05/26/2026
Before he became the legendary gambler and gunslinger known across the Old West, John Henry “Doc” Holliday was a young dentist.
This photo was taken around 1872 during his time at the Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery, shortly after graduating with his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree at just 20 years old.
One detail many people miss… he didn’t have the famous mustache yet.
Only a few years later, around 1875, Doc made his way to North Texas and practiced dentistry in downtown Denison before the chapter of gambling halls, saloons, and frontier legends began.
It’s wild to think that the man tied to so much Old West history once worked as a young dentist right here in our area.