How do you get into Shorthorns Saloon?
We have not confirmed it. Shorthorns Saloon is in the directory because it calls itself a speakeasy, and that is the whole of what we can stand behind about its door.
Drinks of the era
We have not seen this venue’s own list, so what follows is the period rather than the bar: Sidecar, Boulevardier, and Vieux Carré are all drinks of this era, and each links to its origin and its build.
Where Shorthorns Saloon sits
Shorthorns Saloon is in Terra Alta, West Virginia, in Preston County, in the South Atlantic of the United States.
This is currently the only verified hidden bar our directory lists in Terra Alta. If you know another, tell us.
West Virginia holds two listed venues in this directory. See them all on our West Virginia speakeasy guide.
Prohibition in West Virginia
West Virginia did not wait for the federal government. Statewide prohibition took effect here in 1914, six years before the Eighteenth Amendment came into force nationally on 17 January 1920. By the time the Volstead Act was being enforced across the country, West Virginia already had an established illegal trade and the habits that went with it.
More on the period in our history of Prohibition in West Virginia.
What the newspapers recorded in West Virginia
Searching the Library of Congress run of West Virginia newspapers for speakeasy, blind pig and bootlegger across 1920 to 1933 returns dated pages anyone can open. These are from West Virginia:
- The West Virginian, April 28, 1920 — read the page at the Library of Congress
- The Wheeling intelligencer, May 8, 1920 — read the page at the Library of Congress
- Belington progressive, September 30, 1920 — read the page at the Library of Congress
- The Wheeling intelligencer, November 26, 1920 — read the page at the Library of Congress
Planning a visit
You can reach Shorthorns Saloon by phone on (304) 789-1104 and through its own website.
The address is 402 E State Ave, Terra Alta, WV 26764. Open in Google Maps.
What we have confirmed
For Shorthorns Saloon we hold street address, telephone number, and official website. We do not yet hold social accounts, opening hours, a published drinks list, an online booking link, or a listed-building record.
It is in the directory because the description in the source data describes it as a speakeasy.
Overture Maps carries this venue; OpenStreetMap has no matching record.
The source data classifies the premises as a bar.