Louis and Marion Krause opened the Swan River Tavern after moving to the Swan Valley from Woodworth in 1947. Louie built a small (12’x12’) building next to the family’s log cabin. He set up a counter of rough sawn boards along one side. Benches were built for the customers. Beer and soft drinks were kept in galvanized tubs on the floor and cooled by ice cut from Holland Lake.

This small drinking establishment was a great place for loggers and workers from the Wineglass Mill to congregate and relax. Packers on their way over the Mission Mountains to hunt and fish in the South Fork (now the Bob Marshall Wilderness) also enjoyed getting together for a drink.

Business soon picked up and the Krauses acquired a liquor license. They needed more room. Louis and Mame moved the bar into their log home, calling it the Swan River Tavern. They installed a refrigerator for cooling beer, powered by a gas generator called “Old Shepp.” Water was still hauled from Cooney Creek in 10 gallon cans.

The Krause daughters, Mary Lou and Shirley, provided the entertainment, playing guitar and accordion. Patrons danced to Country and Western music as the girls played.

Mary Lou liked doing “valet parking” for Tuffy Anderson, who would ride his horse Gypsy to the bar in the afternoon. Rather than tie the horse to a tree, Mary Lou and Shirley would ride Gypsy until Tuffy was ready to head home.

Marion made soup for the kids in Tavern and they would do their homework there.

Louie hung a rope swing out back for the three Krause kids. It was just a rope with a knot tied at the end. The customers soon discovered the swing. The Krause kids never had trouble with swinging. But Mary Lou remembers at least one or two of the customers had broken bones.

Louie had built a new house for the family on the other side of the road. This house would later become Liquid Louie’s Swan River Tavern. 

Credits and Sources:

Ann Dahl: Upper Swan River Historical Society