Fort Worth: White Elephant Saloon

The White Elephant Saloon has operated in the Fort Worth Stockyards since 1887. It has outlasted every other saloon that ever tried to compete with it in that neighborhood.

The original White Elephant was a high-end gambling hall and saloon on Main Street. It attracted cattle barons, gamblers, and anyone with money to spend in Cowtown. Luke Short owned it. He hired Bat Masterson to deal faro. In 1887, Short shot a man named Jim Courtright in front of the building — a gunfight that ended Courtright’s life and cemented the White Elephant’s reputation as a place where serious business happened.

The saloon moved locations over the decades. It eventually landed at 106 East Exchange Avenue in the heart of the Stockyards. Today it occupies a building that looks exactly like what it is: a Texas honky-tonk in cowboy country. The neon sign out front draws people in from the street. The live music inside keeps them there.

Live Music Seven Nights a Week

The White Elephant books live country, Texas swing, and honky-tonk music every night of the week. Consequently, it has become one of the most reliable live music destinations in the Fort Worth Stockyards. The dance floor fills up fast on weekends. Two-steppers claim their spots early, and the bands tend to play loud enough that you feel it in your boots.

The room is not large. The bar runs the length of one wall, the stage anchors the other end, and the dance floor sits between them. This makes the White Elephant feel more intimate than a venue its reputation might suggest. You are close to the band, close to the other dancers, and close to the bar — which is generally considered a good arrangement.

The Stockyards Context

The Fort Worth Stockyards district surrounds the White Elephant on all sides. Billy Bob’s Texas sits a few blocks away. The twice-daily cattle drive runs down Exchange Avenue out front. Nevertheless, the White Elephant maintains its own identity within the neighborhood. It skews local rather than tourist, which is a distinction that matters in the Stockyards.

For another take on Fort Worth honky-tonk culture, Billy Bob’s Texas offers a much larger room with the same Texas music tradition. The White Elephant is the neighborhood bar; Billy Bob’s is the arena. Both have their place.