WORLAND — More than 30 years ago, teenagers were warned away from downtown Worland’s “Bar Row” with the ominous words, “Don’t be here after dark, there are people down there!”
The warning was not about physical beings, but about the ghostly visitors who for years had haunted the tunnels beneath the town's historic "Bar Row."
The row of businesses lining Main Street were once a trio of saloons dating back to 1906. Beneath these buildings are tunnels believed by many to have been dug during Prohibition. The newspapers of the time would report on bootlegging and moonshine only occasionally, preferring to turn a blind eye to the new industry of smuggling booze that existed beneath their feet.
In 1919, as Prohibition became law across America, saloons officially closed their doors in Worland. Then they opened the secret passageways and tunnels that continued a thriving bootlegging industry.
“Old moonshine, raisin and corn whiskey seems to be a profitable industry these days in Wyoming,” The Worland Grit reported in 1920. “Even in Washakie County some of the citizens have been busy manufacturing the bug juice.”
This ‘bug juice’ had to be smuggled to customers and, throughout Wyoming towns, the best way to go unnoticed was to go underground. Once Prohibition was lifted in 1933, the tunnels were no longer needed as drinking in public was once more allowed.
These tunnels were then abandoned and virtually forgotten in Worland except by the local high school kids who used to go down in the 1950s and '60s for their own illicit drinking parties.
The decades did their work, and the tunnels began crumbling in on themselves. However, locals say, previous occupants made their ghostly presence known over 60 years after the tunnels had been abandoned by the bootleggers.
Beneath the Bee Healthy health food store, stairs lead to a tunnel that had been dug out nearly 100 years ago, presumably during Prohibition when the store was a saloon and “hotel.” The tunnel is believed to be part of a network of tunnels that created a secret passageway between the former saloons in downtown Worland. Floods and cave ins have now made the tunnels unusable although, 30 years ago, before they caved in, strange noises could be heard in the tunnels late at night including voices. No evidence of physical beings was ever discovered. (Jackie Dorothy, Cowboy State Daily) 
Beneath the Bee Healthy health food store, stairs lead to a tunnel that had been dug out nearly 100 years ago, presumably during Prohibition when the store was a saloon and “hotel.” The tunnel is believed to be part of a network of tunnels that created a secret passageway between the former saloons in downtown Worland. Floods and cave ins have now made the tunnels unusable although, 30 years ago, before they caved in, strange noises could be heard in the tunnels late at night including voices. No evidence of physical beings was ever discovered. (Jackie Dorothy, Cowboy State Daily) 
In 1906, the trio of buildings were built as saloons and were known as Worland, Wyoming’s “Bar Row” until eventually they were replaced by other businesses from the now-closed Italian restaurant to the Bee Healthy, a health food store. Beneath these three buildings, a series of tunnels had been built and were believed to have been used during the Prohibition to smuggle moonshine and rum between the saloons to their thirsty cliental. (Jackie Dorothy, Cowboy State Daily) 
In 1906, the trio of buildings were built as saloons and were known as Worland, Wyoming’s “Bar Row” until eventually they were replaced by other businesses from the now-closed Italian restaurant to the Bee Healthy, a health food store. Beneath these three buildings, a series of tunnels had been built and were believed to have been used during the Prohibition to smuggle moonshine and rum between the saloons to their thirsty cliental. (Jackie Dorothy, Cowboy State Daily) 
In 1906, the trio of buildings were built as saloons and were known as Worland, Wyoming’s “Bar Row” until eventually they were replaced by other businesses from the now-closed Italian restaurant to the Bee Healthy, a health food store. Beneath these three buildings, a series of tunnels had been built and were believed to have been used during the Prohibition to smuggle moonshine and rum between the saloons to their thirsty cliental. (Jackie Dorothy, Cowboy State Daily)
Strange Stirrings
By then, the saloons in downtown Worland’s Bar Row had been replaced with other businesses such as a shoe store and jewelry store. It was in the early 1990s, when the shoe store owner started hearing sounds in her basement after she had locked everything up according to one Worland resident.
