׉?4ׁB!בCט(u׉׉ 7cassandra://FUJ9J3jGSpeyxj5c-7NqddFz5gn-NhLylKKBXfbONakqK`׉ 7cassandra://6arW8P6JMhfuhULxRjULfOrq5Ot6huRpmoQkTimBC-U̓\`s׉ 7cassandra://WBDXRTi0-4lzPKYTN3MQhVovzeqMtvghudbWzcbagko'T`׉ 7cassandra://A1C1kX2sxhjucugCrDSdlRushDPAgu_nypNF9A3dMJA͠]caEbט(u׈frJנcaEb̅ 9ׁHhttps://montananewspapers.orgׁ ׁ Ј׈EcaEb׉ENOVEMBER 2022 Ghost Towns and History of Montana Newsletter From the Montanomal, Nov. 14, 1934 Butte’s Red Light District: A Walking Tour by Ellen Baumler Accessed via: https://montananewspapers.org “I have something to say to you people of Butte which will not sound very nice, but it is the truth just the same. This city of Butte has the reputation of being the lowest sinkhole of vice in the west. I was told that Tacoma was a stench in the nostrils of all good people.... Since coming here I have received a letter from a man in Tacoma who said that if his city was the gateway to hell, then surely I went to hell itself when I came to Butte....What I say is the truth as regards the reputation of Butte for being the widest open town in the wide open west.”— Evangelist William Biederwolf, 1906 “The red-light district of Butte, Montana, consisted of a long street and several side streets containing a hundred cribs, in which young girls were installed ranging in age from sixteen up— for one dollar. Butte boasted of having the prettiest women of any red-light district in the West, and it was true. If one saw a pretty girl smartly dressed, one could rest assured she was from the red-light quarter, doing her shopping. Off duty, they looked neither right nor left and were most respectable.” —Charlie Chaplin, My Autobiography “...the ‘girls,’ who range in age from jail bait to battle-ax...sit and tap on the windows. They are ready for business around the clock.”—“The Three Last Wide Open Towns,” Esquire, June 1953 Pleasant Alley and the Copper Block “First came the miners to work in the mine, then came the ladies who lived on the line” sang early-day prospectPhoto by Jolene Ewert-Hintz Upstairs in the Dumas ׉ 7cassandra://WBDXRTi0-4lzPKYTN3MQhVovzeqMtvghudbWzcbagko'T`caEbcaEb(בCט(u׉׉ 7cassandra://tz_wWUp46buRv2eEHhTKuz76euDgLucqhMw5gaGvlWc=K`׉ 7cassandra://UMgBfRM55jKw3bKEnNOkAxNOFE9TJNI_ESj-efPIXIU͏`s׉ 7cassandra://wkhuJtvfZNBVGCJvOBYyEwA4vVTAZJrBLa6SwKUHyGM'E`׉ 7cassandra://_ibsw_5iESbMv52ElPY0WNdZcAlw5V53fvexvB_X1Lk\X͠]caEbט(u׉׉ 7cassandra://vIGEVntxg6ysMotSRxpjL67VgfuJew4qiW7z0YiWb6c{p`׉ 7cassandra://r_0JzR0Kf2pNjv3ENLdCnbhNAxFkwCOAcOF7R_GEt4M͗`s׉ 7cassandra://HXiM4aRjOW5xaSQyHuxXiY4kfHUf7sBmY35ra4uqyrQ(`׉ 7cassandra://uamFZc0KiaVurkDxOROIM43dNuWqR-9WkKlT5OtR_QU͠]caEb׉E CP a g e 2 G h o s t T o w n s a n d H i s t o r y o f M o n t a n a N e w s l e t t e r ors of wide-open mining camps like Butte. By the 1890s, glamorous parlor houses, moderately priced brothels, and hundreds of one-room “cribs” lined Mercury and Galena streets. While Charlie Chaplin raved about Butte’s beautiful prostitutes, another noted that “there were some tough-lookin’ blisters too.” Pickpockets, thieves, and drug addicts made the district a dangerous place. The city partially gave in to reformers in 1903, forcing public women to move to less obvious places like Pleasant Alley, Fashion Terrace, and Model Terrace. At its peak, as many as a thousand women of all ages, races, and backgrounds vied to make a living in Butte’s terraced alleys. On Saturday nights and paydays, thousands of men strolled along its wooden sidewalks. The Copper Block (see 8) was home to many of the women; its back opened conveniently onto the multistoried cribs. Prohibition and World War I sent red light activities underground in 1917. The district, however, reopened in the 1930s as “Venus Alley” with a green board fence around it. The cribs closed in 1943, but several bordellos operated until the last one, the Dumas, closed in 1982. Butte’s red-light district was at its peak in 1916 when this Sanborn-Perris fire insurance map of Butte was drawn. Cribs, tiny one-room “offices” where women of the district conducted business, crowded into nearly every available space. “Female Boarding” or “F.B.,” the Sanborn label for prostitution, appears on almost all the buildings. Owners of property in the district, some of them prominent businessmen, collected two to five dollars a day in rent for each crib. Collection, of course, was done through an agent employed for that purpose. A Short Guide to Butte’s Once-Famous Tenderloin Copper Block Park 1 This central alleyway was first known as Pleasant Alley. Beginning in the mid-1880s, cribs lined both sides of Galena Street and by 1900 filled in the spaces on Mercury Street where the high class parlor houses did a lucrative business. Attempts at reform just after the turn of the century made open solicitation on Galena and Mercury streets illegal. This changed the district in a major way by shifting much of the women’s blatant “advertising” to the alleyways. Women of the Mercury Street houses sat in their upstairs windows and tapped on the glass to attract attention because “public” women were, at least for a time, not allowed on the ground floors. 