A brief history of the dive bar
An excerpt from the upcoming 'Texas Dive Bar Encyclopedia'
The term "dive bar" in the US dates back over a century. Several sources cite an article in the New York Herald from 1871, which mentions “One of the gayly decorated dives where young ladies … dispense refreshments to thirsty souls.” The use of "dive" is also corroborated in a 2008 Fizz article referencing the Oxford English Dictionary, noting that these establishments were housed in cellars or basements, into which “frequenters may ‘dive’ without observation.”
A Block Club Chicago article cites multiple mentions in the Chicago Tribune during the 1860s of "dives" where prostitution and gambling occurred. In the New York Times archives, I found a mention of a "dive" in a December 1874 article titled "Deluded by Lager Beer: The Wiles of Gambrinus in a Chatham Street Concert 'Dive'—Tale of an Empty Pocket-Book." It describes how Heinrich Auler entered "the recesses of a cellar," "descended the stairway," and was later robbed of $75 by two "rosy-cheeked, bright-eyed maidens of his German land." Sounds like a rough night for Heinrich.
However, regarding Texas, I've found that "dive bar" mentions are infrequent until about the 1990s. In the Portal to Texas History maintained by the University of North Texas Libraries, an earlier mention appears in a December 1996 article in the Boerne Star. Overall, there aren't many instances that appear in search results. Though merely a hypothesis, I may have a reason for why this is the case.
In the Texas Monthly online archives, which date back to 1973, you'll find early articles mentioning various drinking establishments, including the "ice house" (August 1984) and "beer joint" (March 1976). Unsurprisingly, mentions of saloons trace back to the Western frontier days. In the Portal to Texas History archives, an early photograph of men, women, and children posing in front of Fort Saloon was taken on June 2, 1901.
This makes me think that the colloquial use of "dive bar" has grown over time. It either recently became part of the Texan lexicon, or journalists simply didn't consider it a noteworthy enough topic to write about. According to Google Trends search results, which date back to 2004, Texas currently ranks 27th among US states for "dive bar" searches. From 2004 to 2025, searches for "dive bar" in Texas increased consistently, about sevenfold over the past two decades.
Today, searches for "dive bar" in Texas lag behind those for "saloon," "ice house," and "cantina." Even "dance hall" is searched for more frequently. The previously mentioned Texas Monthly article from March 1976, "The Beer Joint," describes West Texas watering holes and includes photographs of establishments that undoubtedly qualify as dive bars. However, there isn't a single "dive bar" mention in the piece.
It could be that, for a long time, Texans have used different words to describe dive bars, whether they were "saloon," "ice house," "beer joint," or something else. Take this hunch with a grain of salt, but perhaps this is due to fewer basement establishments in Texas, which didn't require patrons to "dive" into a cellar during a night out.
These days, many people are familiar with what a dive bar is. You can find articles listing the best dive bars in most major cities, and the term has a place in popular culture. However, there is some evidence suggesting that this term wasn't always widely used in Texas. Considering recent Google Trends data, it seems reasonable that the use of the term will continue to grow. For dive bar aficionados, this should be a welcome change.
