HomeMy WebLinkAboutHistory of the Bozeman Police Dept_Chapter 14Chapter 14
Prostitution in Early Bozeman
At one time, Bozeman had a thriving "red light" district that was located near the
downtown Main Street business area. Several "female boarding" houses were located on
East Mendenhall between Bozeman and Rouse Streets.
This chapter on "Mendenhall's Madams" was written by three Montana State
University students as a part of a History assignment. They have allowed me to use their
paper and include their report as a part of the "History of the Bozeman Police
Department". However, some mistakes were noted and I made corrections in bold type
under "Author's Note".
The credit and a sincere thanks goes to Ben Johnson, Rob Sweck and Jason
Hebner.
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Mendenhall s Madams
' The ins and outs of prostitution in early Bozeman
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Ben Johnson
Rob Sweck
Jason Hebner
History 401
12-11-9b
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The 1880 Census for Bozeman, Montana invokes an interesting picture of a by-
gone era in Western history. At the top of one census page, is listed Nelson Story with his
wife and their three children, Mr. Story; early Bozeman's most successful businessman,
industrialist, and land speculator, is listed as having the occupation "Capitalist". Just a few
lines down in the census is a Chinese woman by the name Leenn, 25 years of age, listed
employed as a prostitute. Leenn is said to have lived with two older Chinese laborers of
no relation. The stark contrast between these two persons might have shocked the
original census enumerator but as we glance dawn the sheet, an image of an old Western
town and its cornucopia of residents emerges. On this short page, it lists occupations of
stone cutter, carpenter, freighter, miner, school teacher, two farmers, a few wives listed as
"keeping hawse", their children, as well as a few more laborers and three more prostitutes.
The other ladies of ill-fame are another interesting mix living under the same roof. Louisa
Courselle, 48, came from England as well as Ella Laraine, 19. Housemate Kittie Warren,
20, is shown to be from Missouri. Being "from" somewhere associates them with the
other Bozernanites on this sheet. The only native Montanans seem to be the children of
established residents that came West from the Midwest and Eastern states or immigrated
from Asia or Europe.
The diverse mix just described gave the West its vitality as more and more people
vernured there to strike it rich or die trying. The boom/bust cycle of most Western towns
resulted from industries like mining, timber, and railroads that tended to enrich a few lucky
speculators but leave most dry. John Bozeman realized this and platted the town of
Bozeman to be a supply center for the boom towns springing up in Southwestern
Montana. Places like Virginia City, Butte, and Helena would need the agricultural
produce of the Gallatin Valley while they concentrated on more lucrative enterprises. This
insured the town of Bozeman a more stable economy than many of its neighbors but
Bozeman was not without some of the seedier elements that give flavor to Western
' images. Bozeman's steady growth and importance to the regional economy led to the
arrival of the Northern Pacific transcontinental railroad in 1883. This construction
brought many immigrant workers to Bozeman including Chinese that established local
businesses once the railroad work was done. Other settlers came for reasons of their own
and Bozeman was soon becoming a cosmopolitan town with the incorporation of the City
of Bozeman also in 1883.
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A familiar sight in every large town of the late Nineteenth century was a prominent
red light district and Bozeman was no exception. Of course larger cities had more famous
(or infamous) districts. The areas had wonderFul names like New York's Tenderloin, New
Orleans' Storyville, and San Francisco's Barbary Coast. The reasons segregated districts
were able to spring up in the sexually repressive Victorian age has oRen been speculated.
The public at large thought of prostitution as an unavoidable evil and would rather it be
separated from their descent neighborhoods by confining it into distinct districts. (JSH,
671) There were also public health concerns. By concentrating the district, medical
inspection for venereal disease was possible and also acted as a quarantine from the rest
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of society. (JSH, 668) Another impetus for districts were the concerns of municipal
authorities, specifically the police. It was thought criminals would flock to the seedier
section of town and it would be easier to keep an eye on them. (JSH, 668)
With these considerations, the location of the red light district was quite limited.
When coupled with the economic needs of the ladies themselves the choice of location
was further reduced. In order to have a viable operation the "Houses of ill repute" must
have access to their male patrons. The most ideal location then would be next to the
Central Business District where the restaurants, saloons, and dance halls could provide
evening entertainment while the ladies could provide the nightly. The nearby hotels and
boarding houses would offer a transient clientele. In Bozeman, all of these factors went
into the location of the district. The early Sanborne Fire Insurance maps for Bozeman
indicate a string of female boarding houses located between the alley north or Main Street
and Mendenhall Street with east and west limits of Bozeman and Rouse Streets. The fact
that they could be real boarding houses instead of brothels is dismissed when taken with
census records listing the occupations of the ladies at these addresses as prostitutes,
sports, or sometimes left blank. Further evidence is gained when consulting the Polk
directories and cross referencing the occupants with Court records.
