The Oldest Bar in Every State

Source: Silver Dollar Saloon / Facebook

6. Colorado
> Bar name: Silver Dollar Saloon
> City: Leadville
> Original bar founded: 1883

When it first opened in the Clipper Building, it was known as the Board of Trade Saloon. Gunslinger and gambler Doc Holliday played poker at the saloon. The bar’s name was changed to Silver Dollar Saloon in 1935. The saloon still has an old phone booth, the original tile floor, and the back bar was made by the Brunswick Company.

Source: Courtesy of The Griswold Inn / Facebook

7. Connecticut
> Bar name: Tap Room in the Griswold Inn
> City: Essex
> Original bar founded: 1776

Established during the American Revolution, the Griswold Inn survived an 1814 raid by the British during the War of 1812. Known as the Gris, the bar thrived during the golden era of steamboating and still features an impressive collection of marine art and artifacts from the 1820s. The tap room was originally used in 1730 as a schoolhouse.

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102 American Towns Founded Before the American Revolution

Source: cantwells-tavern.com

8. Delaware
> Bar name: Cantwell’s Tavern
> City: Odessa
> Original bar founded: 1822
William Polk built the Federal building that was initially called Cantwell’s Bridge Hotel and Tavern. It remained in operation for the next 100 years. the clientele was primarily merchants, ship captains, and visitors to this port town. Cantwell reopened in 2011 as an early 19th century style tavern, and the flooring on the first floor is the original.

Source: PalaceSaloon1903 / Facebook

9. Florida
> Bar name: The Palace Saloon
> City: Fernandina Beach
> Original bar founded: 1903

Located on Amelia Island, the Palace Saloon was originally a haberdashery before it was converted into a tavern. Known as the “Shipcaptain’s Bar,” owner Louis Hirth had his friend Adolphus Busch, founder of Anheuser-Busch, help design of the establishment. The last bar in America to close when Prohibition became the law of the land, the Palace Saloon served ice cream and sold Texaco gas.

Source: thepirateshouse.com

10. Georgia
> Bar name: The Pirate’s House
> City: Savannah
> Original bar founded: 1753

The Pirate’s House was a popular meeting spot for seamen and pirates thanks to its location — just one block from the Savannah River. Legend has it that the bar is not only haunted, but also that patrons who entered looking for a drink would wake up the next morning aboard a ship at sea. The most famous ghost to haunt the place is actually a fictional character. In Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Treasure Island,” Captain Flint dies in an upstairs room, shouting, “Darby M’Graw – fetch aft the rum….”