Sec. A Page 14 Missoulian Centennial Closed Three Times in Five Years
Closed Three Times in Five Years
The saloon in Hell Gate was closed three times in five years. The first proprietor, P. J. Bolte, built a little house in the autumn of 1861 which he used as a saloon. It went out of business the following year and the town was without a tavern for more than a year.
In 1863 a stranger came to town going under the name of Cyrus Skinner. He became proprietor by buying a stock of booze and reopening the saloon in the old Bolte building. It became the hangout of a crew of road agents who wandered in and became residents.
Skinner stayed in business until he was visited by the Vigilantes in January, 1864. That evening he was hanged.
The saloon was not opened again until the fall of 1865 when William Cook stocked the old building with liquor and went into business. Cook was accidentally killed in a barroom gun fight by a hot-headed Irishman.
That same year the small community was moved to what eventually became the city of Missoula.