The red light district's proximity to Main Street and its businesses offered a steady
supply of clientele. The 1889 map shows four houses in the district along with numerous
Chinese businesses. As Main Street grew and became clustered with new buildings, the
district grew with it. The 1904 map shows eight houses and numerous saloons, pool halls,
and hotels located on Main Street directly adjacent to the district. This growth is typical
because census records show phenomenal population expansion for Bozeman in the last
two decades of the nineteenth century. In 1880, there is said to have been 894 residents in
Bowman's four wards but by the turn of the century that figure has risen to 3419. The red
light district was located in the First ward that included the Northeast neighborhood which
housed the poorer of Bozeman's working population. "The red light district was
universally restricted to the poor or marginal neighborhoods of American cities." (JSH,
672) The much wealthier third and fourth wards were probably elated to keep such
practices away from their homes.
' Much closer to the action were the police. In fact, the first jail, a log structure was
located in the middle of the district but was abandoned in 1881 with the construction of a
new brick jail further a few blocks west (LC, 3 and interview).
Author's note: This jail was abandoned by the County around 1881 as they moved
into a new facility. It was in April 1883, the City Council rented this "old jail" at
' 520.00 per month for use by aflicers of the Bozeman Police Department.
Despite the relocation of the lockup, police presence was still felt. According to
1 the 1900 census, the police judge, William Smith, and his family lived just a block east of
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the district. The soiled doves were in front of judge Smith often according to court
dockets. Bozeman had laws against prostitution but these seemed to be overlooked in the
earlier days of the town. As people's attitudes about the social evil changed, however,
arrests became more frequent. By 1895, the girls were being hauled in sporadically and
charged various amounts under ordinance 85.
Author's Note: Charges related to prostitution were under ordinance 173, not
ordinance 85.
On January 16, 1896, madam Lizzie Woods and seven other ladies of the evening
were brought before the judge (BCD, 16 Jan 1896). According to court records, Lizzie
hired a lawyer and attempted to fight the charge. She lost this particular battle but she
may have won the war, at least for a little while. The arrests for prostitution became
almost nonexistent for the next three years.
In late 1898, Mayor J.V. Bogert instituted Ordinance No. 173. "An Ordinance for
the Suppression of Prostitution and for the Punishment of Prostitutes in the City of
Bozeman", he describes in a letter to the City Council that includes the actual ordinance.
Section 2 proscribes fines for the "Keeper of a House of Ill Fame" to be"...not less than
five dollars or more than one hundred dollars..." (Ord. 173). The inmates of a house are
sought with section 3, which says their fines will be between five and fifty dollars. It goes
on to say "...each day upon which any act mentioned in this section is committed shall be
and constitute a separate and distinct afi'ense." It seems that last statement was
discretionary. Another way Bozeman crime fighters could suppress prostitution was with
Ordinance No. 188 "relating to Vagrants". The Police were allowed to apprehend any
"common prostitute" or "streetwalker" within the city limits. The definition of these are
those women who:
"...upon the public streets, or in ar about any public place, or assembly,
or in any saloon, bar room, club room, or any other public, or general
place of use for men or any where within the sight or hearing of ladies
and children, conduct or behave herself in any immodest, drunken,
profane or obscene manner, either by action, language or improper
exposure of her person" (Ord. 188).
The generalities of this ordinance make it possible to convict any woman of being a
common prostitute, even in 1899, when it was enacted.
The next two years after the implementation of Ordinance No. 173 and 188
witnessed sporadic arrests of women from the houses and the streets with fines ranging
from five dollars to seventy-five for madams (BCD, 1898-1901). In spring 1901, the
municipal policy shifted to a regular payment schedule. The madams and their girls would
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' make a visit in the middle of each month to the police court. Instead of random fines,
each madam was charged ten dollars and each working girl, five. For almost ten years the
' same women's names were entered on the court record (BCD, 1901-1909).
