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Originally opened in 1886, the White Elephant
Saloon has become one of Fort Worth's most
historical places and a staple of the cowboy way of
life prevalent in Texas throughout the past two
centuries.
Like the revered Gruene Hall in New Braunfels,
Cain's Ballroom in Tulsa and the Broken Spoke in
Austin, the White Elephant has survived many decades
to become a favorite Texas cultural landmark.
Nestled in the epicenter of the Fort Worth
Stockyards national historical district, the
Elephant has lived a rich & storied past. Most
notably, it was the site of Fort Worth's most famous
gunfight. On a cold February 8th night, in 1887,
town marshal Jim Courtright called the famous
gambler Luke Short out of the White Elephant Saloon
where he ran gaming operations. Courtright
reportedly had been drinking, some words were
passed, and the two men walked out into the street.
There, facing one another, Courtright said something
in reference to Short's gun and from there tensions
boiled until Luke Short fired a shot that tore off
Courtright's right thumb, rendering him incapable of
firing his revolver. As Courtright tried to switch
his pistol to his left hand, Short fired at least
four more times, killing him.
This famous duel is re-enacted at the White Elephant
Saloon every February 8th on the anniversary of this event.
The saloon is now one of Fort Worth's biggest
tourist attractions as well as one of cowtown's best
venues to see live country music every night of the
week. Such legendary country & western artists
as Red Stegall, Don Edwards, Charlie Daniels, &
Jimmy Dale Gilmore amongst others have all played
the Elephant stage. Recently, the explosion of
Texas based country music has made the White
Elephant a popular hangout for the college crowd who
follow their favorite regional artists around the
honkytonk circuit. Such rising stars like
Stoney LaRue, Jordan Mycoskie, Brad Hines and the
country band Eleven Hundred Springs all have played
the saloon stage a number of times.
Esquire magazine named the White Elephant Saloon,
"One of America's Top 100 Bars" and the saloon has
been featured in such notable publications as
Playboy and Maxim magazines.
With over 2,000 square feet of honkytonk'n space and
a long L shaped bar with original brass railing, the
White Elephant Saloon is one of the world's last
remaining relics of a time when cowboys roamed the
land and they drank whiskey for a nickel.
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