The Oldest Bar in Every State in America

The United States is home to more than 67,500 bars and nightclubs. Even though the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered many dining and drinking establishments, with bars taking a large hit, those locations that have survived and thrived are still serving customers since they began, almost a century ago.

We may all have a place we like to frequent, whether it’s a restaurant, bar, or coffee house, and just about every state in America has something to offer. Many of these drinking establishments are like a home away from home – a place you can go to relax, grab a drink, and catch up with friends.

To identify the oldest bar in every state in America still serving drinks, 24/7 Tempo reviewed establishments that have been in the same location from the time it started serving alcohol, although continuous operation was not required. Whenever possible, we consulted local experts and state historical societies. In each bar’s description, the date listed is when we believe the establishment first served liquor on its premises.

Almost from the moment the first settlers arrived in the New World, taverns and bars were established. Founding fathers Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin frequented the City Tavern in Philadelphia while the Declaration of Independence was being crafted. The melody of our national anthem, “The Star Spangled Banner,” is that of a British drinking song. This is the history behind America’s national anthems, songs, and marches.

Unfortunately, as a result of measures put in place during the coronavirus pandemic, many iconic neighborhoods found the lack of social gatherings particularly challenging and were forced to shutter their doors permanently. One such casualty was McCrady’s, the oldest bar in South Carolina, founded in 1778.

Many of the bars listed began operations before the states they are in joined the Union. Rhode Island’s White Horse Tavern is the nation’s oldest bar, opened in 1673. Some of these establishments are in America’s oldest towns. Here are 102 American towns founded before the American Revolution.

Throughout the years, some of these bars have had to alter what type of establishment they were, due to temperance movements in the 1800s and Prohibition from 1920 to 1933, and became private residences, went underground, operated as different types of facilities, or were forced to close. However, many establishments continued to operate as speakeasies.

Methodology

To be considered for the list of the oldest bar in every state in America, the establishment had to have been in the same location from the time it started serving alcohol, although continuous operation was not required. These places sometimes changed hands and names, but patrons today can stand in a place where alcohol was served centuries ago.

It was not always easy to determine a founding date for these establishments, often depending on the claims of the establishments themselves. Whenever possible, we consulted local experts, state historical societies, and more. In each bar’s description, the date listed is when we believe the establishment first served liquor on its premises.

1. Alabama

• Bar name: Peerless Saloon
• Original bar founded: 1899

The original proprietor of the Peerless Saloon, located in Anniston, was Robert E. “Daddy” Garner, known for serving its own Old Wildcat whiskey. The building has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1985 and the saloon features the original mirrored back bar that the owners claim was exhibited at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair. The second floor of the Victorian Neoclassical building was a brothel at one point.

2. Alaska

• Bar name: B&B Bar
• Original bar founded: 1906

Located in Kodiak, Alaska, the B&B Bar’s liquor license is the oldest liquor license issued in the state. The bar only serves bottles of beer — nothing on tap — and is cash only. The wood frame building is across from the marina, which is home to America’s second-largest fishing fleet and supplier of many of the bar’s patrons.

3. Arizona

• Bar name: The Palace
• Original bar founded: 1877

Among the early patrons of The Palace, situated on Whiskey Row in Prescott, Arizona, were Wyatt Earp, Virgil Earp, and Doc Holliday. The infamous Whiskey Row fire on July 14, 1900, gutted the Palace, but the original bar, still used to this day, was saved by patrons who carried it across the street to safety.

4. Arkansas

• Bar name: Ohio Club
• Original bar founded: 1905

This Hot Springs bar was also a legal casino during its first eight years of existence. Even after gambling was declared illegal in 1913, the Ohio Club’s casino and sports book remained open and in operation until 1967. A haunt of celebrities — famous and infamous — patrons included Babe Ruth, Al Jolson, and Mae West as well as gangsters Al Capone, Lucky Luciano, Bugsy Siegel, and Bugs Moran.