' As the railroad reached the Gallatin Valley it brought with it an incline of Chinese
labor. The Chinese were here to stay, and they caarried their culture and customs with
them. By the late 1800's, Bozeman had numerous Chinese laundries, restaurants, and
' stores catering to the Chinese community as well as Bozeman natives.
Not all Chinese in Bozeman at this time were employed in "so-called" legitimate
' businesses. The railroad required huge amounts of male labor, and men required the care
and "affection" of a female from time to time. The Chinese were often segregated from
the whites, and discrimination was full blown in Bozeman. Taking advantage of the
' situation, many resourceful individuals seized this opportunity and purchased young
Chinese women from poverty stricken families in China. The purpose was to use these
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young girls to cater to the needs of the coolie laborers. To emphasize this paint, a healthy
Chinese girl could be sold for approximately $400.00 to $600.00, a pretty girl bringing an
even healthier sum (B.C., 17). This was a considerable amount of money at the time, and
what better way to use the services of a pretty Chinese girl?
Prostitution had made its grand entrance in Bozeman, and the Chinese were quick
to discover this. Chin Au Ban, one of the successful, respected Chinese in Bozeman, used
his prosperous International Cafe for a dual purpose. "Chin's", as it was called by locals,
housed a number of rooms, actually cribs, upstairs (B.C., 17). These cribs were used by
the young Chinese girls who were there to satisfy the patrons who had a taste for more
than won-ton soup and noodles. In "The Journal of Social History", Neil Larry Shumsky
states:
"However, the Chinatown red light district had other than Chinese
clients. White men seem to have been regular patrons, and there seems
no doubt that the dollars of white visitors enabled American Chinatowns
to support many more bordellos, opium dens, and gambling halls than
would have been possible solely an the basis of Chinese patronage.
Chinatown prostitutes of all races seem to have had certain advantages in
attracting white customers. These women, in general, sold their services
more cheaply than their sisters outside this area. Moreover, white
customers seem to have felt freer about asking Chinese women to perform
certain acts which they would not have mentioned to white prostitutes.
Finally, Chinatown provided its customers with a level of anonymity and
security from apprehension not guaranteed elsewhere in the city ." (667)
In Bozeman history, Si Sing was arrested on September 22, 1908 for violating
ordinance 173. His violation was operating a house of prostitution (BCD). The city
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' fined Si Sing forty dollars, a healthy sum, for his offense.
' Jim Zimbric, the owner of McCracken's where the International Cafe once was,
says that the brothel was quite swank for the time, "it had an elaborate patterned oak
floor. The cribs had doors with inlaid copper designs of occupations, such as mining,
' wheat farming and railroading. Each door had that girl's name above it. And the walls
inside were decorated with detailed erotic ink drawings. They must have been quite
' successful; it wasn't a shanty town" (B.C., 17). Furthermore, the city court docket shows
that the police periodically arrested people for smoking opium (BCD).
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The history of prostitution in Bozeman has not been well documented, and the
Chinese are no exception to this, but what is know is that like most other Chinese, they
had an unglamorous life, and "were basically treated like slaves" (B.C., p.26). The
Chinese prostitutes often were caught in the midst of violence. Some reportedly
committed suicide to escape the misery of the cribs. Other Chinese prostitutes did not
even have the liberty of taking their own lives. In a bizarre case in Bozeman history, two
Chinese prostitutes were murdered by a local man named John St. Clair. "St. Clair was
reported to have a financial interest in some of the young Chinese women who worked as
prostitutes in Bozeman. He was arrested after allegedly shooting two of them" (B.C., 39).
St. Clair made Bozeman history for his alleged crimps, he was never to receive the trial
that he deserved. An angry mob broke into the jail and proceeded to do what they saw
fit. They hung St. Clair on February 7, 1873.
The Chinese played a significant part in Bowman's history and the development of
the railroads. "By 1883, most of the 8000 railroad workers in the state were Chinese,
according to the census records" (B.C., 17). The Chinese in Bozeman never tried to
integrate with the rest of Bozman's population. "They brought their language, religion
and there is no doubt they smoked opium" (B.C., 17). Most Chinese slowly disappeared
from the town of Bozeman as the railroad was completed. The men were gone and so
were the Chinese prostitutes. The decline of the Chinese population in Bozeman was
quick, just as their arrival. "In 1910, census records showed 62 Chinese lived in Bozeman;
by 1940, only three remained" (B.C., 17).
