The oldest bar in every state

The oldest bar in Alabama is subject to debate, as the Montgomery Advertiser reported. The title was formerly held by Peerless Saloon & Grille in Anniston, which recently shut down. T.P. Crockmier’s in Mobile has technically been in business since 1875, but it originated in Atlanta before moving to Alabama.

That leaves Callaghan’s Irish Social Club in Mobile. It opened in 1946 as “a local watering hole and grill designed for the working man,” according to the bar’s website. It was once a members-only club, but has since opened its doors to everybody.

While B&B Bar in Kodiak claims to have the oldest liquor license in the state from 1906, the Imperial Bar in Juneau was established in 1891 as the Missouri Saloon.

The bar closed during Prohibition, serving as a cigar store and a billiard parlor, the Juneau Independent reported. After national Prohibition ended in 1933, the bar’s owner quickly obtained one of the first liquor licenses in the state. The Imperial Bar’s website says the establishment has “survived fires, shootouts and bar fights.”

Opened in 1877, The Palace Restaurant and Saloon in Prescott is the oldest frontier saloon in Arizona and one of the oldest restaurants in the state, according to Prescott’s tourism office. Located in Prescott’s iconic “Whiskey Row,” the Palace welcomed the frontiersmen Wyatt Earp, Virgil Earp, and Doc Holliday among its early patrons.

In 1900, the Palace was destroyed by the Whiskey Row fire, but it was rebuilt and open for business again within a year.

Open since 1905, the Ohio Club holds the title of Arkansas’ oldest bar. Many well-known figures are said to have stopped by the watering hole and casino, including gangsters Al Capone, Bugsy Siegel, Bugs Moran, and Lucky Luciano.

During Prohibition, the Ohio Club turned into a speakeasy and changed its name to Ohio Cigar Store, according to the bar’s website. In front, visitors would find an unassuming cigar store, but behind a couple of doors in the back, there was a bar, as well as an upstairs casino.

In 1852, the bar was filled by “thousands of thirsty prospectors,” its website notes. After a devastating fire a few years later, its owners continued to sell drinks from a tent.

In 1862, the Holbrooke Hotel was built around the bar, according to California State Parks.

Another bar frequently cited as the state’s oldest, the Iron Door Saloon in Groveland, didn’t become a bar until 1896.

The Buffalo Rose traces its history to the International Bowling Saloon, which opened on the property in 1859, according to Uncover Colorado.

Over the years, the institution has undergone multiple ownership and structural changes. The second floor was removed in the 1880s when the owner at the time installed a large organ that wouldn’t have fit otherwise, per the bar’s website.

The Griswold Inn is practically as old as America itself. The inn has been operating since 1776 in the small Connecticut town of Essex.

For some bonus history: The building now used as the Tap Room dates back even earlier, to 1735, when it was used as a schoolhouse, the bar’s website says.

While not the oldest building that houses a bar in Delaware — that honor goes to Jessop’s Tavern in New Castle — Kelly’s Logan House is the oldest-operating restaurant and bar in the state. It’s also the oldest bar in the US continually operated by the same family, Delaware Today reported.

Opened in 1864, the Irish bar and restaurant is on the National Register of Historic Places and has been a go-to spot in Delaware for St. Patrick’s Day celebrations for more than 150 years. 

The Palace Saloon sits near the Florida-Georgia border and was originally built in 1878 as a haberdashery, according to Amelia Island Hospitality Group, which now operates the bar. It was purchased and repurposed as a bar in 1903, and the new owner enlisted the help of Adolphus Busch — the founder of Anheuser-Busch — to help design it.

The bar continued to market itself as a “gentleman’s establishment,” offering patrons complimentary towels and 14-pound solid brass spittoons.

The Palace was also reportedly the last bar to close on the eve of Prohibition, sustaining itself as an ice cream parlor during America’s dry era, per Visit Florida.

The Pirate’s House opened in 1753 as a rest stop for seafarers and pirates, according to its website.

Not only is The Pirate’s House Georgia’s oldest bar, but parts of the building date back to 1734. After World War II, the building was set to be demolished after a period of inactivity, but it was renovated instead.

Thanks to the recent closure of Smith’s Union Bar in Honolulu, which opened in 1934 and was widely known as Hawaii’s oldest bar, the title is up for debate in the state.