5. California

• Bar name: Smiley’s Schooner Saloon
• Original bar founded: 1851

Built during the Gold Rush days for Captain Isaac Morgan, who also owned an apple orchard and schooner building, Smiley’s Schooner Saloon, in Bolinas, California, survived the temperance movement of the 1860s, Prohibition, and the Great Earthquake of 1906. During Prohibition, the front was a barbershop, and a door led to the bar. Leila Monroe, who purchased the bar in 2015, is the first woman to own the establishment.

6. Colorado

• Bar name: Silver Dollar Saloon
• Original bar founded: 1879

Originally known as the Board of Trade Saloon when it opened in the Clipper Building, in Leadville, the Legendary Silver Dollar Saloon has been entertaining people since 1879. Gunslinger and gambler Doc Holliday played poker at the saloon. The bar’s name was changed to Silver Dollar Saloon in 1935 and it still has an old phone booth, the original tile floor, and the back bar that was made by the Brunswick Company.

7. Connecticut

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

The Griswold Inn, located in Essex, was established during the American Revolution and 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.

8. Delaware

• Bar name: Cantwell’s Tavern
• Original bar founded: 1822

Initially called Cantwell’s Bridge Hotel and Tavern, this Odessa Federal building was built by William Polk and 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.

9. Florida

• Bar name: The Palace Saloon
• Original bar founded: 1903

Originally a haberdashery before it was converted into a tavern, the Palace Saloon is located at Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island. Known as the “Shipcaptain’s Bar,” owner Louis Hirth had his friend Adolphus Busch, founder of Anheuser-Busch, help design 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.

10. Georgia

• Bar name: The Pirate’s House
• Original bar founded: 1753

Thanks to its location in Savannah — just one block from the Savannah River, the Pirate’s House was a popular meeting spot for seamen and pirates. It was also the site of the first public agricultural experimental garden in the country. Legend has it that the bar is haunted although the most famous ghost to haunt the place is 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….”

The dilapidated saloon was slated for demolition in 1945 but with the help of Mary Hillyer, it was restored to its former glory.

11. Hawaii

• Bar name: Smith’s Union Bar
• Original bar founded: 1934

Before the attack on Pearl Harbor, each ship in the Navy had a bar that its sailors frequented. Smith’s Union Bar in Honolulu was home to the crew of the ill-fated USS Arizona. Every year on Dec. 4, Lauren Bruner went to Smith’s for a drink in memory of his shipmates.

Bruner was a 20-year-old Fire Controlman on Dec. 7, 1941, when the Japanese attack sank the ship and killed 1,177 of the 1,512 crewmen on board. He passed away on September 10, 2019, at 98 years of age.

12. Idaho

• Bar name: White Horse Saloon
• Original bar founded: 1907

The White Horse Saloon, in Spirit Lake, is not only the oldest building but the tallest as well. With its peanut-covered original wood floors and bar, this saloon offers an extensive drink menu for all to enjoy. The building, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, also houses a restaurant and an eight-room hotel. It’s also said to be haunted by “Big Girl,” a spirit who is said to roam the second floor.

13. Illinois

• Bar name: The Village Tavern
• Original bar founded: 1847

The Village Tavern in Long Grove, known for its massive 35-foot mahogany “President’s Bar”, which survived Chicago’s 1967 Great McCormick Place Fire, is a treasure trove of antiques. One of these is a grandfather clock from the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair as well as a front door that was in the entryway back in 1847.

14. Indiana

• Bar name: Knickerbocker Saloon
• Original bar founded: 1835

The Knickerbocker Saloon in Lafayette was established in 1835 inside the Larh Luxury Hotel, although it didn’t arrive on its current name until 1874 and was originally known first as the Gault House Tavern and then the Cherry Wood Bar. Providing an array of cocktails to guests, from Neil Armstrong, Mark Twain, President Ulysses Grant, and Al Capone. The current bar, which is made of walnut with an inch-thick cherry veneer, replaced the original bar in 1891.

