Prohibition in the Intermountain West
This virtual tour explores Prohibition across the Intermountain West through five key sites. The Mint Bar in Sheridan, Wyoming, embodied cowboy defiance. Kemmerer, Wyoming’s immigrant-fueled mining society embraced bootlegging as a cultural tradition. In Butte, Montana, the Rockwood Speakeasy contributed to the underground Prohibition scene, enabled by railroads and the Canadian border. Ogden, Utah’s Two-Bit Street defied religious temperance through diverse, concealed nightlife. In Denver, Colorado, the Brown Palace Hotel’s elite clientele escaped enforcement despite major busts. These places reveal how local culture, class, and politics shaped resistance to one of America’s most controversial laws.
The Mint Bar – Sheridan, Wyoming
In 1907 Charles “Dick” Marlow founded the Mint Saloon in Sheridan, WY. When Wyoming Prohibition laws banned alcohol in 1919, Marlow rebranded “the Mint” as legal storefronts but continued illegal alcohol sales. In 1935, post-Prohibition, the Mint Bar reopened its storefront as a bar. Today, the Mint Bar is still a staple of entertainment in Sheridan, Wyoming.
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Kemmerer, Wyoming Alcohol Culture during Prohibition
Kemmerer, Wyoming emerged in the late nineteenth century when Patrick J. Quealy founded a coal company and a town to go with it. Kemmerer was popular among immigrant business owners who set up shops seeking financial and personal freedom. Their diverse cultures contributed to Kemmerer becoming a bootlegger’s haven when Prohibition began a few decades later.
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The Rockwood Speakeasy – Butte, Montana
When Montana lawmakers passed alcohol bans in 1918, Butte’s nightlife went underground. Business owners concealed their speakeasies, brothels, and gambling halls in basements under the city’s sidewalks. During Prohibition, Rockwood (Rookwood) Speakeasy earned its fame hidden behind coats and code words.
James Pratt, proprietor of the Red Boot and Shoe Company, built the Rockwood (also called the Rookwood), in Butte, Montana in 1912. The ground level housed the shoe company’s shop, and the floors above functioned as a hotel. Pratt designed the building to attract attention and business with décor…
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Two-Bit Street – Ogden, Utah
Over the years, Ogden, Utah built its reputation as a countercultural hub, steadfastly resisting religious and political authority and conformity. During Prohibition, the city’s infamous Two-Bit Street flirted with illegality by housing speakeasies, stills, and brothels hidden behind innocent storefronts.
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The Brown Palace Hotel – Denver, Colorado
When Colorado enacted Prohibition in 1916, the Brown Palace Hotel quickly revealed how wealth evades discipline. Behind its European elegance, the hotel hosted bootleggers, celebrities, and politicians who drank with impunity. Its story offers a glimpse into how the elite can often sidestep laws supported and followed by the broader public.
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