One of Oklahoma Territory's oldest continuously operating saloons, founded in 1889, where Tom Mix once tended bar and where legend holds that three women — Miss Lizzie, Claudia, and Estelle — never left.
224 W Harrison Ave, Guthrie, OK 73044
Research updated June 2026
Age
21+
Cost
$
Standard bar pricing; no cover charge for general entry.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Street-level historic commercial building; paved downtown access.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1889 · Opened 1889 during the Oklahoma Land Run, one of Guthrie's oldest commercial establishments · Historical marker confirms Tom Mix worked as bartender before Hollywood career · Temple Houston (son of Sam Houston) documented as a regular patron · Building retains bullet-hole ceiling from territorial-era Wild West incidents · Part of Guthrie's National Historic Landmark downtown district
The Blue Belle Saloon at 224 West Harrison Avenue opened in April 1889 as part of the flood of commercial establishments that followed the Oklahoma Land Run. Guthrie was established as the capital of Oklahoma Territory that same spring, and the Blue Belle quickly became one of the most frequented drinking establishments in the new town. The building's founding is confirmed by a historical marker placed by the Historical Marker Database, which identifies John Selstrom and Jack Tearney as the original proprietors.
The saloon also operated as a brothel managed by a woman known as Madame Miss Lizzie. This dual function was common in territorial Oklahoma saloons, and the Blue Belle was among the better-documented examples. The historical marker also confirms that Tom Mix — later famous as one of silent film's premier Western stars — tended bar at the Blue Belle early in his career, before his Hollywood period. Temple Houston, the youngest son of Texas founder Sam Houston and a colorful frontier attorney who practiced in the Oklahoma and Texas Territories, was a documented regular patron.
The bullet holes still visible in the ceiling are cited by historians and locals alike as physical evidence of the venue's Wild West past. The building has operated continuously as a bar through multiple ownerships and remains part of Guthrie's National Historic Landmark district, which preserves one of the most intact Victorian-era commercial streetscapes in the United States.
Sources
The paranormal lore of the Blue Belle centers on three women associated with the brothel that once operated alongside the saloon. Madame Miss Lizzie, the proprietor, and two women named Claudia and Estelle are described in local ghost accounts as presences who never left the building. The most dramatic claim holds that Claudia was beaten to death and buried within the structure's walls — a story that circulates in local ghost tourism literature but has not been corroborated by historical records or physical evidence in sources reviewed for this entry. It is reported as folklore, not established fact.
Staff and visitors have described apparitions of women in period dress, disembodied crying sounds, and cold spots concentrated in areas associated with the brothel's former activity. The Guthrie Convention and Visitors Bureau lists the Blue Belle among the city's primary haunted sites, and local ghost tour operators include it as a regular stop.
The building's bullet-hole ceiling, its confirmed history as a brothel, and its role in early Oklahoma Territory commerce give the paranormal accounts a documentary foundation even where the specific ghost stories remain anecdotal. The venue's lore has persisted across multiple ownerships and is now embedded in Guthrie's broader identity as one of Oklahoma's most haunted cities.
Notable Entities
Tour the 1889 saloon and view the bullet-hole ceiling — documented evidence of the building's Wild West era. The historical marker outside confirms the venue's founding and notable patrons including Tom Mix and Temple Houston.
Local ghost tours of Guthrie's National Historic Landmark district include the Blue Belle Saloon as a primary stop, covering its territorial history and reported paranormal lore.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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