2 The Windsor, first called the Richelieu and later the Irish World, was originally an exclusive parlor house with twenty-four beautifully furnished rooms. Satin-covered chairs, gilt-framed mirrors, expensive tapestries, and red draperies graced the two downstairs parlors. In 1900, madam Bertha Leslie emPhoto by Jolene Ewert-Hintz ׉ 7cassandra://wkhuJtvfZNBVGCJvOBYyEwA4vVTAZJrBLa6SwKUHyGM'E`caEb׉E P a g e 3 G h o s t T o w n s a n d H i s t o r y o f M o n t a n a N e w s l e t t e r ployed eight young ladies, a Chinese cook, and two Chinese servants. In 1908, madam Ruth Clifford hosted an elaborate dinner party for her twelve young ladies. One guest commented that the furnishings were so gaudy that “on clear nights they could be heard as far as Anaconda.” In 1910, a crusading Carrie Nation visited the establishment and lost her bonnet in a scuffle with madam May Maloy (see 7). During the 1950s and 1960s, the Windsor’s original furnishings were intact although shabby. The house was still operating in 1968 when madam Beverly Snodgrass reportedly refused to pay “protection money” and the house fell victim to arson. 3 Lou Harpell’s, later the Victoria, was said to have the most beautiful women in the world. Lou reputedly advertised on theater and racetrack programs. It was not unusual for a gentleman to spend a thousand dollars in an evening at Lou’s, the Dumas (see 5), or one of Butte’s other high class houses. Women who worked in establishments like these were expected to be beautifully coifed and expensively dressed at their own expense. Many were deeply in debt. Nearby businesses depended upon the patronage of sporting women and this is one reason the district never relocated to a less central location. 4 The Royal was one of the few red-light businesses not originally built for prostitution. Saloonkeeper Joseph Williams constructed it as a saloon and residence for himself circa 1900. But long before 1910, the building was rented as a brothel. While not as fancy as its neighbors, the Royal was still at the high-tomiddle end of the scale. The building stands today, but nothing remains to indicate its former use. Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz The Dumas 5 The Dumas Hotel was the first of Butte’s glamorous parlor houses to appear on Mercury Street in 1890. Built by Joseph and Arthur Nadeau, the same brothers who built the Copper Block, the house operated until 1982 when its last madam, Ruby Garrett, suffered a brutal robbery that led to its closure. The Dumas uniquely illustrates the hierarchy of prostitution in Butte from the highest to the lowest levels and is a rich archive of social history. A visit to the 1890s parlor house rooms and turn-of-the-twentieth century basement cribs (in use until 1943) is essential to understanding the longevity and scale of this significant business in both Butte and elsewhere across the West. 6 The turn-of-the-twentieth century Blue Range is the district’s only remaining example of street-facing cribs. Built by wealthy Anton Holter of Helena and soon owned by state senator Lee Mantle, the architecture peculiar to the profession is pristinely preserved. The door and window arrangement make it easy to imagine public women in various stages of immodesty beckoning to passersby and tapping on their windows with thimbles, rings, and chopsticks. Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz Blue Range ׉ 7cassandra://HXiM4aRjOW5xaSQyHuxXiY4kfHUf7sBmY35ra4uqyrQ(`caEbcaEb(בCט(u׉׉ 7cassandra://Pn_Twuw9aobqrvOhrJvWFyrEa33qkJrxcTspqj63j2IXg`׉ 7cassandra://jqpuZclkpPJpfXKEhTHGPVA2pRkAaXOxmv4vBVNXpP4͔;`s׉ 7cassandra://4vTVJUUIkBEDdaExPgFTrPamispQCUcYBTaopJ2EJ-s)`׉ 7cassandra://aamsNWYopU_Zn8-FEp7J7bvCZjjD2bCsID9VYDprLco;w,͠]caEbט(u׉׉ 7cassandra://0qYngCGL5jimAHlXyWxzTAt_RUQ0O3NnoEHJ5eIdz8w2`׉ 7cassandra://gTD6CxKQu1W8J6VsZHcUap1nrEwPO0bYRyT3zuVaD9wW`s׉ 7cassandra://yl7eQsnuDSI01fhMDhrFOf__qZDRWTSnDmKqF2klHrA`׉ 7cassandra://JDLKaBiDogoB3vFiW7_0uKYYOeHsAwM4N-FPxx2Diukf͠]caEb׉E P a g e 4 G h o s t T o w n s a n d H i s t o r y o f M o n t a n a N e w s l e t t e r 7 In 1910 when Carrie Nation visited Butte’s restricted district, she began her “tour” at the ABC Saloon, which stood on this corner at 128 S. Wyoming. There she confronted the handsome young bartender: “Young man,” said she, “Does your mother know you are here?” He cringed at her words, but went right back to work. Legend has it that Mrs. Nation set foot in no more bars after her trip to the Mining City. While that fact is debatable, it is true that she found no converts in Butte. 