Est. 1877 · Arizona's Oldest Bar · Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday Patronage · 1900 Whiskey Row Fire Survivor
The Palace Saloon opened in September 1877, when the Arizona Weekly Miner noted that "Mess'rs Shaw and Standefer have fitted up the Palace Saloon in the most superb style." It occupied the same block of Montezuma Street — then the heart of Prescott's commercial district — that it still holds today, making it the oldest continuously operating bar in Arizona.
In the 1870s the saloon drew some of the more consequential figures passing through the Arizona Territory. Wyatt Earp, Virgil Earp, and Doc Holliday were documented patrons during the years before they relocated to Tombstone. Holliday was involved in a knife fight on the premises; Wyatt Earp was linked to shootings behind the building.
In August 1884, a woman using the alias Jennie Clark — her given name was Nellie Coyle, age 26 — was beaten to death at the Palace after an altercation with her companion Fred Glover, a gambler and opium user. Glover knocked her down multiple times and gave her a final kick that proved fatal. A grand jury indicted him for first-degree murder the next day; a court convicted him, sentenced him to hang, and the governor commuted the sentence to life. A subsequent governor reduced it further; Glover walked free in 1890.
A fire swept Whiskey Row on July 14, 1900, destroying most of the block. The Palace's patrons removed the hand-carved Brunswick bar to the street, kept it there until the new building was ready, and returned it to its original position. The rebuilt saloon opened in 1901 as a two-story masonry structure and has operated continuously since. It was featured on Ghost Adventures in 2016.
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Palace_Restaurant_and_Saloon
- https://archives.sharlothallmuseum.org/articles/days-past-articles/1/murder-in-the-palace-saloon-the-death-of-jennie-clark-part-1
- https://archives.sharlothallmuseum.org/articles/days-past-articles/1/murder-in-the-palace-saloon-the-death-of-jennie-clark-part-2
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whiskey_Row,_Prescott
- https://www.prescottinsider.com/haunted-prescott/
ApparitionsShadow figuresCold spotsPhantom presence at closing time
The Palace's paranormal lore is anchored in documented deaths and losses. The apparition most frequently described is a woman on the main floor, attributed to Jennie Clark — the 26-year-old woman killed there in August 1884. Reports describe her figure near the area of the original bar, still circulating as though looking for something.
A second entity is associated with a mortician named Nevins who, according to local accounts, lost his funeral business in a poker game played at the Palace and never recovered. Staff have described a male presence near the back of the room, particularly during quiet hours.
The Phantom Cowboy is the most frequently cited closing-time phenomenon: a figure in period dress who appears near the bar as staff prepare to shut down, then does not leave — because, witnesses say, he is no longer entirely there. Reports of this figure span multiple decades of staff accounts.
The Travel Channel's Ghost Adventures filmed an episode at the Palace in 2016 (Season 12), documenting the investigators' overnight session in what is one of Prescott's oldest and most-visited paranormal sites.
Notable Entities
Jennie Clark (Nellie Coyle)Nevins the morticianPhantom Cowboy
Media Appearances
- Ghost Adventures (TV, 2016)
Where this legend is told
