Formerly: Bucher's Saloon (from 1876)
Columbus, Nebraska · Founded 1876 · Building: 1876
A Columbus bar established as Bucher's Saloon in 1876, with a Buffalo Bill connection and a long-running oldest-tavern claim.
Glur's Tavern began in Columbus, Nebraska, in 1876 as Bucher's Saloon, founded by Swiss immigrant brothers William and Joseph Bucher. The historic frame building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and retains original oak floors and a limestone foundation, though it has also undergone documented additions and alterations. The present tavern is widely associated with Buffalo Bill Cody and is locally promoted as an exceptionally long-running Western bar.
Swiss immigrant brothers William and Joseph Bucher established Bucher's Saloon in the two-story frame building at 2301 11th St.
Source: National Trust for Historic Preservation, “Glur’s Tavern in Columbus, Nebraska,” Apr. 28, 2016; Platte County Historical Society, “Glur’s Tavern”
The Platte County Historical Society says William “Buffalo Bill” Cody drank at the saloon while in Columbus rehearsing for the Omaha premiere of his Wild West Show.
Source: Platte County Historical Society, “Glur’s Tavern”
The National Trust for Historic Preservation dates Louis Glur's purchase and renaming of the business to 1914; a Platte County Historical Society account instead gives 1925.
Source: National Trust for Historic Preservation, “Glur’s Tavern in Columbus, Nebraska,” Apr. 28, 2016; Platte County Historical Society, “Glur’s Tavern”
During Prohibition, local historical accounts say the establishment operated as a soft-drink and ice-cream parlor, including root beer sales.
Source: Platte County Historical Society, “Glur’s Tavern”; National Trust for Historic Preservation, “Glur’s Tavern in Columbus, Nebraska,” Apr. 28, 2016
Glur's Tavern was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, reference number 75001100.
Source: National Register of Historic Places, reference no. 75001100; National Trust for Historic Preservation, “Glur’s Tavern in Columbus, Nebraska,” Apr. 28, 2016
Todd and Carrie Trofholz bought the property, according to the National Trust for Historic Preservation's 2016 profile.
Source: National Trust for Historic Preservation, “Glur’s Tavern in Columbus, Nebraska,” Apr. 28, 2016
Todd and Carrie Trofholz sold Glur's Tavern after 32 years as owners; the buyer was not identified in the sources reviewed for this entry.
Source: KOLN/10/11 News, “Glur’s Tavern turns a new page: Trofholz sells historic Columbus bar after 32 years,” Aug. 3, 2024
Every claim gets rated. A business's own website can never earn "documented."
The Platte County Historical Society states that Cody imbibed at the saloon while in Columbus for rehearsals connected with the 1883 Omaha premiere of his Wild West Show. This establishes a credible local-historical association, though this review did not locate a contemporaneous newspaper or diary entry placing him inside the tavern.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation presents the $1,000-bill account as legend. The story can be included as folklore, but this review did not locate a contemporary account or financial record confirming it.
Both the National Trust and Platte County Historical Society describe the establishment's Prohibition-era adaptation to nonalcoholic operations. The evidence supports continuity of the establishment's operation, but not uninterrupted alcohol service during the period when alcohol sales were illegal.
Nebraska Tourism, Nebraska Public Media, local historical material, and a historic marker repeat this designation. This review verified the tavern's 1876 origin and long operational lineage but did not locate a statewide comparative study that establishes it over every other plausible Nebraska claimant.
The claim is widely repeated by Nebraska Tourism, Nebraska Public Media, local historical sources, and marker material. Those sources support that the claim is genuinely associated with Glur's, but they do not supply a full comparative survey of taverns across the large region west of the Missouri River.
The building was listed on July 30, 1975, under National Register reference number 75001100.
Glur's Tavern was built and opened under the Glur family name in 1876.
The business began in 1876 as Bucher's Saloon, founded by William and Joseph Bucher. It acquired the Glur name only after Louis Glur bought the business; historical accounts conflict on whether the purchase was in 1914 or 1925.
Source: National Trust for Historic Preservation, “Glur’s Tavern in Columbus, Nebraska,” Apr. 28, 2016; Platte County Historical Society, “Glur’s Tavern”
Todd and Carrie Trofholz are the current owners of Glur's Tavern.
Todd and Carrie Trofholz owned Glur's Tavern from 1992 until they sold it in August 2024. The current buyer or legal operating entity was not established in this review.
Source: National Trust for Historic Preservation, “Glur’s Tavern in Columbus, Nebraska,” Apr. 28, 2016; KOLN/10/11 News, Aug. 3, 2024
Glur's Tavern is definitively the oldest continuously operating tavern west of the Missouri River.
The title is widely repeated by tourism and local-history sources, and Glur's 1876 lineage is well supported, but this review did not locate a regional comparative study sufficient to establish the claim over all plausible rivals.
Source: Visit Nebraska, “Glur's Tavern”; Nebraska Public Media, “Curious Nebraska: Glur's Tavern,” 2025; Platte County Historical Society, “Glur’s Tavern”
Glur's endured by adapting instead of remaining frozen in one form. During Prohibition, accounts say the tavern operated as a soft-drink and ice-cream parlor, including root beer sales, rather than closing entirely. Later stewards preserved the building's working-bar identity while retaining its historic fabric; Todd and Carrie Trofholz owned it from 1992 until a 2024 sale, and the business remains open under later ownership.
Glur's Tavern began in Columbus in 1876 as Bucher's Saloon, founded by Swiss immigrant brothers William and Joseph Bucher. The tavern later took the Glur name after longtime employee Louis Glur acquired it, though historical accounts conflict on whether that transfer occurred in 1914 or 1925. It operated through Prohibition as a nonalcoholic soft-drink and ice-cream parlor, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975, and remains open today.
Glur's Tavern is widely described by Nebraska tourism, local-history sources, and Nebraska Public Media as Nebraska's oldest continuously operating tavern. Its 1876 origin and long operational lineage are well supported, including operation as a soft-drink and ice-cream parlor during Prohibition. However, this review did not locate a statewide comparative study proving that no older continuously operating Nebraska tavern exists, so the statewide title remains unresolved.
Local historical sources say Buffalo Bill Cody drank at the establishment while in Columbus for activity connected to his 1883 Wild West Show. The more colorful story that he paid for a full round with a $1,000 bill is a later legend: the National Trust for Historic Preservation labels it as such, and this review did not find a contemporary source verifying the payment.
2301 11th St, Columbus, NE 68601
(402) 564-8615
None on file
The bar is at 2301 11th St. in Columbus; Nebraska Tourism lists burgers, a beer garden, and daily hours, but confirm current hours before visiting.