What Were Wild West Saloons ACTUALLY Like?
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Published 2023-02-07
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
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All Comments (21)
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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.
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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".
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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The guy at the table with shirtsleeves and the long beard sure does look authentic with this HUGE WRISTWATCH!
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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
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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. ..
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The "Wild West" wasn't actually all that wild. The impressions we have today are formed by the genre of western movies. My ancestors moved west starting in 1840, and none of them died by violence. The western saloon was more like what you'd picture as a modern day neighborhood dive bar. Violent things happened, but it wasn't every day. That impression is the influence of modern day movies, highlighting the most interesting stories to make a movie.
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I think we can all agree that hard liquor and handguns are the perfect combination.
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Thank you. This was an excellent video. It was good to hear the real history instead of the fiction we see in movies.
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Thank you for the videos buddy, learned a lot that I didn't know or was misinformed about!! Keep up the great work
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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
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Really well done ! ! Very informative. Thank you.
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Outstanding presentation and Thanks.
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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.
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Very good video. Thanks.
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Very interesting, enjoyed that, subscribed.