15. Iowa

• Bar name: Breitbach’s Country Dining
• Original bar founded: 1852

President Millard Fillmore issued the federal permit allowing the bar to open in Sherril, Iowa in 1852. Since Jacob Brietbach purchased the bar and restaurant in 1862, it has been passed down through six generations. Fires burned the building to the ground — twice in 10 months in 2007 and 2008. However, the bar was rebuilt and remains a popular spot.

16. Kansas

• Bar name: Hays House Restaurant and Tavern
• Original bar founded: 1857

Original owner Seth M. Hays, who founded the Hays House Restaurant and Tavern, was the first European settler in Council Grove and is considered the founding father of the city. A great-grandson of Daniel Boone, Hays established his namesake restaurant that was built on the Santa Fe Trail. In the 1800s, it was a mixed-use building and in addition to being a bar, restaurant, trading post, courthouse, and post office, it even held church services.

When the building had its thatched roof, which was destroyed in a fire in 1886, theatrical performances were held here, and with the new construction of a flat roof, the ten rooms were rented to overnight guests. The original bar can still be found in the stone basement, which is sometimes opened for special occasions.

17. Kentucky

• Bar name: The Old Talbott Tavern
• Original bar founded: 1779

The Old Talbott Tavern in Bardstown is known as the oldest stagecoach stop west of the Allegheny Mountains. Its exact location, according to the tavern, is at the crossroads of the young West, where the Post roads, North, East, South, and West met, which is partly why many stagecoaches made this their stop.

The original eastern end of the building has 2 feet-thick Flemish stone walls that are said to be an extremely rare example of Flemish bond stonework. Since opening, the tavern has attracted many celebrated visitors, including Daniel Boone, George Rogers Clark, Abraham Lincoln, the exiled King Louis Philippe of France, Jesse James, and General George Patton.

18. Louisiana

• Bar name: Old Absinthe House
• Original bar founded: 1870

One of New Orleans’ most prominent historical landmarks, the Old Absinthe House, located in the French Quarter is a more than 200-year-old building that became a regular drinking establishment in 1870. The building was erected in 1806, and in 1815 it was known as “Aleix’s Coffee House,” later renamed “The Absinthe Room” in 1874 thanks to its new specialty, the Absinthe House Frappe, created by mixologist Cayetano Ferrer.

Now located on Bourbon Street, the bar had to use a substitute for its most famous concoction from 1912 to 2007, when absinthe was illegal in the U.S. and the original bar is now Belle Époque, the adjoining speakeasy-style cocktail bar.

19. Maine

• Bar name: Jameson Tavern
• Original bar founded: 1801

This tavern, located in Freeport, began as a private residence

Originally a private residence, the home was built in 1779 and was later purchased in 1801 by Captain Samuel Jameson. Jameson’s widow sold the establishment to Richard Codman in 1828 when it became Codman’s Tavern and remained in business until 1856. A bronze plaque on a granite marker outside the tavern proclaims it and Freeport to be the “birthplace of the state of Maine.”

Famous guests that have stopped by were the poets Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and John Greenleaf Whittier. The tavern reopened in 1982 and is located next to L.L. Bean’s main store.

20. Maryland

• Bar name: Middleton Tavern
• Original bar founded: 1750

During the American Revolution, the Middleton Tavern, located in Annapolis, was where several founding fathers frequented, including Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Monroe, as well as members of the Continental Congress. Although the building was constructed in 1740, it wasn’t until 1750, when it was sold to Horatio Middleton, that it began operating as a tavern, or as it was then known an “Inn for Seafaring Men.”

There were a few name changes, along with changes of ownership but in 1968 the new owner changed it back to its original name.

21. Massachusetts

• Bar name: Warren Tavern
• Original bar founded: 1780

One of the most historic taverns in the country, the Warren Tavern, in Charlestown, was built in 1780 and is one of the first buildings erected after the town was burned by the British in the Battle of Bunker Hill. The beams used for the ceiling came from the Charlestown Navy Yard and are even older than the building.

