The Pride of the Frontier Saloon
An 1877 profile of a Snohomish establishment boasting a polished maple bar and 'quiet, gentlemanly' service.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The Cosmopolitan, which has been removed not long since to this side of the street, is now very comfortably fitted up in its new quarters. His bar is quite a rival in the number of attractions to that of the Dist. Court, as well as being well stocked with the rapacious spiritual matters desired by those who have been there. Truly, the material of which the bar is constructed is worthy of examination as being a fine specimen of the native woods of this region; the top being a beautifully polished slab of curly maple, while the rest of the material is of cedar. We are not in favor of the saloon itself; yet we believe that as long as they exist, these establishments should be maintained, and few are kept in a more quiet, gentlemanly manner than this, nor where more attention is given to the convenience of all. Thus quoth the popular proprietor of the Cosmopolitan.
“The top being a beautifully polished slab of curly maple, while the rest of the material is of cedar.”
While saloons and taverns defined the social fabric of early Snohomish, the tension between viewing these spaces as 'gentlemanly' social hubs and sources of vice remains a classic American debate. Today’s debates over zoning and the role of local establishments in downtown Snohomish echo this historical attempt to balance commercial 'convenience' with civic morality.
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