Lawman Wyatt Earp Once Ran A Saloon Out Of A Tent In Idaho

Many outlaws and wanna-be entrepreneurs tried their hands at operating businesses across the western United States in the nineteenth century and failed miserably, but legendary Sheriff Wyatt Earp managed to run several successful operations before his passing in 1929. What many Idahoans don't know is that one of his earlier endeavors was operating a saloon and dance hall in the state's panhandle out of a tent.

Earp traveled pretty extensively for a human during the time, and his adventures landed him in both Idaho and California.

The Wild West has been romanticized for decades by Hollywood in films such as Tombstone, The Magnificent Seven, The Searchers, and many more. The truth is, this time in American history was extremely dangerous and ripe with lawlessness, disease, and despair.

Get our free mobile app

Wyatt Earp's story has been told in countless books, Internet productions, and films, but you'd have to have lived in the time and known him to really know what you're talking about; all we have are old photos, records, and a few remaining relatives passing down stories. Earp traveled pretty extensively for a human during the time, and his adventures landed him in both Idaho and California.

At one point before settling in Southern California with his wife Josephine, it's documented he ran a saloon out of a tent in northern Idaho, according to historynet.com. He ultimately retired in Los Angeles in a modest home that was demolished decades ago to make way for a middle school.

His grave can be found in a San Francisco-area Jewish cemetery. Earp is still regarded as one of the greatest lawmen and nineteenth-century entrepreneurs to have ever lived.