October 27, 1873
On this day in 1873, a feud between two competing saloon keepers in Delano, Kansas, erupted in a shootout that would become both one of the most legendary and most disputed in the territory’s history.
Numerous accounts have clouded the events but it was a fact Joe Lowe, a.k.a. “Rowdy Joe” (right) and Edward “Red” Beard were not best friends, their brothels and bar rooms side by side.
According to a popularized version, Beard, a man from a good family who went West and went astray, arrived in Delano first. Newcomer Lowe and his wife, bawdy house madam “Rowdy Kate,” challenged Beard to a contest to see who could build a dance hall quicker. Lowe supposedly won.
Beard, drinking heavily, accused his bawdy house madam, Josephine DeMerritt, of stealing. Heaving a bottle at Beard, she fled next door to Lowe’s establishment. Beard followed, fired into the smoke-filled bar room, hitting a woman he believed to be DeMerritt. It was in fact, another woman named Annie Franklin, an employee of Lowe’s, not DeMerritt.
Lowe exchanged shots with Beard. Beard fled on horseback. Lowe gave chase and the pair exited town in a hail of gunfire. Lowe caught up with Beard near the Arkansas River bridge to Wichita and emptied a shotgun into him. Beard lingered in agony for several weeks and died on November 11 at the age of 28.
Lowe managed to escape from jail under circumstances apparently lost in the mists of time and Mrs. Rowdy soon followed. According to some reports the couple was briefly associated with the Sam Bass gang in Texas before drifting to a number of points west, gambling and working in saloons.
Finally, at the age of 72, Lowe was shot in the Walrus Saloon in Denver on February 11, 1899 after arguing with a policeman named E.A. Kimmel. Lowe was alleged to be unarmed.
Researchers at the Kansas Historical Society have a much different, albeit less colorful, version. Here’s what they say really happened.
The Lowes actually arrived first, set up saloon and brothel keeping in Delano in 1872, and made a small fortune fleecing cowboys just off the Chisholm Trail. When Edward “Red” Beard came to town, however, he chose to build a saloon just 50 feet down the street from Lowe’s. It was reportedly a friendly competition at first. But when a young soldier shot a woman at Beard’s establishment, the infuriated saloon owner opened fire on the troopers. This incident may have been what caused the confusion, wrongly naming Beard as the one who shot Annie Franklin and the instigator of the gunfight.
The soldiers, apparently feeling much aggrieved, took revenge on Beard, burning down his saloon and bawdy house. That left a clear field for the Lowes to profit from his misfortune, which they did with abandon.
On the fateful October night, Beard did indeed fire at Rowdy Joe through his smoke-filled bar room. A gun fight ensued, leaving both Lowe and Beard still standing. One of Lowe’s patrons, William “Billie” Anderson, was not so lucky. He was seriously wounded and blinded for life.
Later that night, Beard took to the streets determined to find Lowe. Rowdy Joe, however, found Beard first and fatally shot him in the back.
A trial was convened several months later and Lowe was acquitted, the jury apparently believing the town was better off without “Red” Beard. But when charges were filed against Lowe for the wounding of poor Billy 
Anderson, he and Kate packed up and left town.
Next they were kicked out of Dodge City. The pair migrated to the quintessential boom town, Tombstone, Arizona, setting up shop with Doc Holiday’s companion and brothel keeper, Big Nose Kate. (Above, an unverified photo purporting to be the two Kates )
Their establishment soon developed a reputation for bad booze and lingering suspicions that big winners were drugged and rolled. Business fled downhill and the Lowes eventually roamed from saloon to brothel to gaming house around the West.
The popularized and historic accounts merge in Denver, however, with Lowe’s death in a bar room shooting at the hands of policeman, E.A. Kimmel. Rowdy Kate falls off history’s radar following Lowe’s death, her passing unrecorded.
Josephine DeMerritt reportedly continued to operate Beard’s bar and brothel in Delano until 1880 when all the saloon keepers, gamblers and 
Dodge City’s Front Street
prostitutes were sent packing. The cattle boom had moved west to Dodge City (above) and Delano became part of the more respectable community of Wichita just across the river.
Old Cowtown Museum, 1865 W. Museum Blvd., Wichita, Kansas, takes visitors back to the era of the Delano shootout. Established in 1952 , it is one of the oldest outdoor museums in the Midwest. It is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, a designation awarded to only 3 per cent of museums. There are 54 historic and recreated buildings on the 23-acre site, complete with artifacts, tools, clothing, agricultural machinery and 
live animals. A total of 27 structures are original, some relocated to Wichita from other sites in Kansas. Considered a combination of museum, living history facility and preservation project, it includes hands-on activities, educational programs, demonstrations and costumed interpreters. Admission is $7.75 for adults, $6.50 for seniors, $6 for youth 12 to 17, $3,50 for children 4 to 11 and kids younger than 4 are free. The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 to 5, Sundays noon to 5 and closed Mondays. Last admission of the day is sold an hour before closing. For more information go to oldcowtown.org or call (316) 350-3323.
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