One of the few documented madams in Bozeman during the late 1800's was
Frances Jackson, alias Lizzie Woods. Frances Jackson was born in Missouri in 1860, to
modest German parents. Upon her arrival in Bozeman, she subsequently changed her
name to Lizzie Woods, keeping her parents unaware of her profession (Pioneer Vertical).
Lizzie promptly opened a brothel on East Mendenhall Street in Bozeman, to cater
to the needs of the local men. Over the years, her brothel on East Mendenhall Street
seemed to do quite well. She, amazingly enough, was quite respected to a paint by the
local community. During this period, Lizzie kept her business flourishing, and she actually
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' became wealthy. Her lavish lifestyle raised many an eyebrow in Bozeman at the time.
Her wealth eventually led her to open another bordello in Livingston, The Maxwell
Raaming Hause. This venture was an 18 room den of carnal passion, that was also quite
successful (Pioneer Vertical). Her business ventures lasted approximately 30 years,
bringing with them quite a few unsolved mysteries. Reportedly, linking those bordellos on
' East Mendenhall were a series of tunnels, far those certain customers who did not want to
be seen entering and exiting such a place. They were linked with properties on the
' opposite side of the street that did not share such a wicked reputation. If the notorious
tunnels on East Mendenhall are ever located, I hope I am the first person to walk to the
"other side".
' In her later years, Lizzie yearned for more out of life. She adopted a son that she
called, oddly enough, "Baby". Little is known about "Baby", only that he was later given
up for adoption (Pioneer Vertical). The attitudes toward prostitution were rapidly
changing in Bozeman, and the end for the East Mendenhall "red light" district, or "Electric
Alley", was quickly approaching. Most of the Chinese were vanishing and next would be
' the prostitutes.
Frances Jackson, alias Lizzie Woods, died in 1918. Much of the mystery that
' surrounds Bozeman's early "working" girls is still with us. Lizzie left the issue of
prostitution in Bozeman shrouded in mystery.
' Some, but not all, of the mystery surrounding prostitution in Bozeman disappears
as ane opens the section of the city court docket which begins in May of 1908 and
' continues until the middle of 1913. This book and other documents obtained from the
Bozeman Chief of Police, Larry Conner, help to paint a rough picture of how the
' toleration of the brothels ended. Again, when we looked at prostitution in Bozeman it
helps to relate it to prostitution in the West in general. Specifically, in this part of the
study we will parallel the downfall of prostitution in Bozeman with the ending of
' prostitution in the West during the Progressive Era.
It opening the court docket beginning in 1908, ane can clearly see the continuation
of the regular fine payments that had been part of a Bozeman whore's life. Without fail
the payments for the majority of prostitutes occur on the fifteenth of the month (BCD,
1908). Sometimes they take place on the sixteenth, but this probably happens when the
' fifteenth falls on a Sunday. The pattern of the last eight years continues with the regular
prostitutes paying a five dollar fine monthly and the madams paying ten dollars.
' We could track the established prostitutes and how long they were in Bozeman
because the fining schedule was so regular. Prostitutes who made regular payments
during this time included: Mabel Harris, Mabel Linn, Stella Winters, and others. During
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the time period from 1908 to the end of Bozeman prostitution the number of working
whores paying fines varies widely. In an average month between seven and thirteen
working girls paid the fine. The busiest month for the en masse payment of fined in the
last years of prostitution was December of 1908 when eighteen girls paid (BCD, 1908).
The number of prostitutes fluctuates monthly, so we could oat generalize and state the
i exact number of "girls of the night" that Bozeman supported.
' (7n the other hand, Bozeman supported between seven and nine madams from
1908 until the end. Lizzie Woods, Libbie Hayes, Hattie Hayes, Mattie Rosenthal and
Sadie Jaf formed the nucleus of the gaup of madams. This group of five turns up with
' regularity in city documents. The other two to four madams changed over the course of
time, but two names which were crucial during the end of the era were Martha Huss and
Marion Holmes (more on these two later). Madams also paid their fines on the fifteenth
' of the month and they were a large source of income for the city because they each paid
ten dollars a month.
' It is also notable that Bozeman had a couple of freelance prostitutes who worked
the streets. These prostitutes were different from the girls in the houses because,
according to court records, they did not work in large groups and they always paid their
' fines separately. Furthermore these girls were not charged with a crime under ordinance
173, but they were charged under section one of ordinance 188. This is the Bozeman
vagrancy ordinance. Regular members of the streetwalking brigade were Dolly Vernon
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and Pearl Q
Dell. These girls paid their fines at different periods of the month and the
amount they paid varied from month to month because the documents show them
sometimes paying five dollars and other times ten or twenty-five (BCD, 1908-1913).
