What Were Wild West Saloons ACTUALLY Like?

No matter your knowledge of the wild west or experiences traveling around the western frontier, exploring ghost towns and abandoned settlements, one thing is for certain: When someone mentions the word “saloon,” you can close your eyes and picture exactly what they mean. Saloons play such an important role in our understanding of life in the old west, as they were truly the intersection of so many famous figures, lifestyles, legacies, and overall exciting events of the time period.

While the ideas and imagery of saloons have been reinforced by romantic notions of the wild west era and Hollywood films exaggerating their grandeur, they are historically misunderstood, admittedly like much of the lore we associate with the frontier. Saloons weren’t necessarily the hives of scum and villainy they are portrayed as. While there was certainly the card game gunfights and drunken brawls and town-shaking scandals occurring within the walls of western cantinas, the bloodshed was few and far between.

0:00 Introduction
1:37 Four Posts and a Canvas
8:59 The Golden Years

Thank you for watching.

Copyright © 2022 Footprints on The Frontier. All rights reserved.

[ll]

My great grandparents were given land in Northern British Columbia during the Yukon Gold Rush in the early 1890s, they were from California (They migrated there from Texas via New York City from Ireland via Wales where they were forced to leave in the late 1790s because of Black Bart Roberts, a family member who was also a scum-sucking, murderous pirate). They were also offered citizenship due to having trade skills, they helped build the town of Dawson Creek where my grandpa was born in 1928, the 13th of 13 kids.
My grandpa's sister Yvonne had albums full of old pics and a few were of some of my family in the town's first saloon, it was basically plywood over an alley or alcove between two houses, food and drinks were served from a kitchen in the back of one of the buildings. There were a couple tables and chairs crammed in, a metal woodstove but no front or back walls, big enough for maybe 10 people if a couple didn't mind standing while they drank. A sign on one of the houses said you could also get a hot bath, homecooked meal and rent a room for the night for $1, which is equal to about $35 in 2024.

[tonyt]

I was told by a history buff that the majority of alcoholic drinks in early saloons were actually flavored drinks, sweet and fruity, shots of whiskey weren’t the only or most popular option.

[asullivan]

Interesting and informative. Historians did a very good job presenting actual facts from fiction. Special thanks to the salon owners/customers making this documentary possible

[marvwatkins]

The guy at the table with shirtsleeves and the long beard sure does look authentic with this HUGE WRISTWATCH!

[tinaann]

I was surprised at how small Wild West saloons are. Like the bird cage for example. So small!

[markoliver]

One of Our towns (Prescott AZ) bars The Palace burnt down. During the fire the patrons dragged the actual bar out of the building and across the street to the park. They set up the bar and continued to drink while the whole block burned down. Where do we now set off the towns fireworks ?
Of course off of the roof of the rebuilt Palace Saloon. As soon as I learned that story I knew I was in the right place.

[collinator]

Can you imagine waking up in a saloon on a Sunday morning back then, hung over, and you just see a bunch of old ladies and a precher looking at you with a concerned look lol.

[jojobaker]

What always gets me about Hollywood westerns is how beautiful the women are and how well kept they were in westerns .. in reality that's absolutely BS. ..

[erictroxell]

As a history teacher i must say you did a great job. The only thing I feel you missed was explaining that everyone drank alcohol cause water was so dangerous at tge time. No big deal but i always found students were fascinated with this fact. Great job explaining the truth about the buildings as well.

[dancliffton]

i just love that you can go to one spot and get a beer, get a meal, get a room for the night, get a new job or even vote for your new mayor lmao

[davesnothereman]

I think we can all agree that hard liquor and handguns are the perfect combination.

[pranksterguy]

I've read that a reporter asked Wyatt Earp why town meetings in Tombstone seemed to be held in saloons. Wyatt replied "there weren't alot of YMCA's in Tombstone at that time".

[jeffaltier]

Thank you. This was an excellent video. It was good to hear the real history instead of the fiction we see in movies.

[BlairAir]

The 3 legged dog limps up to the saloon, and slams open the batwing doors, growling: "I'm looking for the man who shot my paw! Thats okay. I'll show myself out.

[SongJLikes]

I love my home. I’ve worked hard to own and maintain it.

…and I LOVE imagining how awesome my amenities would have been to a weary traveler in this time period… heck, to ANYONE living out west in those times.

We live in a wonderful age. We need to truly begin to appreciate what we have, and start taking advantage of it in a very positive way.

[SteffiReitsch]

If some dude came into one of these real places dressed up like Roy Rogers or some other 20th century tv/movie cowboy dude, he'd have been stared and laughed at unmercifully. They wouldn't know what to make of it.

[ewmhop]

GREAT VIDEO SIR, IN THE LATE 50S SOME PARTS OF THE LITTLE SOUTHERN TOWN WHERE I GREW UP, HAD A FEW PLACES LIKE THE LATER SALOONS IN YOUR VIDEO.THEY WERE FULL OF OLD MEN DRINKING TO TIMES LONG GONE.TAKE CARE

[rockymountainlifeprospecti]

We have our homestead in a ghost town of Freeland CO, 9400ft in altitude, was just a simple mining town, however mining in better climate was found, we quickly faded away, except for a few of us, and we all mainly have animal rescues of sorts. We actually got the woodstove from the old saloon/general store.. thanks for the video and taking some of the Hollywood out of our history, here in the wild west, and I assure you, it definitely was rough up here and by rougher folks, alot of unmarked graves up in the mountains. All the best .

[BamaFanUSMC]

Thank you for the videos buddy, learned a lot that I didn't know or was misinformed about!! Keep up the great work

[chadsimmons]

While digging a plumbing ditch behind where an old Missouri Saloon stood, i found pieces of burnt wood, small burlap & leather bags bags, bits of dried veggies, many bones of cattle, pigs, chickens, bear? Yes builder sent them to local university. Seems like the drinkers built a cook-fire behind the old bar.If you added a bit of groceries to the "stew-pot" you didn't leave half drunk & starving for a bite to eat.