HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena — as catalogued
Missoula's round-the-clock saloon since 1883, with a story of three talkative cowboy ghosts
337 N Higgins Ave, Missoula, MT 59802
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
A 24-hour saloon, casino and cafe. No cover to enter; food and drink at standard cafe and bar prices. The cafe is open to all ages.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Paved downtown sidewalk on Higgins Avenue
Equipment
Photos OK
One of Missoula's Oldest Businesses (since 1883) · 24-Hour Downtown Landmark · Missoula 100 Icons
The Oxford is one of Missoula's oldest businesses. By local accounts it began in 1883, when its founder operated a chuck wagon on the banks of the Clark Fork river, feeding lumberjacks and working people looking for a cheap meal.
The business moved onto Higgins Avenue in the early 1900s and has stood on the corner of Pine Street and Higgins since 1955. Its building dates to the 1890s. The Ox is famous in town for never closing: it has operated around the clock for so many years that there are no keys for its entrances.
The Missoulian, which featured the Oxford in its '100 Missoula icons' series, documents the saloon's long run as a downtown institution with a colorful cast of regulars and a tangle of local legends. The cafe is known for chicken-fried steak and a house gravy, and the building also holds a casino.
In recent years the historic property has drawn attention as one of downtown Missoula's enduring landmarks, still operating after more than 140 years as a saloon, cafe and gathering place.
Sources
The Oxford's ghost story is one of the gentler entries in Missoula folklore. The building is said to be haunted by three cowboy ghosts, described in local accounts as neither harmful nor mischievous. The stories hold that the cowboys simply enjoy engaging guests and staff in conversation.
Given the saloon's run as a round-the-clock bar and cafe across more than a century, the building has accumulated the kind of layered legend the Missoulian noted when it called the Ox a place of 'numerous legends' and a colorful cast. The cowboy-ghost tale fits that long oral tradition.
No specific death or named figure is documented behind the three cowboys, and the accounts are reported in regional ghost-tour coverage rather than tied to a recorded incident. The story is best taken as part of the Ox's identity as one of Missoula's oldest and most storied saloons.
Stop in at any hour — the Ox has run round-the-clock for so long that the entrances have no keys. The cafe is known for chicken-fried steak and its 'JJ' gravy. The three-cowboy-ghost story is part of the bar's local reputation rather than an organized tour.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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