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July, 2008, Kathy Weiser
The long bar still sits in Skinner's Saloon today, July, 2008, Kathy
Weiser.
This building, originally built on Yankee
Flats was moved to
Bannack in
1863. Owned by Cyrus Skinner, a
known
outlaw and
suspected gang member of the Innocents
Gang, the saloon quickly became one of the wildest places in town. During
its heydays, there were a number of shootouts in the saloon, including one
where a bullet went astray, punched through the wall, and killed a woman
across the street. On another occasion, two gamblers in a dispute, drew
their guns and blasted rounds at each other. Though neither gambler was
killed, a bullet killed a drunk man who was passed out on the floor.
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Bannack-Gold
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Haunted Bannack
Henry Plummer -
Sheriff Meets a Noose
Montana Ghost
Towns
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Cyrus
Skinner, who was an escapee from San Quentin prison in San
Francisco,
California
became extremely nervous when the
Montana Vigilantes were formed in late 1863. Despite his profitable
business, he and his wife soon fled
Bannack to
the small camp of Hellgate near present day Missoula, where he set up
another saloon. Skinner was right to
be nervous, as his friend, Henry Plummer
was hanged by the
vigilantes
shortly after he left. But, Skinner
wasn't safe. The
vigilantes
soon tracked him down and hanged him for his alleged role as a spy for the
road agents.
Afterwards, the building was operated as a
mercantile by two men named Graves and Murphy, followed by two more
merchandisers, named John McMeen and A.F. Wright.
© Kathy Weiser/Legends
of America, updated September, 2008
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