Murphy’s Bar, which opened in Honolulu in 1987, operates out of what was the Royal Saloon building, which dates back to the 19th century, but it has little connection to the original establishment, so it can’t be characterized as the state’s oldest bar.

Arnold’s Beach Bar is another potentially historic bar. According to KHON2, the bar opened in 1933, but its opening date is more widely reported as 1992.

That leaves another Honolulu bar, La Mariana Sailing Club, which may claim the title. The bar and restaurant have been open since 1957, operating out of a new location since 1975 after a tsunami destroyed the original site, the National Trust for Historic Preservation reported.

One local saying is “you haven’t partied until you’ve been to Ford’s,” according to East Idaho News.

Ford’s opened in 1906 and has passed through multiple owners.

Established in 1847, The Village Tavern in Long Grove is also the oldest tavern and restaurant in continuous operation in all of Illinois.

The bar and restaurant is home to a massive 35-foot-long mahogany “Presidents Bar,” which was saved after a 1967 fire, Food Republic reported.

The Knickerbocker Saloon has been in business since 1835, according to its website. Over the years, it’s reportedly had notable visitors such as President Ulysses S. Grant, Mark Twain, Al Capone, and Neil Armstrong.

The oldest bar and restaurant in the state, Breitbach’s Country Dining, has been in business since 1852 and was founded after a federal permit for the establishment was issued by President Millard Fillmore, according to the bar’s website.

The spot has also been run by the same family for six generations. Fires burned down the building in 2007 and 2009, but business continued both times, running out of the parking lot while the building was reconstructed.

Founded in 1857, Hays House Restaurant and Tavern was opened by Seth M. Hays, a grandson of pioneer Daniel Boone. Today, it stands as one of the oldest continuously operating restaurants west of the Mississippi River, according to the National Park Service.

Built in 1779, the Old Talbott Tavern has offered food and shelter to travelers ever since. The tavern’s website says it’s known as “the oldest western stagecoach stop in America.”

One of its most famous visitors was Daniel Boone, who, in April 1792, was subpoenaed to give a deposition at the tavern.

Old Absinthe House was built in 1806 and sits in New Orleans’ French Quarter, according to its website.

The bar’s liquor license was acquired in 1835, and notable figures such as Mark Twain, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Frank Sinatra were believed to have been housed there.

Previously, Jameson Tavern in Freeport held the title of the state’s oldest bar — it had served as a bar from 1801 to 2024, when it closed. The building is now a second location for the Portland-based King’s Head Pub.  

Upon the tavern’s closure, Forest Gardens in Portland became Maine’s oldest bar. It opened in 1936, according to the Bangor Daily News. The bar saw an ownership change in 2018 and briefly changed names before returning to the long-standing Forest Gardens name.

Originally opened in 1747, Reynolds Tavern spent much of the following two centuries serving other purposes, including as a bank and public library.

It returned to use as a tavern in 2000 after having been saved from proposed demolition decades earlier.

Warren Tavern, established in 1780, is named after Joseph Warren, a Harvard-educated doctor and Patriot who died in the Battle of Bunker Hill in the Revolutionary War in 1775.

The tavern was one of the first structures built after the British burned down Charlestown in the battle, according to the tavern’s website. George Washington and Paul Revere were among the tavern’s patrons.

The New Hudson Inn’s website claims it opened in 1831, and the bar may have assisted in the Underground Railroad, according to WXYZ Detroit.

A false floor and hidden room may have been used to house formerly enslaved people journeying to Canada.

Neumann’s was established as a saloon in 1887. The bar opened a speakeasy upstairs during Prohibition, according to its website. The keyhole window was used to confirm the identity of patrons is still in place today.

King’s Tavern, constructed in Natchez in the late 18th century, was long known as the state’s oldest bar. However, since it closed in 2020, there’s been debate over the oldest bar in the state.

While the building that houses the Under-The-Hill Saloon in Natchez dates back more than 200 years, it only opened as a bar in 1975, according to Wine Enthusiast. With no other well-documented frontrunners, the strongest candidate is the Blue Front Cafe in Bentonia. While more juke joint than bar, this café serves alcohol and is full of history.

