Chalkley McArtor "Chalk" Beeson (April 24, 1848 – August 9, 1912) was a well-known businessman, lawman, cattleman and musician but was best known for his ownership of the famous Long Branch Saloon in Dodge City, Kansas.

Years later, Charles Goodnight would say of Beeson: "He was the best cowboy on the trail ... could stampede or quiet a herd quicker than any rustler I ever met.

He worked, for a time, as a guide to buffalo hunters, with his clients including Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia, Phil Sheridan, and George Custer.

By 1875 Beeson grew bored with Pueblo and relocated to the three-year-old town of Dodge City, Kansas.

In 1876, Chalk Beeson returned home to Marshalltown, Iowa, where he married 22-year-old Ida Gause on July 17, 1876.

On March 1, 1878, Beeson purchased the Long Branch from the firm of Dexter D. Colley and James M. Manion.

[3] After owning it for five years, Beeson grew bored with the Long Branch and sold his share of the business to Luke Short on February 6, 1883.

The band members cut dashing figures in full "cowboy" regalia – enormous white stetsons, blue flannel shirts and boots festooned with ornamental spurs.

Their fame finally spread far enough that they were featured performers in the March 4, 1889, inaugural parade of President Benjamin Harrison.

On the morning of Tuesday, August 6, 1912, with routine ranch chores to attend to, Chalk mounted a horse that was unusually skittish.

His widow, Ida Beeson, remained a prominent member of Dodge City society until her death on June 15, 1928.