COME ENJOY AN after work cocktail or an evening of camaraderie and good music. Peerless Saloon patrons always find every visit truly "historic". Join us, and enjoy the charm and elegance of a turn-of-the-century bar with turn-of-the millennium quality and service. The Peerleess was entered on the National Register of Historic Places by The Department of the Interior on October 3 1985.
THE PEERLESS WAS established in 1899 under the proprietorship of philanthropist Robert E. "Daddy" Garner. Garner operated the Peerless until his death in 1919 at the age of 52. The Peerless was best known for the whiskey Garner served - Old Wildcat. Aged but not weakened, Old Wildcat was bought by the barrel and bottled in a 7-ounce "a scant" bottle, with "a scant" measuring slightly less than half a pint. Old Wildcat bottles were blown at a glass factory in Tallapoosa, Georgia owned by Garner. Unfortunately for Garner and the Peerless patrons, the factory and all of its precious stock of wild feline intoxicant went up in flames.
In the early 1980s, the Peerless sat empty and in a state of neglect. The saloon came close to becoming another Anniston landmark casualty of "progress" and was within three months of being torn down. But the proud old lady was not to be denied. On October 3, 1985, the Peerless Saloon was registered by the U.S. Department of the Interior to the National Register of Historic Places.
One group, the Peerless-Salooners, whipped the establishment into drinking shape by hosting a series of now legendary social events before the saloon was officially open to the general public. Finally on May 13, 1992, the Peerless reopened her doors for business. Years of hard work by the saloon's proprietors - Dub Nolen and Kristy Farmer - have brought Anniston's first saloon back to its original splendor.
More history is made daily, by the colorful characters who make up the fabric of what the Peerless is really all about; daily good times woven into treasured historic memories.
