The Mint Bar

Sheridan's legendary 1907 saloon, famous for its neon bucking horse, taxidermy, and thousands of hand-burned cattle brands.

The Mint Bar stands as Sheridan, Wyoming's oldest continuously operating watering hole, anchoring 151 North Main Street since 1907. Originally opened as the Mint Saloon during a local coal mining boom, the establishment replaced a former barber shop and quickly became a sanctuary for local ranchers, cowboys, and railroad workers. During Prohibition, the business was rebranded as the Mint Cigar Company and Soda Shop by Oran Moore, who operated a legal storefront while maintaining a lively speakeasy in the back. This illicit operation made local history in June 1925 when town sheriffs raided the premises and discovered a gallon of moonshine hidden inside a coffee pot, resulting in a five-hundred-dollar fine for Moore. Following the repeal of Prohibition, the bar officially reclaimed its name in 1934 under owners Archie Milson and Robert Thirlwell, cementing its status as a permanent fixture of downtown Sheridan.

The bar's distinctive rustic interior is the result of a major 1948 remodel executed by partners Lauren L. "Mac" McVean and Wayne Elkins, who owned the establishment from 1943 to 1974. Together, they lined the walls with knotty pine paneling, built heavy cedar booths, and crafted a back bar from gnarled pine burls collected from local forests. To decorate the space, McVean conceived the idea of burning cattle brands into the walls. They hired a local craftsman known simply as Tuffy, paying him in shots of whiskey to burn more than 9,000 authentic Wyoming livestock brands into cedar shingles using a soldering iron and an electric needle. Legend holds that Tuffy would work diligently until his lines began to waver from the whiskey, at which point McVean and Elkins would send him home for the day. Complementing the woodwork is a massive taxidermy collection, largely sourced from McVean's hunting expeditions to Alaska and the Bighorn Mountains, which includes an eight-foot-four-inch rattlesnake skin boasting 37 buttons.

Every corner of the interior holds a piece of verified history, from the archival photographs to the legendary artifacts hanging overhead. Suspended above the bar is a six-foot-nine-inch set of Texas Longhorns from the famous lost herd of Montalboa, which vanished during a catastrophic blizzard in 1912. The walls are adorned with historic Western photographs, including a celebrated collection captured by Charles Belden at the Pitchfork Ranch near Meeteetse, Wyoming, and the oldest photo in the bar, dating to 1908, positioned right above the mounted elk. Under the purchase agreement of the bar, these photographs are legally grandfathered in and can never be moved or altered. Outside, the legendary neon sign of a bucking horse and cowboy has illuminated Main Street since its installation in 1938, featuring a cowboy with one hand flung skyward and a horse marked with the "HT" brand for hard times. After thirty-two years of stewardship under brothers Monte and Wes Buckmaster, the bar was purchased in 2022 by Ryan and Stephanie Wagner, who continue to preserve the historic space alongside general manager Kat Deeds.

Coffee & Craft — Roadside fuel stops curated by Basecamp West. The best coffee shops, craft breweries, diners, and eateries worth the detour on your next Western road trip.