The tavern was named in honor of Dr. Joseph Warren, who was killed in the Battle of Bunker Hill. Warren is accredited with directing Paul Revere and William Dawes to warn John Hancock and Samuel Adams that the British were coming to arrest them in 1775. Famous patrons include George Washington, who stopped by while in Charlestown, and Paul Revere, who was a regular.

22. Michigan

• Bar name: Old Tavern Inn
• Original bar founded: 1835

The Old Tavern Inn is located in Niles in the village of Sumnerville and was once on the trail that connected Chicago to Detroit. It is the oldest bar and business in the state, recognized by the State Historical Society and the State Chamber of Commerce, and was established two years before Michigan entered the Union.

23. Minnesota

• Bar name: Neumann’s Bar & Grill
• Original bar founded: 1887

Established in 1887 in North St. Paul as a way to serve the local beer, made by Hamm’s Brewery, to the community, Bill Neumann founded Neumann’s Bar & Grill in the settlement that was once called Castle, later changing to North Saint Paul. It was the brewery that not only helped put the bar on the map but also provided Neumann with the back bar that still serves patrons today.

It was Jim Neumann who added the small frog pond the the front window vestibule around 1930 and remains to this day to the delight of both young and old.

24. Mississippi

• Bar name: Under-the-Hill Saloon
• Original bar founded: 1800s

Under-the-Hill Saloon in Natchez earned the title of oldest state bar when the former oldest bar – the King’s Tavern – closed in 2012. Although the exact date of establishment isn’t entirely known due to a fire, it is believed that the Under-the-Hill Saloon opened in the late 1700s/early 1800s.

The building that houses the saloon was also used as a brothel, general store, warehouse, and of course, the saloon, which is the last remaining establishment in the building. Named for the section of town it’s in, it is at least 200 years old. Mark Twain is said to have roomed upstairs.

25. Missouri

• Bar name: J. Huston Tavern
• Original bar founded: 1834

Listed in the National Register of Historic Places, the J. Huston Tavern is a focal point of the Arrow Rock State Historic Site. Built by early Arrow Rock settler Joseph Huston, Sr. who was a civic leader from Virginia, the tavern was originally the family home. Over the years, a mercantile store and ballroom were added. In 1955, a large dining room and modern kitchen were added as well.

Per the Missouri State Parks Department, dining reservations for the tavern are temporarily on hold for the 2024 season, but Missouri State Parks anticipates the continued operation of the restaurant in the near future.

26. Montana

• Bar name: Bale of Hay Saloon
• Original bar founded: 1863

The Bale of Hay Saloon, in Virginia City, was originally known as the J.F. Stoer Saloon. The building was sold – and renamed – to the Smith & Boyd Saloon, eventually changing to the name it is known as today, the Bale of Hay Saloon. Once a brothel for Virginia City’s mining community, the saloon features old furniture and fixtures, including a giant hand-carved mahogany bar. It depends heavily on seasonal tourism and is only open from May through September.

27. Nebraska

• Bar name: Glur’s Tavern
• Original bar founded: 1876

This Columbus, Nebraska saloon was originally established at the Bucher’s Saloon, after its namesake owners, William and Joseph Bucher who came from Switzerland. Bartender Louis Glur, who had worked at the bar since he was 17 years old, purchased the establishment in 1914, renaming it Glur’s Tavern. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it counts William “Buffalo Bill” Cody as one of its early customers.

28. Nevada

• Bar name: Genoa Bar
• Original bar founded: 1853

The Genoa Bar, in Genoa, Nevada has changed names, and ownership, several times since it was established in 1853. This gentlemen’s saloon was originally called Livingston’s Exchange, which was then renamed “Fettic’s Exchange” in 1884 and is currently owned by Willy and Cindy Webb. Many original elements of the saloon are still featured, including the diamond-dust mirror behind the bar, which came from Glasgow, Scotland in the 1840s.

Quite a few famous people have frequented this tavern, from Mark Twain and Presidents Ulysses S. Grant and Teddy Roosevelt to Raquel Welch, who left behind a black leopard-print bra that still hangs from the rafters.

