How did saloons in the 19th-century American West operate?

by bluefoot55

Was the liquor they sold more like bourbon (made from corn) or other types of whiskey (made from grains)?

What proof was the liquor, usually? Did saloons sell different proofs?

Was the liquor distilled by the saloon keeper, or by a local distillery? How often was it bought from companies outside the area?

Did any saloons sell beer? If they did, was it brewed locally or by the saloon keeper? Or was it bought from breweries outside the area?

Did they offer anything like the free lunch that saloons back East offered?

Did the local government set any kind of regulations on the saloons, such as not having children or women on the premise, or was that left up to the discretion of the saloon keeper and local custom?

If any tavern patrons got drunk but not rowdy or belligerent, did the saloon keepers ever let them sleep it off in the back?

Thanks /u/Searocksandtrees - I guess; this is a whole lot of questions.

When mining camps opened up, primary sources describe a rush to the first one on site with liquor, and imports remained the rule for the rest of the life of a mining camp. Archaeological excavations throughout the Intermountain West suggest that diversity was also a rule, so if someone was distilling it in North America or Europe, a saloon keeper tried to obtain it for sale. I've seen all sorts of whiskeys (I can't address proof or the core product that was distilled) but also gin.

Beer was imported from as far away as Glasgow, Scotland - [Glasgow ale bottles were extremely common. This is an image of one of the cases we were setting up for the award winning exhibit "Havens in a Heartless World: Virginia City's Saloons and the Archaeology of the Wild West," drawing on the excavation of four saloons in Virginia City, 1866-1885. The cream-colored ceramic bottles are from Glasgow.

Although bottled beers were common, if a mining camp were large enough and seemed stable enough, someone usually opened a brewery. Saloons referred to themselves as breweries or breweries and saloons if they had a contract with a brewery that allowed them to serve draft beer. This is often misunderstood by later historians or property owners, who conclude that the brewery was actually at that location. Normally it wasn't, but the point - to answer your question - is that brewed beers were often part of the spectrum of possibilities.

Virginia City, Nevada saloons were offering free lunches by the early 1870s. It was considered bad form to come and eat but not purchase something to drink - and primary sources talk about those lowlifes who resorted to that sort of tactic. But yes - free lunches were common.

Our Virginia City archaeology of four saloon sites indicates that women were ubiquitous in saloons and many also had children. The vast majority of women on the mining frontier were respectable and most were married: in 1870 Virginia City and its sister city, Gold Hill, had fewer than 200 prostitutes but over 4,000 women. Some of the lowest saloons would provide prostitutes and a back room, but most opened the doors to respectable women, which meant there would be no prostitutes allowed. Children's toys indicate the presence of children as well for many of these places - some were family-friendly institutions where a man could bring his family (to use a sexism appropriate for the time), and everyone could enjoy a pleasant evening.

With a population that may have reached 25,000, Virginia City/Gold Hill had roughly 100 saloons. Most survived for only a few months, but each tried to exploit a unique niche to cater to a specific market. Some were ethnic saloons, some catered to the wealthy, some offered billiards, one I noticed offered shaves, haircuts and the latest newspapers. Some offered specialty foods. A few allowed target practicing - which seems like a really bad idea (drinking and firing pistols in a crowded place).

Arrest records mention the temporary incarceration of drunks, and primary sources describe belligerent drunks being asked to leave saloons. But with 100 saloons and two decades of bonanza, the Comstock saloons of Virginia City and Gold hill - to name just one mining district - certainly saw every possible expression of hospitality (and its opposite); in short, I'm sure that more than one drunk slept it off in a back room.

Sources to consider include Kelly Dixon (who supervised two of the four excavations) Boomtown Saloons and my book, Virginia City: Secrets of a Western Past(2012), which deals with general questions of archaeology including the saloons.