Bridges and Booze: Understanding the Development of the "Saloon Row" Along the Red River

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Roads, Rivers, Rails and Trails (and more): The Archaeology of Linear Historic Properties" , at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

The lives of the people in Moorhead, Minnesota were changed when in 1890 the neighboring state of North Dakota became dry. Saloons expanded greatly in Moorhead, reaching 47 to serve the combined city populations of Fargo and Moorhead. These saloons were positioned nearest to the Red River and the two bridges that connected both cities. Both the river and one of the bridges, the North Bridge, served as principal components of the "Saloon Row" site. These linear features reveal the development of the saloon industry along commercial and physical landscapes. Proximity to the river, bridge, protective pilings, and trees lining the Red River, served as important localities for the deposition of material by businesses and individuals. Although the saloon period in Moorhead came to an end in 1915, the recovered artifacts suggest these linear features were continuously used even in the depths of prohibition.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Roads, Rivers, Rails and Trails (and more): The Archaeology of Linear Historic Properties   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2020

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 325