a rifle outside Jacksons Bar in Idaho, late 19th century. Weapons were a common sight in Western saloons, leading to plenty of shootouts
The Bob Saloon in Miles City, Montana, circa 1880. Life was hard on the frontier, so men had little to do after a hard day's work but drink and 'let loose' in their local saloon - even if that just meant having a few beers on the porch, as seen here
The Weaver Brothers Saloon in Summit County, Colorado, 1890. The majority of saloon drinkers drank either warm beer or straight liquor like rye or bourbon. In an effort to improve profits, bar staff often cut their liquor with ammonia, gunpowder or even cayenne pepper
Judge Roy Bean's eccentric saloon in Langtry, on the Texas/Mexico border, late 19th century. Bean was a local lawman who called himself 'The Law West of Pecos'. He had a very unique style of approaching law enforcement. It's claimed his first act as a lawman was to shoot up the saloon of a competitor. He would reportedly choose jurors for their bar customs
J W Swart's saloon in Charleston, South Carolina (left) the Billy Reese Saloon in Gunnison, south Colorado (right). Plenty of saloons featured 'unofficial' parts of the bar, including opium dens and brothels. Rural girls were lured to them by promises of high wages and easy work. Some saloons though, wanting to be 'respectable', banned them from their establishments
The fur-clad interior of the Table Bluff Hotel and Saloon in Table Bluff, northern California, 1889. Fur trappers and mountain men, such as those pictured, were instrumental in helping to scout out and organize wagon trails, which allowed people to immigrate out West. In the 19th century many were also attracted by the booming American fur trade
Men gather for a drink at the Road House saloon in Bluff City, Alaska. As saloons spread throughout the west they began to specialize. By the end of the 19th century you could find gambling saloons, restaurant saloons, dance hall saloons, bowling saloons and brothel saloons.
Dance! Seven men in an unknown saloon, possibly in Wyoming, shoot down at the floor, forcing another man to jump and 'dance' to avoid the bullets. While the cowboys have all their revolvers pointed at the man's feet, the bartender is aiming his semi-automatic German Mauser straight at the unlucky bar-goers head.
Members of the notorious Hash Knife Cowboys pose for a picture at the Fashion Saloon in Winslow, north eastern Arizona. The cowboys were initially hired to help the Aztec Land & Cattle Company look after the more than 33,000 cattle they had acquired. However, the outfit soon gained an unsavory reputation
Perley McBride's Saloon in Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1906. The skill of the saloon's bartender became a point of pride for many of its local patrons - however many also were widely mocked if they chose to order something other than beer or bourbon
A man pulls a gun at the White Dog Saloon in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1898. The commonly-seen violence and vice of saloons helped lead to the formation of the Anti-Saloon league, which advocated for prohibition within the United States. The league was the first modern pressure group to organize around one issue
A nickel for beer: Life in the Old West's saloons
In most western towns, there were more saloons than churches - and they were open 24 hours per day, seven days a week.
The first saloon was established at Brown's Hole, Wyoming, in 1822, to serve fur trappers. By the late 1850s the term saloon had begun to appear in directories and common usage as a term for an establishment that specialized in beer and liquor sales.
Alcohol was cheap, with beer often costing a nickel and two drinks of hard liquor only costing a quarter. To stretch their profits, saloon owners would cut good whiskey with ammonia, gunpowder or cayenne.
By 1880 the growth of saloons was in full swing and some offered dancing girls (who doubled as prostitutes) as well as card games like faro and poker.
Mixing alcohol and gambling could result in some deadly shootouts and professional gamblers quickly learned to protect their assets by honing their shooting skills as well as their gambling abilities.
Generally all were welcome with the exception of Chinese workers and soldiers, who were blamed for infecting parlor house girls with diseases.
Ladies did not enter the bars, unless they were saloon girls or women gamblers.
Beginning in 1893, the Anti-Saloon League began protesting against the alcoholism, violence and political corruption in American Saloons. The league quickly rose to become the powerful prohibition lobby in America and saloons began to decline several years before Prohibition was enforced in the USA in 1920.
The Toll Gate saloon in Black Hawk, Colorado, 1897. Regulars at saloons often acquired calluses on their elbows by spending so much time leaning on the bar. Saloons did not welcome minorities into their premises - Indians were excluded by law, and a Chinese man would risk his life by entering
A saloon in Helena, Montana, circa 1890 - complete with a horse and rider. Soldiers tended not to be welcome in Western saloons. This is partly because they were seen as representing the state, and partly because they were blamed for infecting saloon girls with venereal diseases
Gamblers play Faro in an Arizona saloon, 1895. Most of those men and women who left the safety and comfort of the eastern US to seek fame and fortune in the west were natural-born gamblers. Gambling was considered a profession as legitimate as law or medicine
Cowboy George Hennessey (pictured centre) posing outside the Bucket of Blood Saloon in Holbrook, Arizona, 1908. It is alleged that, in 1886, a gunfight broke out in the saloon which 'drenched the floors with buckets of blood'. It was allegedly started over disagreement over a poker game. Since then the bar was known as the Bucket of Blood Saloon
The Combination Saloon in Utah, late 19th century. When a new town was first established a saloon would almost inevitably pop up, but they tended to start out as small, hole-in-the-wall establishments with little furnishing
A saloon bar in Wyoming, late 19th century. The varied and often shady backgrounds of saloons' regular patrons meant that curiosity was often considered impolite. Backgrounds were asked about, but not demanded. It was also expected to treat the man standing next to you to a drink
Toll Gate Saloon, near Black Hawk, Colorado. The invention of barbed wire in the 1880s, coupled with the advances made by railways, signaled the end of the era for the cowboy. Small cattle drives, however, continued well into the 1940s, and the legacy of the cowboy is still imprinted on American culture
A group of stands on the balcony at the Garbbarino House Restaurant in Colorado. As their money flows improved more and more saloons shied away from their rough-and-ready reputation to become more accepted establishments
The Holy Moses Saloon in Mineral County, Colorado, 1890. Although the rough-and-ready saloons of the Old West may be gone, their spirit lives on in taverns and bars all around the United States
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