Wednesday, September 23, 2015

The Long Branch Saloon On Western Wednesday...!

It's always nice to find out that something you believed to be imaginary actually existed. Something like the Long Branch Saloon.

I've never been, but I can only imagine what the imagination could conjur up when going through the museum in this day and age. Might just be worth the trip someday, ya reckon?

The Long Branch Saloon of “Gunsmoke” fame really did exist in Dodge City—and still does. Sort of.

Anyone who watched the television show “Gunsmoke” growing up is well acquainted with Miss Kitty’s Long Branch Saloon of Dodge City, Kansas. What viewers may not have realized is that the Long Branch really did exist. No one knows exactly what year it was established, but the original saloon burned down in the great Front Street fire of 1885. The saloon was later resurrected and now serves as a tourist attraction featuring a reproduction bar with live entertainment. According to the Boot Hill Museum, the original Long Branch Saloon served milk, tea, lemonade, sarsaparilla, alcohol and beer. Marshal Matt Dillon and Festus sporting milk mustaches? Now there’s a storyline.

Somehow I just can't get the image of Matt Dillon with a milk mustache out of my head. I need to go back and watch a few more episodes on the western channel, ya know?

Coffee out on the patio today!

4 comments:

linda m said...

Now you did it. I am going to have to watch Gunsmoke reruns to see if Matt Dillon has a milk mustache or not. Great story for today. If I ever get to Dodge City I'll have to check it out.

JO said...

Seems all the old western towns had a Bird Cage. We have out Tombstone, AZ with many of the old Saloons right down to the big old bars. Fun to visit those places. Of course some of the town has been re created for tourists but some building are origanel.

I hope we are done with all the rain now. It rained hard yesterday. Couldn't hardley see across the street. Patio sounds good to me

HermitJim said...

Hey Linda...
Somehow it is just too hard to imagine.
Thanks for stopping by today!


Hey Jo...
People are always fascinated by the saloons of the past, for some reason.
Thanks for coming over this morning!

Judy said...

Linda M - Unless you like cheesy tourist traps, don't.

Jo - I lived in a small town on the county line between Sedgwick and Sumner Counties (Kansas) that had a bar that still had the axe marks from where Carrie Nation expressed her opinion on the consumption of alcohol. (She used a hatchet as a prop when giving a talk.) The other interesting thing about the place was there was a door that opened up on each county line so when it was raided by which ever county sheriff the patrons would run out the opposite door. The gambling was was done in wagons so they could be pulled across the county line for the same reason.

Which got me to think about the bar in the little town 10 miles east of this one. They built that bar with the county line running down the middle of the building. Same two door set-up but with one twist. The bar ran across the back but had duplicate taps. You guessed it, on each side of the county line.

Mr. Jim - I would love some coffee and I baked a pan of brownies if any one is interested.