The oldest bar in Montana opened in 1863 in the gold mining town of Virginia City and is still open for business.

It's called the 'Bale of Hay' and according to the sign out front:

Retail liquor dealer J.F. Stoer operated here from the raucous 1860s until about 1890. From that time until 1908, Smith and Boyd who ran the livery next door ran this establishment, aptly named the "Bale of Hay." After 1908, the building stood empty until 1946 when the Boveys saved it from collapse and added a front porch. In 1983 a fire heavily damaged the building. Construction to repair the building was confined to the saloon's interior, allowing the outer square-hewn log walls supported by a new inner structure, to remain in place.

The bar is now owned by a pair of sisters and still has the original mahogany bar top that the original owner had hand carved and shipped from Cincinnati. It's open to Virginia City's 196 residents and tourists alike.

The Boveys mentioned on the sign were a couple from Great Falls who started maintenance on the ghost town in the 1940's and restored it to the point that the town was named a National Historic Landmark.

Considering that this was the only bar in town and that Calamity Jane lived in Virginia City for some time, it's safe to say that when you order a drink at the Bale of Hay, you are drinking where she once did. That alone is worth another shot, cheers!

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