Beer City was founded in 1888 in No Man's Land.[3] No Man's Land was created when Texas sought to enter the Union in 1845 as a slave state. Federal law in the United States at the time, based on the Missouri Compromise, prohibited slavery north of 36°30' parallel north. Under the Compromise of 1850, Texas surrendered its lands north of 36°30' latitude. "No Man's Land" was the 170-mile strip of land, a "neutral strip", that was left with no state or territorial ownership from 1850 until 1890.[4][5] The town started as a cluster of white tents, which gave it its original name, White City.[2] Kansans moved to the area in Oklahoma to start White City due to strict alcohol prohibition laws in Kansas.[3] The name was changed to “Beer City” after the rowdiness of the townsfolk.
At its peak, Beer City had a handful of saloons, gambling houses, and brothels. Due to the town having no rules, Beer City was mainly filled with outlaws. The most notorious one was a lady by the name of “Pussy Cat Nell”. She ran and owned “Yellow Snake Saloon” in the town.[3] One of the noteworthy events in the town's history occurred when she, along with a group of 14 other men, shot and killed a man with the self-proclaimed title, “Sheriff Bush”. They killed this man because the townsfolk believed he was unfairly extorting them. He had 74 gunshot wounds in his body.
