America’s “Stiffest Guzzlers”

At Christmastime in 1878, Montana’s territorial capital had been fixed at Helena, Fort Benton was the “Chicago of the Plains,” Butte was a struggling camp, and Miles City was a remote outpost serving brand-new Fort Keogh. Virginia City had lost its once substantial population and status. Captain Thomas Fuller, Collector of the U.S. Internal Revenue, reported on collections in Montana Territory. It was a report that some found disturbing and others relished.

The Central Beer Hall in Helena was one of Montana's many nineteenth-century drinking establishments.
Jorud, photographer. Montana Historical Society Photograph Archives.

Revenues for the fiscal year 1877-1878 in the territory were approximately $25,000, an increase of $3,000. This increase was directly related to the consumption of beer and other spirits. Captain Fuller noted that no “vinuous or spirituous liquors” were produced in Montana. The revenue was from only liquors consumed and malt liquors produced. Twenty-one breweries were operating in Montana in 1878, a number greater than in any other territory. The New North-West of Deer Lodge observed on December 12, 1878, that Montana’s drinkers were the “stiffest beer guzzlers in America.” In addition to the breweries, Montana Territory had 600 total licensed “whisky saloons.” Further, Helena had 161 liquor licenses issued for the fiscal year, more than any other settlement in the territory. Butte came next with 60, Miles City with 54, Virginia City 44, Bozeman 39, Deer Lodge 36, Benton 35, and Missoula 29. There were 95 licenses issued to dealers along the Tongue and Yellowstone rivers compared to only 13 the previous year. Soldiers must have been among the hardiest drinkers.
The New North-West lamented that these statistics revealed Montana to be a “fearfully dissipated people” and encouraged the Good Templars (a fraternal temperance group) to work harder on the population. Territorial population in 1878 was approximately 25,000. According to these statistics, there was a drinking establishment for every 40 men, women, and children—including all the Templars!

Carrie Nation

In 1910, the hatchet-wielding, bar-smashing temperance crusader Carrie Nation came to Butte. At that time Butte had 275 saloons; even Mayor Charles Nevin owned a bar. Booze joints in nearby Anaconda sported signs that read, “All Nations welcome except Carrie,” while reformers welcomed her with open arms. Onlookers cheered as the stout sixty-three-year-old Mrs. Nation, with a flourish and a crowd in tow, charged down the length of Butte’s notorious Pleasant Alley.

Carrie Nation flourishes her hatchet in this 1909 photo.
Kansas State Historical Society, B Nation, Carrie *48

She had some difficulty communicating with the resident prostitutes because few of them spoke English. At the end of the alley back on Mercury Street, she burst into the Irish World, a well-known parlor house, and met her match in madam May Maloy. The two got into a scuffle, and Maloy booted Mrs. Nation out the door with a well-placed kick. She emerged with her bonnet askew, suffering from a wrenched elbow. It was a moment Maloy’s patrons savored, and they celebrated with drinks all around. Thus Carrie Nation made not so much as a single convert in Butte. In fact, Butte likes to claim that Maloy’s was the last saloon Carrie Nation ever set foot in. While that’s not exactly true, it may have marked a turning point in her career.

From Montana Moments: History on the Go