Sin in the Sagebrush
Experience life in frontier saloons, gambling halls, and bordellos of the Old West
Sin in the
Sagebrush is one of the most in-depth exhibits
examining the lives of those who sought opportunity, fortune
and community on the Western frontier.
Understand how trappers, tracklayers, buckaroos, sheepherders
and other workers’ dreams
were replaced with lonely, harsh lives, and how they found
community and escape
in saloons, gambling halls and bordellos.
In this multi-sensory exhibit, you can step up to an 1880s
roulette table,
game of faro, chuck-a-luck or poker, and take in the cheating
devices and
refined attire of a professional gambler, as well as the bowie
knife and
derringer he might use when challenged.
The exhibit also features live, authentic portrayals of those
who worked at these
establishments, including the “sporting men”
running the games
(they’ll invite you to play – and even reveal how
to cheat). Ask the
saloonkeeper, and “working women” of the night how
they fell into their
professions, and discover the human stories behind the
stereotypes.
Become immersed in the atmosphere of the re-created Stockman
Saloon, with its
oak and mahogany bar, polished nickel cash register and
cut-glass bar bottles.
Illustrations of prize fighters, racehorses, the local militia,
ladies, and a
gilt-framed oil of a nude adorn the walls. Piano tunes,
gleaming kerosene
lamps, and the aroma of whiskey and cigars evoke the exuberant
good times and
comforts which Western saloons offered to cold, weary patrons.
Curator of Western History Bob Boyd said, “You can
imagine how the nameless men
of the frontier found refuge from toil, loneliness, boredom and
unfulfilled
ambitions, and how they fulfilled their needs and desires. It
is a humanities
theme as much as an historical account.”
Sin approaches this “old West” subject unlike any
modern museum in the
American West, according to Bill Lang, chairman of the
Department of Public
History at Portland State University. It will tour museums
throughout the West
after the exhibit closes Sept. 26.
Presented by Schwabe Williamson and Wyatt, and sponsored by BendTel, Chubb, Horizon
Broadcasting and Pepsi of Bend, with additional support from
Oregon Heritage
Commission, Oregon Community Foundation, Oregon Cultural Trust,
The Bend
Foundation, James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation, Pacific
Power Foundation and Deschutes
Cultural Coalition.
Journalists: for more
information and press material, visit our media site: Sin in the
Sagebrush.
