Formerly: Montana Saloon
Miles City, Montana · Founded 1908 · Building: 1893 origin; expanded into present two-story form in 1913
A Miles City bar tracing its lineage to James Kenney's 1908 Montana Saloon, in a building with an older saloon, saddlery, and 1913 Kenney Block history.
The Montana Bar operates at 612 Main Street in Miles City, Montana. Its current business traces to James Kenney's Montana Saloon, established at the site in 1908, but the address had already hosted a saloon in 1893 and then a saddlery from 1900 to 1907. Kenney's later 1913 expansion produced the two-story Kenney Block appearance associated with the bar today.
A one-story brick saloon operated at the present 612 Main Street site.
Source: Montana Historic Landscapes, "Kenney Block (Montana Bar)"; Historical Marker Database, "Kenney Block (Montana Saloon)"
The former saloon became a saddlery, a use it retained through 1907.
Source: Montana Historic Landscapes, "Kenney Block (Montana Bar)"; Historical Marker Database, "Kenney Block (Montana Saloon)"
Businessman James Kenney acquired the property to house his Montana Saloon. The Montana Bar says Kenney bought and moved his bar to this site in 1908.
Source: The Historic Montana Bar, "History"; Montana Historic Landscapes, "Kenney Block (Montana Bar)"
Kenney reworked and expanded the earlier one-story building into a two-story Renaissance Revival commercial block, creating the principal form of the Kenney Block.
Source: Great Falls Tribune, "Historic bar is boot scootin' for Buckin' Horse"; Montana Historic Landscapes, "Kenney Block (Montana Bar)"
A fire destroyed an adjoining building and damaged its shared wall with the Montana Bar building. The damaged adjacent building was later removed and the site became a veterans park.
Source: Great Falls Tribune, "Historic bar is boot scootin' for Buckin' Horse"
The Historic Montana Bar continues to operate daily with food, drinks, billiards, and bar service at 612 Main Street.
Source: The Historic Montana Bar official website; Visit Montana listing
Every claim gets rated. A business's own website can never earn "documented."
The Montana Bar and Montana tourism material say the business has served patrons since 1908, when James Kenney established the Montana Saloon at the site. This review did not locate a full record of liquor licenses, ownership, temporary closures, Prohibition-era use, or business continuity sufficient to prove uninterrupted bar operation from that year.
The site did host a saloon in 1893, but historic-property records say it became a saddlery from 1900 to 1907. That documented change of use breaks a continuous-saloon claim from 1893.
A Great Falls Tribune feature describes the bar's arched back bar as having arrived in Miles City by steamboat. The review did not locate shipping records, purchase invoices, maker records, or early photographs confirming its provenance.
Reliable descriptions identify an arched back bar, leaded glass, original Italian tile floor, pressed-tin ceiling, booths, and wood furnishings. This review did not find a source establishing a stained-glass backbar, its 1908 installation date, or its original provenance.
The bar is closely associated with Miles City's Western and cattle-town culture, and a local feature ties its activity to Bucking Horse Sale season. This review did not locate evidence establishing the candidate's specific claim of a central role at the inaugural 1951 sale.
The Miles City Chamber identifies Blake Mollman as owner, and the business's website terms list him as website owner. A state corporate filing would be needed to identify the formal entity and all ownership interests.
The Montana Bar building was constructed in 1908 and has been a saloon continuously since then.
The site had a brick saloon in 1893, operated as a saddlery from 1900 to 1907, and became James Kenney's Montana Saloon in 1908. The building was expanded into its present two-story Kenney Block form in 1913.
Source: Montana Historic Landscapes, "Kenney Block (Montana Bar)"; The Historic Montana Bar, "History"
The Montana Bar's stained-glass backbar is a documented original 1908 installation.
Sources describe an arched back bar, leaded glass, original Italian tile floor, pressed-tin ceiling, and historic furnishings, but this review did not locate evidence establishing a stained-glass backbar or its original 1908 installation.
Source: Visit Montana, "The Historic Montana Bar"; Great Falls Tribune, "Historic bar is boot scootin' for Buckin' Horse"
The Montana Bar's phone number is (406) 234-5845.
The Montana Bar's official website and Montana tourism listing identify its phone number as (406) 234-5809.
Source: The Historic Montana Bar official website; Visit Montana, "The Historic Montana Bar"
The Montana Bar survives by functioning as both a working steakhouse/bar and a conspicuous piece of Miles City's cattle-town streetscape. Its preserved tile floor, tin ceiling, dark booths, longhorn décor, and arched back bar give visitors a physical sense of the historic business district while its daily food-and-drink operation keeps the building in use.
The Montana Bar in Miles City, Montana, traces its present business lineage to James Kenney's Montana Saloon, established at 612 Main Street in 1908. The site had earlier operated as a saloon in 1893, then as a saddlery from 1900 to 1907, before Kenney returned it to bar use. In 1913, he enlarged the property into the two-story Kenney Block that forms the historic setting of the active bar today.
No verified statewide oldest-bar title can be assigned to The Montana Bar from the evidence reviewed. It has a significant 1908 Montana Saloon lineage, but the building had a documented saddlery period before that and this review did not establish uninterrupted operation after 1908 or conduct a full Montana comparison of older candidates.
No. The address hosted a saloon in 1893, but historic-property records say it became a saddlery from 1900 to 1907. James Kenney then used the site for his Montana Saloon in 1908, so continuous saloon use from 1893 is contradicted by the documented change of use.
The Miles City Chamber identifies Blake Mollman as owner of The Montana Bar. The bar’s website also lists him as the website owner; a Montana corporate filing would provide the formal operating-entity and ownership details.
612 Main St, Miles City, MT 59301
(406) 234-5809
The Historic Montana Bar lists daily 10 a.m.–2 a.m. hours at 612 Main Street; confirm kitchen and event hours before visiting.