During this time, there were also girls who paid the fine far one or two months and
then were not seen from again. It appears that they were trying to break into the market
as individuals. There are same cases of the new girls shifting into the houses, but that
could not be called a regular occurrence. We know that these girls were new because they
would appear suddenly and they would not pay on the fifteenth, but they would pay their
fine on random days like Rose Brown did no June 29, 1908 (BCD, 1908). These outside
players provide a glimpse at how important it was to be in an established house because
' the individual contractor, usually, did not last long. We don't know exactly why this
occurred, maybe it was because the girls in houses had an established clientele or maybe it
was because the police wanted to keep prostitution localized to the red light district.
'
Far the men who frequented prostitutes there was little chance of the police
interfering. Between May 15, 1908 and the end of the docket in mid-1913, there are only
' seven or eight documented cases (it could be seven or eight we cannot tell because of bad
handwriting in the book) of men being caught with prostitutes. Furthermore, inherent in
our assumption is that Bozeman men did oat prostitute themselves. We make this
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' assumption based upon the lack of notes in the docket supporting male prostitution and
the fact that no male name appeared more than once in conjunction with ordinance 173.
' The fines far these men varied from ten to fifty dollars. Sometimes the men were charged
alone and others they were charged in conjunction with the girl(s).
i There are two notable cases of men being charged under the prostitution
ordinance. The first case is recorded on September 23, 1910. In this case Ollie Nelson
' was caught with Mrs. Sam Stevenson. Both were fined fifty dollars. This case is notable
because whoever recorded the case in the docket made it a point to stress the "Mrs." At
no other point in the official docket is there a mention of a married woman selling herself.
The second case of notoriety involves Jacob Oakwood who served as a two-term
Bozeman City Marshall from April 12, 1883 to Apri17, 1885 (Conner, 71). On
' September 9, 1910, a complaint was filed against Mr. Oakwood and three prostitutes
(Dolly Vernon, Wanda Lawrence, and Jennie Maare). The exact facts of the case were
not listed but it appears that Mr. Oakwood was caught with two of Dally Vernon's girls.
This can be inferred because, around this time, Dolly was paying the fine for being a
madam and her fine was double the other two girls. A few days after the case was filed,
all involved pled guilty and paid fines. Mr. Oakwood only paid twenty-five dollars while
the two prostitutes paid fifty dollars apiece; and Miss. Vernon paid the maximum fine of
one hundred dollars (BCD, 1910).
In addition to the fact that Mr. Oakwood was a former City Marshall, what makes
this case notable is the hint of backroom politics surrounding the case. First, Mr.
Oakwood's son served on the city council from 1909 to 1916 (Conner, 73). Secondly, in
' the court docket, there is mention of a special agreement between the mayor and Jacob
Oakwood. The extent of the agreement is not mentioned, but the docket does state that
' the fines were returned. This is important because it appears that Mr. Oakwood paid the
fines for all involved '(BCD, 1910).
' Author's Note: The Jacob Oakwood that was caught with the prostitutes
was City Marshall Jacob Oakwood's son. Jacob Oakwood, the City Marshall, died
in 1885. All references concerning Oakwood are to be directed to the son.
The wealth of the madams was another aspect of Bozeman prostitution. Same of
the housemothers were very wealthy women. Beginning with one of Bozeman's earliest
madams, Louisa Courselle, many of the women owned property. For example, Louisa
bought land at auction in March of 1885. She paid nine hundred fifty-four dollars and
seventy-five cents for the land (B.P.R.). Louisa's purchase showed how profitable
prostitution could be for a madam.
In the first decade of the twentieth century the madams continued Louisa's practice
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of purchasing land. Lizzie Woods was the most active of the madams in the early
Bozeman real estate market. Throughout the years, Lizxae made numerous purchases and
sales. For example, Lizzie bought her property in the red light district in 1904. She
purchased this property from Walter Latta who owned a bar at 15 E. Main. This land deal
between Walter Latta and Lizzie Woods shows the close relations between the prostitutes
and the surrounding businesses. As Bozeman grew and expanded, Lizzie bought and sold
property in the new additions to town. She even extended her land dealings to the
Manhattan area after prostitution was shut down in Bozeman (B.P.R.).
