The Longhorn Saloon

When a May blizzard reportedly pushed all of Ab Jefferson’s cattle over the edge of Sheep Mountain, he decided it might be time for a change of profession. So he opened a saloon.

Jefferson apparently became a little too fond of his own merchandise and eventually landed in jail after selling liquor to his Native American neighbors, which was then prohibited under federal law. The story dates to 1906, the same year as the wooden building that would become one of Scenic’s most recognizable landmarks: the Longhorn Saloon, still marked by weathered cattle skulls and slanted Wild West lettering.

For a place that now feels almost forgotten, Scenic was once surprisingly busy. By 1915, its population had reached 155, supported by two restaurants, three gas stations, a hotel, school, bank and post office. The Longhorn sat near the center of it all, one watering hole among several in a town full of memorable characters. Decades later, Mary Avenell remembered growing up there in the 1950s, when her father, “Happy” Hynes, ran a bar of his own and competed for the same small pool of customers.

By April 2011, the town’s gas station and general store had closed for the last time. Today, Scenic is a ghost town. The Longhorn remains bolted shut behind its wooden saloon doors, surrounded by wagon wheels and dust. The town’s former social center now stands as its headstone.