Ever hear of an early northwest mining town that didn't have an establishment catering to men with a thirst? Neither have I and Black Diamond certainly has had it's share over the years. We had saloons before prohibition, places to buy alcohol during prohibition and taverns after alcohol once again became legal. And yes, patrons at one time were nearly all men. Perhaps best known of early pubs was the Krause Saloon. Apparently, there are many a story from the Krause waiting to be told. Prohibition, however, ended the Krause's run.
Another public house was Kings Tavern, located next door to the old company store. Take a look at this bar!
Photo courtesy Black Diamond Historical Society, n.d.
According to Ken Jensen, use of this building over the years included Kings Tavern, a People's Market, pool hall and during the 80's another public house called the Black Diamond Saloon.
Photo courtesy Black Diamond Historical Society, n.d.
The above building should be familiar to many of us. In the time that we've lived here, Bob Charles had his wonderful Baker Street Books store here that included the old bar. I still miss you and your store Bob. As books went digital, Bob sold the store. Plans to reopen it again as a Tavern failed to materialize. It is now home to Black Diamond Antiques and More (also a wonderful store and well worth a visit).
For more about the history of "establishments" in Black Diamond, past and present, I encourage you to read Bill Kombol's article first published in the Voice of the Valley in 2009. You can find it republished by Black Diamond History at this link for Boots Tavern.
Thanks to Ken Jensen for his help in offering corrections to my first draft of this article, which was a bit mixed up.
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