Through the years…

Whenever you come across an old building, you always want to know its story, right?  What businesses have been here?  Who were the customers?  Was it successful? Are there any pictures from ‘back in the day’?  And of course, is it haunted? 🙂  If the walls could only talk.  When I first saw Lone Tree Saloon (LTS), I wanted to know more.

Here’s an interesting summary of the Lone Tree Saloon building throughout the years that is posted online.  This summary was printed in “Your Country Neighbor” newsletter celebrating the 150th anniversary of Brownville.

 

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So the Lone Tree Saloon had its beginnings in 1860 as an old western saloon & brothel.  I’ve read that in the town’s heyday, there were as many as 17 saloons (any maybe just as many brothels?? who knows).  Lone Tree Saloon was conveniently located at 1st and Main Street, so it was the very first saloon that one would see once they got off the ferry.  I’m sure LTS would have had a lot of business from the folks who were passing through.

On a personal note, my great-great grandfather came to Brownville in 1867 to sign his homestead agreement at the Brownville Land Office, located just across the street and down the block.  I imagine that he would have celebrated his new endeavor with a drink from the Lone Tree Saloon.  Cheers!

During the summer of 1894, author Willa Cather spent time in Brownville gathering material to write an article commemorating the 40th anniversary of the town.  What she found was a sleepy, dying town with a big past.  The following quotes were taken from Willa Cather’s article of Brownville where she references LTS:

“Even the Lone Tree saloon is falling to pieces, and that, in a western town, is the sure sign that everything is gone.”

“One of the important features in the river history of the town was the Lone Tree saloon, a long, brick building shaded by a huge maple, from which it took its name.  There the teamsters of the western caravans used to assemble with the boat crews and exchange stories of the desert and the mountains for stories of the doings of the world and afterwards get gloriously drunk and sing in the streets till morning.”

“…and the teamsters were singing and twanging their banjos in front of the Lone Tree saloon…”

In the late 1890s, the building was sold to Mr. Opelt, who opened a grocery store on the ground level and an opera house on the 2nd floor.

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I’m not sure how long W.E. Opelt & Sons grocery store was in business but it was no longer there in 1913 as I was given the following photo.  Someone is selling “Fresh Meat To-Day”  in the building and you can see a couple of people sitting outside the building.  Are these people the new owners?

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Apparently, this building housed a couple of apartments sometime around the 1930s.  A Farmer who lives in/near Brownville stopped by one day while I was outside cleaning up the yard (I wish I remembered his name!  Hopefully he will stop by to chat again one of these days).  He had an interesting story to tell of when his grandparents used to live in the upstairs apartment.  While his grandmother was home during the day, a local man who was smitten for his grandmother would loiter on the sidewalk in front of the building serenading her and basically harassing her day after day.  She was a tough lady and would yell and curse out the window at him but he still would not leave her alone.  One day the man was at it again while she happened to be boiling water.  She ended up hurling the boiling water out the window toward the man.  That was enough and he never returned to her window.  It worked for her!!

In the 1940s, it was the River View Inn with a tavern & kitchen on the ground level and the restaurant on the 2nd level.  I’ve been told there was a dumb waiter installed for the restaurant.  A couple of people that I’ve talked to this past year both grew up in Brownville and have memories of the tavern on the ground level.  They both said that when they were young boys, their mothers told them to go past the tavern as fast as they could and not to stop.  I would guess that it might have been a rowdy place.

The most recent business in this building was Brownville Mills, which had a nice, long run.  It opened in 1953 and it closed around 2011 or 2012 (not exactly sure which year).  Brownville Mills was a flour mill and health food store with a loyal customer following.  As I have been working in the building this past year, numerous people have stopped in to see if they could still purchase flour or honey or whatever item that they used to purchase there years before.  They have fond memories of Brownville Mills.

As for the next chapter of the Lone Tree Saloon,  I am in the process of renovating the building with the intent of opening a home décor & gift shop.  I definitely want to keep the history of the building alive and will display as many items from Brownville Mills as I can.  Right now, I am hoping I can open a shop by Memorial weekend 2019.  It will all depend on the renovations and, of course, my limited budget.  Therefore the opening date is somewhat of a moving target.  Stay tuned!