Wyatt Earp. The name brings to mind Tombstone, Arizona and the gunfight at the OK Corral. In 1881, Wyatt, two of his brothers and Doc Holliday permanently ended the careers of five outlaws there. Few people know that Wyatt Earp had as much impact on Nome, Alaska as he did on Tombstone.
Link to another story “Sled Dogs Rescued Nome”
In 1897 Earp and his wife headed north to the Klondike, and stopped to winter in Wrangell, Alaska. The couple got by. Wyatt even served as town marshall, if only for 10 days.
In the spring they took to the river again, headed for Dawson and the Klondike. Unfortunately, Yukon River ice froze their steamer in at Rampart. They spent the winter there and, in the end, never made it to the Klondike. Wyatt’s friend Tex Ricard convinced him that Nome offered a better future.
At first blush, Nome didn’t appear to offer anything. The town didn’t even have docks. Small boats met steamers and brought passengers within 30 feet of the shore. From there men waded, carrying their wives on their backs into a scruffy little town two blocks wide and five miles long.
But rumors of gold made their way south, and people began to make their way north. Wyatt and a partner built Nome’s first two story building, and their luxurious Dexter Saloon made Nome a center for entertainment (the second floor housed a discreet brothel).
In Seattle, for a time, Nome became a popular summer destination. The population swelled to 20,000. And any noteworthy visitors, including future president Herbert Hoover, and writer Jack London, landed sooner or later at the Dexter.
The reputation of the famous gunfighter and lawman didn’t survive his time in Nome. One reporter described Earp showing off one evening and being subdued by US Marshall Lowe who slapped his face and took his gun. But when he sold his share of the Dexter and left Alaska in Nov. 1899, he took with him $80,000 (more than 2 million in today’s dollars)
I’m very sorry to inform you that the photo you used here is NOT the Dexter. It is a different saloon called “Second Class”. Wyatt Earp and Charley Hoxie’s saloon was as you correctly put it, called “the Dexter”. It was on Main Street and between other buildings. It was the classiest place in tiny Nome, but again: It was NOT the one you show a photo of here. Kind Regards, Henrik
I think you should get your accounts right erap would never get slap n the cocksucker get your history right
I have to confess I have no idea how to respond to you..
Have you ever found a picture of Charlie Hoxsie and Wyatt Earp together?