“They finally called in the police because they kept hearing people down there and thought that somebody was trying to break in,” Joy of Worland said. “They could hear things, and the police heard the sounds, too.”
The police unlocked the door and went into the basement to investigate. They found no one there.
“There was no way out,” Joy said. “But they kept hearing, shuffling and moving. Occasionally they'd hear somebody call out. It was kind of unnerving for them.”
The sounds only occurred at night when the owners were closed and cleaning up for the day. No one was ever seen although they were clearly heard, moving around in the locked space.
When the owners would investigate the sounds, even the dust would be undisturbed and there would never be any sign of the ghostly intruders.
Worland’s Secret
There is no known written record of these tunnels beneath the saloons, since the general public in Wyoming turned a blind eye to the moonshine trade. When the Prohibition men showed up, they were treated as tax collectors, and despite the government men’s show of force, not many arrests were made in Worland, especially in the early days.
When locals Jake Schnider, John Youngman and Joe Sacramoto were caught and pleaded guilty to making moonshine, the court room was crowded. According to the Worland Grit, these citizens had come in hopes of learning some of the details of the manufacture of the "delightful stuff."
“Many good recipes were brought out by questioning the defendants,” The Worland Grit reported in 1920.
With this type of enthusiasm from the public for moonshine recipes, it is no wonder that the tunnels remained a carefully guarded secret.
In the 1920s, The Worland Grit rarely reported on the war against moonshine and kept quiet, the journalists hinting about retaliation from its readers if it said anything about the secret business of bootlegging liquor. When locals were arrested on moonshining charges, the Grit pointed out that folks were not angry at the men and were more interested in learning some trade secrets! (The Worland Grit, 1920) 
In 1906, when businesses were being built in Worland, the majority were saloons such as the Elk Saloon, Crystal Saloon and the Big Horn Saloon. They were a major driver of industry in the fledging frontier town and did a lively business, even after Prohibition forced them underground from 1919 to 1933. (The Worland Grit, 1906) 
In 1906, when businesses were being built in Worland, the majority were saloons such as the Elk Saloon, Crystal Saloon and the Big Horn Saloon. They were a major driver of industry in the fledging frontier town and did a lively business, even after Prohibition forced them underground from 1919 to 1933. (The Worland Grit, 1906) 
In 1906, when businesses were being built in Worland, the majority were saloons such as the Elk Saloon, Crystal Saloon and the Big Horn Saloon. They were a major driver of industry in the fledging frontier town and did a lively business, even after Prohibition forced them underground from 1919 to 1933. (The Worland Grit, 1906) 
In 1920, the Worland Grit reported that moonshine was a thriving business in Washakie County despite Prohibition beginning the year before, making the selling of liquor illegal. (The Worland Grit, 1920)
Floodings And Cave Ins
In the early 2000s, the tunnels beneath the former Bar Row flooded according to local citizens. These floods began the slow process of filling the tunnels up. Subsequent cave-ins left them unsafe to venture into and it appears even the ghostly inhabitants eventually faded away into a distant memory.
The new owners of the former hotel and saloon are Terri and Lloyd Craft. The couple run Bee Healthy, a health food store in downtown Worland, and love the history still visible in the walls and ceiling of the old building which was built in 1906.
They have never personally heard the noises that used to disturb the peace of the former owners and are in fact disappointed that the tunnels themselves have caved in.
“You can see that they were dug out,” Terri said, pointing to the tunnel which still leads from their basement into an unknown darkness.
The tunnel is barely large enough now for a small child to squeeze through, but it is not surprising since the hidden route was abandoned nearly 100 years ago. The early Prohibition tunnels were never that big and were made to be just sufficient for the needs of the bootleggers smuggling the booze between the saloons in their secret passageway.
Although now silent, the tunnels still stand as a reminder of a time when Wyoming’s most entrepreneurial spirits had to go underground. First as illegal bootleggers and then as restless spirits, still moving the moonshine to their eager customers.
Jackie Dorothy can be reached at jackie@cowboystatedaily.com.