29. New Hampshire

• Bar name: The Hancock Inn
• Original bar founded: 1789

Currently closed, with an expected reopen date sometime in 2024, the Hancock Inn, located in the Hancock Historic District, was founded in 1789 by Noah Wheeler. While the original name of the tavern and inn is unknown, it went by the Fox Tavern once it was taken over by Wheeler’s son-in-law, Jedediah Fox. Purchased by the Main Street Realty Group LLC in 2022, it is undergoing extension renovations.

30. New Jersey

• Bar name: The Barnsboro Inn
• Original bar founded: 1776

In 1776, then-owner John Barnes, who called the building home, petitioned the Gloucester County Court judges to license his home as a tavern. Built in 1720 in Sewell, it was purchased by Barnes in 1751 and after being granted his license, it became a bar in 1776. The oldest part of the Barnsboro Inn is the cabin, built of squared cedar logs, and stands just as sturdy as it did in the 18th century.

The Barnsboro Inn has gone by several names over the years, from the Spread Eagle and the Barnsboro Hotel to the Crooked Billet Inn and was added to the National Register of Historic Places listings in 1973.

31. New Mexico

• Bar name: El Patio Cantina
• Original bar founded: 1934

Located in one of the most historic buildings in the town of Mesilla, the El Patio Cantina was established in 1934, just after Prohibition ended. The original owner was Colonel Albert Jennings Fountain, noted as a legendary lawman, Civil War veteran, and attorney, who called Billy the Kid a client. It has been operated continuously by direct descendants of Fountain.

The building dates back to the 1800s, and before it became the El Patio Cantina, it was home to the Butterfield Overland Mail, the Mesilla Times, Sam Bean’s Saloon, a Blacksmith’s forge, the Albert Fountain Mercantile, and even a U.S. Post Office

32. New York

• Bar name: The Old ‘76 House
• Original bar founded: 1668

Not only is the Old ‘76 House the oldest bar in New York, it is one of the oldest taverns in the country. Located in Tappan, this 300-year-old landmark, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, dates back to 1668 and was used as a meeting place for patriots during the American Revolutionary War and served as a prison for just one person – the famous spy John Andre, a major in the British Army, who plotted with General Benedict Arnold.

The building was host to founding father George Washington, his chief provisioner Samuel Fraunces (who turned the NYC building on Pearly Street into a tavern), and many Continental Army generals.

33. North Carolina

• Bar name: Antler’s Bar
• Original bar founded: 1932

The previous title holder for the oldest bar in North Carolina went to the Tavern in Salem, dating back to 1784. However, upon its closure, the title was given to Anther’s Bar in Blowing Rock. Founded in 1932, this saloon sits inside Bistro Roca and began serving alcohol during prohibition.

34. North Dakota

• Bar name: Peacock Alley American Grill and Bar
• Original bar founded: 1933

Following the end of prohibition, the Peacock Alley American Grill and Bar in Bismarck opened its doors in what used to be the Patterson Hotel lobby. The structure that houses the saloon was once the tallest structure in the city. While it officially opened in 1933, it was covertly serving alcohol during prohibition, using an elaborate system of alarms to alert the presence of unwanted guests.

The hotel has since been converted into senior housing, but the bar remains. The Peacock Alley still has the original Herman Kretz vintage decor, and the scroll decoration around the door area inspired the bar’s name.

35. Ohio

• Bar name: Spread Eagle Tavern
• Original bar founded: 1837

The historic Spread Eagle Tavern in Havoverton was commissioned by Will Rhodes in 1837 and is still known today as one of the top examples of Federal Period architecture. The renowned late 18th-century architect Asher Benjamin inspired the inside decor and the building was home to the Hanover’s Justice of the Peace. It is said that the tavern welcomed Abraham Lincoln in 1864, and it was also a stop on the Underground Railroad.