Opened in 1948 by an African American couple, the establishment had to abide by local segregation laws, including not being allowed to serve Coca-Cola, according to Mississippi Blues Trail. The original couple’s son, blues guitarist Jimmy “Duck” Holmes, still runs the cafe, the Associated Press reported.

O’Malley’s is located 60 feet underground in what was the cellar of the Weston Brewing Company, which started producing and serving beer in 1842. In the 1980s, the then-owners, the O’Malleys, converted the underground cellar space into O’Malley’s Pub.

The brewery, which had closed its doors during Prohibition, reopened in the 1990s and is now located in a building next door, according to the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

The Bale of Hay Saloon, built in 1863, sat vacant for 36 years in the first half of the 20th century, per its website. Now owned by the Montana Heritage Commission, the classic watering hole offers live music and other events at this classic watering hole.

William “Buffalo Bill” Cody was among Glur’s Tavern’s famous patrons, according to Visit Nebraska. Established around 1876, the tavern’s storied history earned it a spot on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Genoa Bar and Saloon has been in business since 1853, according to Travel Nevada. Its period decor has made it a popular location for filming Hollywood movies. “The Shootist,” “Charley Varrick,” “Honky Tonk Man,” “Misery,” and “Till the River Runs Dry” were all filmed at the Genoa Bar and Saloon.

The Inn at Hancock has been in operation since 1789. Franklin Pierce, the only US president from New Hampshire, was friends with then-owner Squire Patten and was a regular guest, according to the New England Historical Society.

El Farol in Santa Fe, which opened as a cantina in 1835, was previously the oldest restaurant and bar in the state, but it closed in 2025. Its new owners plan to open it this year with the same name, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported in April.

Buckhorn Saloon and Opera House has been around since the 1860s, and attracted prospectors after gold was found in the area, according to the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

The Old ’76 House’s website claims it dates back to 1668, while other sources list the bar as being constructed in the 1750s. During the Revolutionary War, the bar served as a safe house.

Also known as “Andre’s Prison,” the bar once held John Andre, a major in the British Army, before he was executed for conspiring with Benedict Arnold and spying on American forces.  

While the log cabin that became the Barnsboro Inn was built in 1720, it didn’t become a tavern until 1776.

That leaves the Black Horse Tavern & Pub in Mendham, which was built in 1742. It is also the oldest continuously serving restaurant in the state, according to New Jersey Monthly.

When it was built, horse stables stood where the pub is now located, and the tavern was in an adjacent building on the property.

The previous holder of the “oldest bar” title, The Tavern in Old Salem, was built in 1816. However, it closed its doors in 2019.

Antlers Bar, which opened in Blowing Rock in 1932, is now believed to be the oldest bar in the state.

Antlers Bar burned down after a recent fire, though its owners plan to fully reopen it. For the time being, the bar is operating out of its nearby sister restaurant, Hellbender Bed and Beverage, according to its website.

Peacock Alley American Grill, which first opened in 1933, recently closed, leaving the Town Hall Bar in West Fargo to claim the title of the oldest bar in North Dakota.

The bar was constructed and opened in 1935, according to KVRR.

Ye Olde Trail Tavern in Yellow Springs was built by Elisha Mills and his son, William, as a tavern in 1827. It’s known for its signature burgers, and is also said to be haunted by a dark-haired woman in a blue dress, per the Yellow Springs News.

Peter Eischen established Eischen’s Bar in 1896. The bar closed down when state prohibition began in 1907, but it was reopened by Eischen’s son and grandson, according to the bar’s website.

Popular dishes include fried chicken, Frito pie, and a roast beef sandwich, according to Yelp.

In Oregon, the oldest bar question has been subject to debate, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting. Two bars — the Pioneer Saloon in Paisley and the Rainbow Cafe in Pendleton — both claim to have opened in 1883.

While either could be worthy of the oldest bar title, OPB reported that one historian found an estate record for the Pioneer Saloon confirming the 1883 date. The bar itself is full of history, like its Brunswick bar, which was shipped from Boston in 1905.

Broad Axe Tavern, which also opened in 1681, closed in 2019, according to KYW News Radio. This leaves the King George II Inn as the oldest in the state.

