As bustling as Wickes was during its boom days, its history was influenced by the towns that surrounded it.
Jefferson City is the sole remaining town in the vicinity of Wickes, and as one of area’s last entertainment venues, T’ings Tavern, has perservered through the years.
T’ings Tavern was built in 1867, according to local Candy Bell — daughter of former owner Fred Bell.
Jefferson City grew around the stagecoach line between Fort Benton and Virginia City. After making the long trek over the Boulder hill, travelers would stop in Jefferson City to rest.
While catering to those travelers, Jefferson City and T’ings bar, found themselves in the company of a very special party — or so the story goes.
In 1875, after years of pushing, Montana’s capital was moved from Virginia City to Helena. By April of that year, legislators and officials were instructured to move the capital archives to its new “queen” city.
On April 12, the archives passed through Radersburg and arrived in Helena two days later, according to the Montana Post.
During the unaccounted for day, the party supposedly arrived in Jefferson City too late in the evening to continue onto Helena, according to former bar owner Russel “Ting” Tintinger.
Tintinger told fellow Jefferson City resident Ed Zitnik — who told The Monitor — that the party spent the night at the hotel now known as T’ings. This essentially made Jefferson City the state capital and T’ings the capitol building, just for a night.
It is unclear who was the original owner of the bar and what name it operated under. However, an 1896 edition of the Clancy Miner listed Pat Luddy as the owner and operator of Jefferson City’s saloon.
The building later passed into the hands of Tintinger. Tintinger opened Ting’s Bar and Grill in the 1950s, and operated it for 25 years.
In 2013, Jefferson City native Fred Bell purchased the bar and changed the name to T’ings Happen Bar.
T’ings continues to fulfill the role of the local watering hole, now under the ownership of Angel Molyneaux.
Now “T’ings Tavern,” Molyneaux has big plans for the historic site.
The bar’s new name connects the establishment with its history, while tying it to this new era of ownership.
“We wanted something that was ours,” Molyneaux said.
T’ings new logo has special meaning as well. Molyneaux said it captures the bar’s western feel and features an item from her business partner and fiancee Buck Herron’s past: longhorns.
Patrons can expect to see new signange going up, but Molyneaux said it’s an update that will come slowly.
With the help of her fiancee Buck Herron, Molyneaux has taken steps to return the bar to its former glory.
This started with the removal of fermica from the original bartop and finishing the backroom for gambling machines.
Once opened up, Molyneaux said the pool table and dart machines would move into the space formerly known as Cleone’s Book Nook, which would create more space for seating.
In the interest of furthering T’ings’ role as a small town bar, Molyneaux and Herron have hosted various musical groups, and plans to do so year round. Eventually, Molyneaux said she hopes to construct a daytime coffee shop in the parking lot, that will serve as additinal bar space for outdoor musical events.
T’ings patrons may have noticed that some food is available at the bar. For now, Molyneaux said, T’ings can sell pre-packaged foods. But that’s just the beginning of her plans. Someday, she hopes to reopen the bar’s grill, however, it’s still a long ways off.