36. Oklahoma

• Bar name: Eischen’s Bar
• Original bar founded: 1896

Eischen’s Bar, located in Okarche, was originally known as Eischen’s Saloon when it was opened by Peter Eischen in 1896, 11 years before Oklahoma entered the Union. When prohibition ended, it was reopened by Eischen’s son Nick and grandson Jack and renamed Eischen’s Bar. The bar was destroyed by fire in early 1993 but reopened after it was rebuilt in the summer of 1993. Part of the antique back bar is on still on display.

37. Oregon

• Bar name: Huber’s
• Original bar founded: 1879

This Portland bar was originally known as the Bureau Saloon in 1879 when it was established by then-owner W. L. Lightner. It was renamed to Huber’s in 1895 when it was purchased by bartender Frank Huber. It moved to its current location in 1910 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

Huber brought on Chinese immigrant Jim Louie to work the lunch counter upon the passing of both Frank Huber and his wife Augusta, their son John partnered with Louie who left his share to his nephew who eventually bought the restaurant from John. During prohibition, it was able to thrive by converting to a full-time restaurant and serving its specialty turkey dinners, which are still on the menu today. It is still currently owned by the Louie family.

 

38. Pennsylvania

• Bar name: King George II Inn
• Original bar founded: 1681

The King George II Inn in Bristol was originally founded in 1681 by Samuel Clift, who called it the Ferry House. Clift was granted 262 acres along the Delaware River by the provincial New York governor, Edmuch Andros. Andros had one condition – that Clift build a river ferry and a pub. Ferry service was established between New Jersey and Pennsylvania and the inn acted as a stopping place for passengers. The Inn claims George Washington slept there on his way to his first military commission.

39. Rhode Island

• Bar name: White Horse Tavern
• Original bar founded: 1673

The building that houses the White Horse Tavern in Newport was constructed in 1652 as a residence for Frances Brimley. Said to be America’s oldest bar, the Tavern was acquired by William Mayes, Sr. who established it in 1673. It became the meeting place of the Colony’s General Assembly, Criminal Court, and City Council.

Tavern keeper Jonathon Nichols renamed it the White Horse Tavern in 1730. In 1954, the Preservation Society of Newport County rescued the building from demolition by restoring it to its former glory. This National Historic Landmark is the 10th oldest bar in the world.

40. South Carolina

• Bar name: Villa Tronco
• Original bar founded: 1940

McCrady’s Tavern was once the oldest bar in South Carolina, founded in 1778, but the COVID-19 pandemic forced it to shutter its doors permanently. This resulted in Villa Tronco, in Columbia, taking the title of the oldest bar. It is also the state’s oldest family-owned restaurant, founded 80 years ago, and was originally the Iodine Fruit Store. It then transitioned into the Iodine Grill and then Tony’s Spaghetti House, becoming the first Italian restaurant in the area that served Italian meals during WWII to soldiers of Italian descent who were homesick. It eventually became Villa Tronco.

41. South Dakota

• Bar name: Buffalo Bodega Bar
• Original bar founded: 1877

The Buffalo Bodega Bar was established by Mike Russell in 1877 and named for his friend and hunting partner, Buffalo Bill Cody. Although Deadwood had many other drinking establishments at the time, the Buffalo Bar is one of the few that has stood the test of time. Today, it is part of a complex that offers dining, gaming, and live entertainment.

42. Tennessee

• Bar name: Springwater Supper Club
• Original bar founded: 1896

It may look like a dive bar from the outside but this Nashville bar, serving drinks since 1896, is said to be one of the best local bars in the city. This dive bar served drinks during the Tennessee Centennial and International Exposition in 1897 and converted to a speakeasy during Prohibition. This cash-only venue, known as the Springwater Supper Club since 1978, has hosted a variety of famous patrons and it is said that Al Capone and Jimmy Hoffa have gambled here.

