Good and Drunk

It’s hard to believe today, but at one time, Phoebus had the highest number of saloons per capita of any place in the world with roughly one saloon for every 33 citizens. One account read there was “one on every corner and two in between,” but even that is underselling the true numbers.

Saloons once dominated the American landscape, although rarely in the number and density seen in Phoebus. Saloons provided a gathering spot for the laboring majority of people building a new industrial nation in the 19th century. By 1897, there were roughly a quarter of a million saloons nationwide, or 23 for every Starbucks franchise currently in the United States.

Good and Drunk: The Lost Saloons, Breweries, and Brothels of Phoebus, Virginia is an attempt to capture the golden age of the Phoebus saloon from post-Civil War until Prohibition started in Virginia on November 1, 1916. The book is now available on Amazon and in shops in Phoebus. Pick it up today and thank you for your support! You can find more Phoebus history on our companion site Phoebus Memories and our daily blog Phoebus and Fort Monroe: Then and Now.