Monahan's Turf Saloon

The December 1890 Holiday edition of the Fairhaven Herald reported “Mr. Monahan lately built a substantial two-story brick building which will be opened and managed by his three sons as a first class bar for the sale of fine wines, liquors and cigars at retail. Eventually a wholesale business will be carried on. The place will be handsomely furnished with tile-laid floor and modern fixtures. The Monahan Brothers are lively, energetic young men who will give the new business their special attention.”

The new Monahan saloon was named “The Turf” and encouraged family trade. It could also be considered Fairhaven’s first sports bars. On April 19, 1891, the saloon advertised “Do Your Betting Gentlemen” for the first Puget Sound League Championship between the Bellingham Bay and Port Townsend baseball teams. The score from the game in Port Townsend was wired to the Fairhaven telegraph office around the corner on Harris Avenue. A runner went back and forth between innings, updating the bar’s bulletin board – the 1891 version of today’s big video screen.