43. Texas

• Bar name: Scholz Garten
• Original bar founded: 1866

Founded by German immigrant and Civil War veteran August Scholz in 1866, the Scholz Garten claims to be the oldest continually operated biergarten in the United States. This Austin establishment has been a popular stop for local politicians and hosts fundraisers and other political events. It was honored in the 1966 state legislature when House Resolution #68 recognized Scholz Garden “as a gathering place for Texans of discernment, taste, culture, erudition, epitomizing the finest tradition of magnificent German heritage in our State.”

44. Utah

• Bar name: Shooting Star Saloon
• Original bar founded: 1879

The building where the Shooting Star Saloon currently resides in Huntsville was built in 1850 and was once a mercantile shop for fur trappers and traders, Native Americans, herders, and settlers to the town. In 1879, it changed to a saloon originally named Hoken’s Hole after owner Hoken Olsen. It converted to a speakeasy of sorts during Prohibition but in 1929, Olsen sold the business to Carl Stokes who renamed it to its current moniker.

45. Vermont

• Bar name: Ye Olde Tavern
• Original bar founded: 1790

Ye Olde Tavern in Manchester was built in 1790 by Dorset Master Builder Aaron Sheldon and was originally called the Stagecoach Inn. It later became the Lockwood’s Hotel and in 1860 changed to the Thayer’s Hotel after new owner Steven Thayer. In the early 1900s, it went by the Fairview Hotel until its license was revoked, shuttering the hotel. It reopened in 1934 as another hotel and antique shop. In 1976, after extensive renovations, it reopened yet again as Ye Old Tavern.

In 2020, under then-owners Michael and Minna Brandt, it was recognized as a green business and was listed on the Vermont Register of Historic Places. It is now owned by Joseph Iraci.

46. Virginia

• Bar name: The Tavern
• Original bar founded: 1779

The Tavern was founded in 1779 and in addition to being the oldest bar in the state, it is also the eighth-oldest bar in the country. The oldest historic building in Abingdon, it began as a tavern and inn, housing prominent guests from Andrew Jackson and King Louis Philippe of France to the designer of Washington, D.C., Pierre Charles L’Enfant.

Throughout the years, from its inception until now, it has housed numerous businesses, some of which were a bank, bakery, general store, private home, and post office, with the original mail slot still in place. It also served as a hospital for Confederate and Union soldiers during the Civil War.

47. Washington

• Bar name: The Brick Saloon
• Original bar founded: 1889

The Brick Saloon was built in 1889 but just nine years after opening, it was rebuilt with 45,000 bricks, which earned it the name Brick Saloon. Its 100-year-old back bar originated in England and the bar’s 23-foot-long running water spittoon is still featured, and operating today. The saloon also appeared in the TV series “Northern Exposure” that filmed in Roslyn.

48. West Virginia

• Bar name: North End Tavern & Brewery
• Original bar founded: 1899

Founded in 1899 in Parkersburg, the North End Tavern & Brewery, known as the “NET” to locals, has been continuously operating since the 19th century. The addition of a microbrewery in 1997 expanded the site, with hops grown on the premises and between three and six different hand-crafted craft brews offered each month. North End is also known for its burgers, German-American fare, and craft brews.

49. Wisconsin

• Bar name: The Uptowner
• Original bar founded: 1884

Founded in 1884 in Milwaukee as the Barnet Kozlowski Saloon, this establishment was so successful that in 1891 the Schlitz Brewing Company contracted with owner Kozlowski to operate as a “Tied House,” selling only Schlitz beer, which was known as the beer that made Milwaukee famous. It operated during Prohibition as the Gordon Park Pharmacy, allowing certain guests to purchase “medicinal beverages.” It was renamed to the Uptowner in 1952.

50. Wyoming

• Bar name: Miner’s and Stockmen’s Steakhouse
• Original bar founded: 1862

The oldest bar is located in the oldest incorporated town of Hartville, which began as a mining town. Miner’s and Stockmen’s Steakhouse was once a haven for prospectors and law-breaking cattle rustlers. While copper is no longer mined in Sunrise Mines, and the population is not much more than a few dozen, this high-end steak establishment offers its patrons more than just fine steak – there are 35 different whiskeys on the menu.