A barrel of whiskey kick-started this frontier burg. The first business that opened on the site of Dodge City was George M. Hoover’s and John McDonald’s saloon built of sod and boards. The partners opened their saloon on June 17, 1872, and sold “red eye” whiskey for 25 cents a ladle full, as a reaction against the prohibition of liquor at nearby Fort Dodge. Someone had to wet the throats of the soldiers, buffalo  hunters and traders in the area. By August, the town was called Buffalo


Already Signed Up? Log in here.

Read this article now for Free!

Ready for a third free article? Create a free account by entering your email address and a password below.

— OR —

Sign Up Now for $29.95 a year and have immediate access to all of True West content, including the complete True West Archives dating back to 1953!

SIGN UP NOW or SIGN IN

This digital subscription is in no way connected to your Print Subscription. They are totally separate and cannot be connected. If you have a Print Subscription with True West, you will need to pay for a separate subscription to access this website and will receive a totally different Log In password. If you have an existing digital component to your Print subscription, you'll need to Sign In and request a new password.