In honor of Valentine's Day this week, we take a quick look at love and lust that helped to shape many western states in the 18 and early 1900s. In the untamed days of the Wild West, brothels played a significant role in the settlement of frontier towns. While these establishments and the women who worked in them were often stigmatized by society, they served as crucial social hubs. Beyond providing companionship, the ladies of the night offered a sense of comfort and connection to the lonely miners and adventurous men attempting to live in the harsh mountains, dry deserts, and vast plains.
Love, unconventional as it may have been, often blossomed in these establishments, creating a unique form of camaraderie and support. In a paradoxical way, the presence of brothels in the Wild West contributed to the social fabric that helped bring order to the chaotic and rugged frontier, underscoring their unspoken role in the complex tapestry of settling the untamed West.
The Hard Rock Poet, Rufus L. Porter commemorated the love of the ladies of the night in his poem "Myers Avenue" which tells the story of the red light district in Cripple Creek, Colorado.
Cripple Creek was rough and ready
In the days of which I sing--
New found wealth is very heady
And a camp must have its fling.
"Good" folks thought the town was awful
Because some things it did
While maybe not exactly lawful
Were not exactly hid.
Sin and lust I ain't defendin';
But history must be fair;
And there ain't no use pretendin'
The avenue wasn't there.
And down on Myers Avenue
When the District boomed her best
Lived ladies who would welcome you,
Or any payin' guest.
And many were the golden dollars
That they'd take in of nights -
And many were the drunken hollers,
And many were the fights.
The Old Camp boasted "better classes"
But distinctions warn't too fine,
For wealthy miners had wed lasses
They first met upon the "line."
Them days the Avenue was clinkin'
With the sound of ready dough;
Then the scarlet lights kept blinkin'
With a reckless kind of glow.
And miners, often drunk or fuzzy,
Went shoppin' among the cribs
A-hopin' they might find a hussy
As would suit their royal nibs.
Sourdoughs' stomachs warn't too queasy
And though the prices were steep
The sudden wealth had come too easy
For most guys to want to keep.
The sportin' dames were well assembled,
As females were regarded then;
And not a few of them resembled
Bargains to the lonely men.
Bargains, yes, in boughten kisses
And professional good cheer
Bargains in the things man misses
On a rough and tough frontier.
The town was good, the town was bad,
And somethin' to behold;
And in spite of all her vices had
A heart of purest gold.
So you who write historic slush
Please try to keep it true -
The great camp needs no white-wash brush
For Myers Avenue.
Photos: Grave of Pearl De Vere located At Mt. Pisgah Cemetery in Cripple Creek, Colorado. She is one of the best loved and best remembered madams of Cripple Creek. She was a gorgeous red-head who is called “The soiled dove of Cripple Creek.” Pearl and her girls catered to the prosperous men of Cripple Creek and its wealthy gentlemen visitors. She also insisted on parading through town in a different gown each day as a way to advertise her business. She caused women of Cripple Creek to envy her and the men to lust after her. Pearl’s girls were often described as the most beautiful “sporting ladies” of the town. They were the best dressed, best paid, and received monthly medical care.
Pearl threw the most lavish parties and continued to cater to the Gold Kings and their friends. It was during one such party on June 4, 1897 that Pearl excused herself to go rest for a bit in her private rooms. That night, one of her girls realized she hadn’t been seen for some time and went to check on her. She found Pearl laying on her bed still in her ball gown in a heavy stupor. The girl was unable to wake her and a doctor was called for. But, it was too late and at the age of thirty-six, Pearl De Vere died on that early morning of June 5, 1897.
Her funeral was one of the most elaborate ever held in Cripple Creek and hundreds of her admirers formed a parade that followed her casket to the cemetery where it was covered in mounds of flowers. To this day, her grave is still one of the most visited gravesites in Colorado.
