John Deighton

Who was John Deighton?

John Deighton, generally known as "Gassy Jack", was a Canadian bar owner who was born in Hull, England. The Gastown neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia is named after him.

Deighton started out as a steamship operator for many years of his early life. However he was forced to pursue other lines of work once he developed health problems.

Between 1862 and 1867, he ran a bar in New Westminster, British Columbia. It was quite prosperous due to the Cariboo Gold Rush of 1862, but by 1867, business slowed down and he had to close it down.

He later opened a bar on the south side of Burrard Inlet at the behest of his old friend, Captain Edward Stamp, the owner of the Hastings Mill. He later named it the Globe Saloon. He came to the area with little more than $6 to his name, a few simple pieces of furniture, his native wife, and a yellow dog. The bar was built by idle sawmill workers in exchange for all the whiskey they could drink in one sitting. His patrons were mainly sailors and workers from the nearby sawmill. This bar was demolished when the townsite of Granville was established and was afterwards rebuilt as Deighton House.