George Washington’s officers once stayed at the inn, and one Pennsylvania militia general helped plan the crossing of the Delaware River inside its walls, Tasting Table reported.

White Horse Tavern in Newport was called “the oldest bar in America” by Condé Nast Traveler. A National Historic Landmark, White Horse Tavern was originally built as a two-story home, according to the bar’s website.

William Mayes converted it into a tavern in 1673 and held City Council meetings and court proceedings there. In the 20th century, after a long period of neglect, the property was restored by the Preservation Society of Newport County.

The previous oldest bar in the state, McCrady’s Tavern and Long Room in Charleston, dated back to 1788, but it closed in 2020.

While Henry’s on the Market isn’t quite as old, it’s been open since 1933.

Henry’s was initially founded as a grocery store by Henry Otto Hasselmeyer, a German immigrant, according to the bar’s website. After Prohibition ended, he turned it into a beer parlor.

The Buffalo Bodega was established in 1877 and named for the owner’s friend and hunting buddy, Buffalo Bill Cody, according to the city of Deadwood.

Springwater, which opened in 1896, is a “true dive bar in its purest form,” Jesse Baker, the bar’s talent buyer, told Business Insider.

Although there have been structural updates to the bar over the past 100-plus years, there’s plenty of evidence of its fascinating history. During Prohibition, the bar operated as a speakeasy and today, it still has a peephole door with an axe mark from when the fire department forced their way in “to bust heads,” Baker said.

The bar at Scholz Garten was founded by a German immigrant and Civil War veteran, August Scholz, in 1866, according to Scholz Garten’s website. It promptly became a favorite haunt of other German immigrants in the area.

When the bar was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, The New York Times reported, “As bars go, this one is anything but usual, having given long service as a watering hole, debating forum, community center and political staging point.”

Today, the bar, which serves up German food and barbecue, is popular among University of Texas students.

The bar opened in 1879, according to the Salt Lake Tribune.

Today, it’s decorated with trinkets and bills from visitors from around the world, but most eye-catching is the stuffed head of Buck, a record-setting 298-pound Saint Bernard, who was mounted on the wall after his death in 1957, per Utah Stories.

Ye Olde Tavern dates back to the 18th century — a sign outside reads, “Wining & Dining since 1790” — although it’s been through many names and owners since then. It’s had its current name since 1976. 

The town’s first telephone line was installed at the tavern, according to the tavern’s website. The historic building is now on the Vermont Register of Historic Places.

A few other historic buildings in Virginia are home to bars, leading to some debate on which is the oldest. The Red Fox Inn in Middleburg, for example, was reportedly established in 1728, but its National Register of Historic Places application lists the date as being built circa 1830.

The Tavern, built in 1779, is often recognized as Virginia’s oldest bar, WCYB Abingdon reported. During the Civil War, it was used as a hospital, and it has also housed a post office, a bakery, a barber shop, and a general store, among other things.

While there’s some debate over who can claim the title of oldest bar in Washington, the Bluebird Inn in Bickleton opened its saloon in 1887, per the town’s website. According to the town’s Alder Creek Pioneer Carousel Museum, women were welcomed into the bar for the first time in the 1960s.

The town, known as “the bluebird capital of the world” for the number of bluebirds that call it home for most of the year, has a population of just 90 people, according to the 2020 Census.

The North End Tavern and Brewery, which opened in 1899, is the oldest tavern in the state. According to the West Virginia Gazette-Mail, the only remnants from the original bar are the “rough bricks laid into the basement floor” and “part of the foundation.”

In the 1990s, owner Joe Roedersheimer added a brewery. These days, the bar is better known as The Net.

Per OnMilwaukee, the bar initially was a stagecoach stop between Milwaukee and Racine. It opened as a bar for farmers and travelers in 1850, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

The building underwent a renovation in 1983.

Miners and Stockmen’s opened its doors for the first time in 1862 — that’s 28 years before Wyoming was granted statehood. Fittingly, it’s found in Hartville, Wyoming’s oldest incorporated town still in existence, according to Platte County.

Patrons can choose from a steakhouse menu and long list of wines and whiskey, according to the bar’s website.

Editor’s note: This story was originally published in May 2022 and was most recently updated in July 2026 to reflect closures.