The Long Branch served milk, tea, lemonade, sarsaparilla, and many types of alcohol, including champagne and beer.

[3] The saloon hosted many Old West characters including Clay Allison, Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, Frank Loving, Mysterious Dave, Charlie Bassett (town marshal), and brothers Ed, James, and Bat Masterson.

Loving accused Richardson of making disrespectful advances towards his wife, and the two got into an argument that turned into a gunfight across a table.

Professional gambler and gunfighter Short's purchase of a partial interest in the saloon in 1883 was credited as one of the causes of the bloodless Dodge City War.

A new establishment named the Long Branch Saloon, largely based on the Gunsmoke series, was built as part of the modern Boot Hill Museum entertainment and exhibit complex in Dodge City.