Uncle Sam's Saloon.
It was in an establishment such as this where the real Uncle Sam held forth.
Born in New York 1801 "United States Church" (his real Christian name)
And his partner H. Wilson "presided over as respectable an institution of the
kind as you can find anywhere; and when you run against a more attentive
gentleman than Uncle Sam o get a better glass of Ale than he can furnish, you
can talk of it." A quote from the North Iowa Times May 15, 1857
Like all the other store fronts of our McGregor's Landing project, Uncle Sam's Saloon is named
after a business that was here in McGregor in 1857. Uncle Sam was of particular interest to us
because of his name being the same as the famous Icon of the United States of America.
Because of our interest I did some research on Uncle Sam Church. That research has led me
to believe that he may indeed have been the original model for that U.S. Icon. Below are
some quotes from our research.
"Uncle Sam's" Saloon, (late Gem) is a popular resort for the numerous friends
of that venerable old gentlemen. His name is supposed to be United States Church,
but he is only known as "Uncle Sam," it is probable that his note signed by any
other name would not be collected by the law of Iowa. This saloon is the last room
of Harding's block, built upon the site of the American House stable." A quote from
the North Iowa Times
"Aunt Betsy, the better half of “Uncle Sam” Church is now located on Main Street,
near the store of Powers Bros. A few day-boarders will be well taken care of at a
reasonable price. Mrs. Church and her amiable daughters are the best of house-managers,
a compliment we wish could be more generally extended to the
ladies of modern day." Another quote from the North Iowa Times October 10th, 1866
found on micro-film.
The atmosphere is suggestive of the gambling palaces that were found along the Mississippi River in the days when McGregor was on the frontier of the westward expansion of the United States.
A place like this was visited by a rough breed of frontier loggers, railroaders, river-men, Fort Crawford soldiers, bawdy ladies and the ever present riverboat gambler.
In more recent days, our stage has seen can-can dancers, a Mark Twain
impersonator, Old style vaudeville acts, Blue Grass musicians, Cowboy
poets and a gun spinning entertainer. Check our calendar of events to see what
is now playing. The very unique stage back drop was painted by our own
Tim Woolsey, the events promoter for Uncle Sam's Saloon.
Our bar is fully stocked. 
Walk through our bat wing doors and you will catch the feeling of being
a riverboat gambler, fresh off the old paddle-wheeler down at the landing.
Gamblers, Saloon Gals, and hooligans of all sorts have entered here.
See photos of past events here
For Reservations:
Ring our manager at (563) 873-3150
or Email unclesamssaloon@gmail.com
McGregor's Landing is located at:
111 First
Street P.O. Box 275
McGregor, Iowa 52157
