DODGE CITY – THE BIBULOUS BABYLON OF THE PLAINS
By Odie B. Faulk
Pages 91, 92, 93, and 94
Purchasers of the Billiard Saloon in 1876 were Chalkley M. Beeson and William H. Harris. Chalk Beeson, as he was known, had been a stage driver in Colorado before arriving in Dodge in 1875 to collect a debt. With Harris as a partner, he changed the name of Peacock’s establishment to the Saratoga, and soon they upgraded the image of the place significantly. Beeson was a skilled violinist and he provided music while Harris presided over the gambling and liquor sales. Their bartender was Adam Jackson, known locally as the "Champion Milkpunch Mixer." Their advertising stated, "This house is a first class one, conducted in the finest style and in the highest order. The proprietors take especial pains to make their customers feel comfortable."
Two years after they acquired the Saratoga, Beeson and Harris sold that property and moved just west of Hoover’s wholesale liquor store to build the Long Branch. Afterward the old Saratoga became the Lone Star Saloon and declined in reputation. The Long Branch became one of the best establishments in Dodge, thanks mainly to the musical talents of Chalk Beeson. Joined by four other musicians---who accompanied him on another violin, a trombone, a cornet, and a piano—he and Harris advertised a five-piece orchestra that provided background music during the boom months of summer and autumn. However, no dancing or bar girls to solicit customers for prostitution were allowed. Adam Jackson followed them to the new establishment as bartender, bringing with him his reputation as the best at his trade in Dodge City. The Long Branch featured three rooms: in the front was the bar and a billiard table, along with one section reserved for the orchestra; the second room was for private gambling, for no professionals were allowed there; and the third room contained cots where drunks were put. Beeson and Harris operated the Long Branch, complete with steerhead out front to attract thirsty Texas cowboys and cattlemen, until 1883, when they sold the business, but not the building, to Luke Short.
Next door to the Long Branch, between it and Bob Wright’s store was the Alamo Saloon, which opened for business on June 1, 1877. Wright previously had used the space to provide drinks for those outfitting in his store, but under the ownership of Henry V. Cook it assumed a genteel air. The Dodge City Times on June 2, 1877, described the Alamo as "new and bright and quiet. It will have no music, and those who resort to its well kept parlor can hear themselves talk as well as think." Obviously this placed the Alamo in competition with the Saratoga and, later, the Long Branch where Chalk Beeson provided music. The bar of the Alamo was in the front room, while behind it was a larger area that served, according to the Times, as "a quiet, pleasant resort, where the cigar and refreshments can be enjoyed at leisure." Cook, "a reformed Quaker from New York," apparently was an excellent bartender, for the Times reported on June 17, 1877, that his "toddy (every genuine cattle man drinks toddy) increases the value of a Texas steer about $2.75."
Page 95
Owning or operating a saloon on the north side of Front Street was considered a respectable occupation during these years. In fact, many of these men held positions of trust and honor in the community. John G. McDonald, George Hoover’s partner, was appointed a special county commissioner by Governor Osborn when the county was organized in 1873; and Hoover became the second mayor of the city, and was a founder and charter president of the bank of Dodge City. Moreover, George T. Hinkle, who tended bar at Hoover’s saloon, defeated Bat Masterson for sheriff of Ford County in November 1879. James H. Kelley, a partner with P. L. Beatty in the saloon business, also served as mayor of Dodge City, and William H. Harris, who joined with Chalkley Beeson to operate the Saratoga and the Long Branch, was vice president of the Bank of Dodge City and city treasurer.
Page 128
Music also was much appreciated in that day before recordings and radio made it widely available. In 1878 the "good" people of the town conducted a fund-raising drive to secure money to purchase instruments for what was called the "Dodge City Silver Cornet Band". This, said a newspaper account, was done so "Dodge City can toot her own horn". This organization later changed its name to the "Dodge City Brass Band" and the in 1880 to the Dodge City Cowboy Band. As such it played for parades and other festive occasions; it played when politicians came to town, when new businesses opened, even at funerals. Soon the Cowboy Band began dressing the part, each member wearing broad-brimmed hats decorated with a cattle brand, neckerchiefs, leather chaps, boots, and six-guns. Its fame spread, and soon an enterprising promoter arranged a concert tour for it to Kansas City, Chicago, St. Louis, and elsewhere in the Midwest and East, for people willing to purchase tickets to see "genuine" cowboys performing music with skill and precision. The Cowboy Band was even invited to Washington, D.C. to participate in the inaugural festivities for Benjamin Harrison in March 1889. Chalkley Beeson, co-owner of the Saratoga Saloon and later the Long Branch---and a musician of note—was one of the originators and a driving force in the organization. By 1890, however, the band had become so structured that the members no longer enjoyed it, and it was disbanded.