Did women own saloons in the Old West?

Key Takeaways

• Women often inherited saloons from husbands who died
• They often faced extra scrutiny and violence in rough towns
• There was a stigma of being tied to disreputable work

The headline to this piece, of course, steams from Miss Kitty, the legendary and sassy owner of the Long Branch Saloon in Dodge City for 19 seasons of Gunsmoke. Played by Amanda Blake, Miss Kitty appeared in 425 episodes.

So how about real life? Yes, women did own and operate saloons in the Old West.

It was, however, an exception rather than a rule.

Most saloon owners were men, but the frontier offered unusual opportunities for women who were entrepreneurial, tough, and willing to work outside traditional social expectations.

In many cases, women inherited saloons from their husbands who had died. Rather than sell, some took over the business themselves. Women who ran brothels or dance halls sometimes also controlled saloons, since liquor sales were closely tied to their business.

It wasn’t easy for women. They faced extra scrutiny, legal battles over liquor licenses, and the risk of violence in rough towns. Many also had to battle the stigma of being tied to what was considered disreputable work. Those who did own saloons, however, tended to be women with strong personalities who were not afraid of male-dominated times.

A handful of women were notable saloon owners. Nellie Cashman, an Irish immigrant known as the Angel of Tombstone (Arizona), ran restaurants and boarding houses and occasionally invested in saloon ventures. Kitty LeRoy, a gambler and dance hall girl, ran her own saloon in Deadwood (Dakotas Territory) before her dramatic death in 1877 when she was shot and killed by her fifth husband in her saloon.

In the 1890s in San Antonio, Fanny Porter was known as a madam and ran a combination and saloon that was once a favorite hang for Butch Cassidy and his Wild Bunch gang. Alice Ivers Tubbs, known as Poker Alice, ran gambling tables in saloons before opening her own later in South Dakota. Eleanor Dumont (Madam Mustache) came from France and owned her own gambling parlor and saloon in Nevada City, California in 1854 and Sarah Bowman operated a boarding house/saloon in El Paso just after the Mexican-American War in 1848 that catered to soldiers and travelers.

So, while women saloon owners weren’t common, you can see that those who did step into the business became some of the most colorful and memorable personalities of the frontier. Just like Miss Kitty for 19 seasons of Gunsmoke.