A real estate transaction of interest happened in 1909 with long time madam
Martha Huss. On November 23, 1909, Martha bought lot twenty-four of Block "D" (in
the red light district) far $4,000.00. This transaction is interesting far two reasons. First,
it is interesting to note that Martha could afford to purchase land worth $4,000.00. This
lady had some cash. Secondly, this transaction shows that the madams did not foresee the
impending crackdown by the city (B.P.R.). If Martha had seen the end of prostitution
coming why would she have bought the land? Moreover, how why would she think the
cozy arrangement between the city and the whores would end soon? Martha was not a
goad fortune teller because prastihttian would soon end in Bozeman.
In 1910 the Bozeman Police cracked down on prostitution and essentially ended its
practice in town. A note dated May 5, 1911 from the Chief of Police to the Mayor and
City Council discusses this shut down. The note states: "Before closing the red light
district arrests averaged 86.2 per month, a13er closing arrests averaged 22 4/7." This is for
the year beginning May 1, 1910 and ending May 1, 1911. Obviously, this note showed the
concerted effort the officials in Bozeman made to close the district. Another note by the
police judge, dated July 2, 1918, shows that prostitution was virtually non-existent in
Bozeman after the crackdown. There was only one arrest for prostitution in Bozeman
during June of 1918.
So, when did the move to end prostitution in Bozeman begin? Pressure began to
be applied to the prostitutes in January 1910. This month the fines for prostitution jumped
to ten dollars and the fine for madams was now twenty-five dollars (BCD, 1910). The
city bided its time for the next few months and in the fall they made their big attempt to
shut dawn the houses. The court docket in August and September is either backdated or
out of order but there were a rash of arrests during this time. The first arrest in the docket
is the case involving Jacob Oakwood. Next, there is an arrest of Glenn (last name is
illegible) dated September 6. On September 19, Lizzie Woods was arrested under section
one of ordinance 181 for violating a "Good Morals and Order Law". Mrs. Sam Stevenson
and Ollie Nelson were arrested on September 23 (BCD, 1910).
Things calmed for a while and then another rash of arrests hit in the spring of
1911. Marion Holmes, another know madam, was arrested on March 14 for running a
"House of Immoral Purposes". The case went to court and Marion appealed her lass to
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the district court where she lost. Bowman's madams were going down, but not without a
fight. Martha Huss was the next victim. The Bozeman Police and their new chief, A.E.
Westlake made their move against Martha in July 1912. On July 2, Miss Huss was
arrested for selling malt liquor without a license. She lost and appealed. On July 9,
Martha was arrested again, but this time she was charged with "failing to require quests to
register". Martha lost in both of these cases and there is no further mention of her in the
records. Later in September, Marion Holmes was charged with a crime again and the
charges were dropped.
The mention of the arrests of known prostitutes drops considerably in Bozeman
city records after 1910. It is interesting to note that after 1910 the police resorted to
arresting known prostitutes for charges other than whoring. The message was sent to the
prostitutes and they heeded the warning and moved from town. Bowman's former
prostitute community did not move far. They set up shop on the edge of town (Conner,
interview). After the whores moved from Bozeman, records of them are very hard to
obtain and they fade away.
Bazeman's prostitution ended at the same time the practice was receiving pressure
throughout the West. The Progressive Era, and its move to eliminate the vices of life, put
an end to the elimination of tolerated prostitution throughout the West. Movements like
the Women's Temperance Movement pressured the police into cracking down on one of
the city's most profitable money makers, prostitution. After twelve years oftrying these
groups, finally, convinced the Bozeman City Council to end their fining of prostitutes
(Harvey, 54).
As the years passed, public sentiment was building against prostitution. The
Response to Prostitution in the Progressive Era states: "By 1920 Americans for the most
part had discarded the traditional belief...that prostitution was a necessity" (26). The big
movement to end prostitution throughout the country occurred in 1917. During this year,
Montana Attorney General Sam C. Ford called for the state-wide closure of red light
districts (Harvey, 54). In addition to the state effort to close the districts, there was a
national effort against prostitution. This effort included the national circulation of an
example of an abatement law which had been adapted in other states.
Bozeman prostitution had a long history, but its golden era ended abruptly before
World War I. Unlike Butte and Helena, the history of Bowman's prostitutes is not well
documented. Hopefully, we have helped anyone in the future who wishes to study the
shadier side of Bowman's history.
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