8 The Copper Block, built by the Nadeau brothers in 1892, was home to many of the district’s women. While some deny that the Copper Block housed prostitution, the map clearly shows “female boarding on all floors.” For nearly a quarter of a century, Harry Adams worked for the Nadeau Investment Company, whose offices were in the building. Adams was considered a kind of “czar” of the red-light district and likely acted as the Nadeaus’ agent, collecting rents from the women who worked out of 9 Copper King Terrace in the building’s courtyard and in other Nadeau properties. The corner of the block housed an infamous saloon, in recent times called the Stockman Bar. “Dirty Mouth” Jean Sorenson, who lived up to her name, was the bar’s longtime owner. Mrs. Sorenson died in 1986, and the Copper Block was demolished in the early 1990s. Today, Copper Block Park commemorates the controversial history of this area, where “vice and crime held high carnival” in glamorous parlor houses, cheap brothels, narrow cribs, and dark alleyways. 10 In 1917, World War I and Prohibition ostensibly brought about closure of red-light districts across the country. In Butte, prostitution simply went underground in ready-made basements. Parlor houses took in boarders to appear legitimate. After Prohibition, Pleasant Alley reopened on a smaller scale, this time called Venus Alley. A green board fence surrounded the block to confine the activities and shield curious youngsters from the goings-on. Ground floor cribs, which opened onto the original Pleasant Alley and later, Venus Alley, can still be seen at the back of the Dumas. In 1943, federal law closed all cribs to check the spread of venereal disease among World War II troops. Steel plates were installed at the rear of the Dumas to cover the doors and windows of the two cribs facing the alley. These are Pleasant Alley’s only surviving cribs. Perhaps if you carefully search the alley-facing walls of the oldest buildings, you Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz might find telltale door-and-window outlines. With the final closure of Venus Alley cribs, the area became so dilapidated and unappealing that it earned a final name, Piss Alley. ׉ 7cassandra://4vTVJUUIkBEDdaExPgFTrPamispQCUcYBTaopJ2EJ-s)`caEb׉EXP a g e 5 G h o s t T o w n s a n d H i s t o r y o f M o n t a n a N e w s l e t t e r ׉ 7cassandra://yl7eQsnuDSI01fhMDhrFOf__qZDRWTSnDmKqF2klHrA`caEbcaEb(בCט(u׉׉ 7cassandra://rOPagcqX_g5JDqUdq9j_dTFD5akOjphtPiSqKD9HaaI`׉ 7cassandra://UDz8pt9kJnQ6ui8s0M8IIejihQ_-UmWSvKgpTOgf934͆A`s׉ 7cassandra://n5OoFQ3laS51MEhICWsSS4G4WZst-Cwwt1uTz_tX_O0&`׉ 7cassandra://XggqfHPj8wkTjQthoURsX-IMk41iYCW_vD-8SrmJQTs\H͠]caEbט(u׉׉ 7cassandra://cTMBSRXYS_B-CCFrJ_W3r1FqWMIFR83Os6iz0r6kiPc`׉ 7cassandra://ZUZX6mWHnlb4kKOCo0_Ses92R-z4IHnq5p49F_92PsM͝U`s׉ 7cassandra://eBD05x-h1Sl9ZLKSuh-aq_Y17V4a9Td3wHskGo9UDpw)\`׉ 7cassandra://UUqCc8TACW3WOXJZbqev6luxdAtEZnk6XOf9KS2OPAQJx͠]caEbנcaEb?l9׉HZhttps://granitecountyhistory.blogspot.com/2021/10/tidbits-about-hasmark-and-algonquin.htmlGׁ ׁ rנcaEb̨~9ׁHhttps://www.fs.usda.gov/ׁ ׁ Ј׉E\P a g e 6 G h o s t T o w n s a n d H i s t o r y o f M o n t a n a N e w s l e t t e r Judith Ranger Station In 1908, Ranger Thomas Myers got authorization and $450 to build the Judith Ranger Station. Lumber was purchased at Great Falls, shipped to Benchland, and hauled by team 26 miles to the Judith Station site. The blueprint called for 24 foot hip rafters which Ranger Myers deemed too long so he cut off 2 feet. They were still too long so he cut off 2 more feet. He noted that the design was such that “the roof with that pitch would split raindrops.” Ranger Myers spent 25 years at Judith and had 15 different supervisors during that time. The nomination card indicates that the existing dwelling was built in 1909 and exhibits Swiss/ German construction details and planning practices. Restoration work was done on this old ranger station beginning in the late 1980s and completed in 2005. This cabin is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and is maintained and managed for its historic and recreational value. It has been placed on the cabin rental program for your enjoyment. Please help us maintain the past for the future If you would like more information, please contact the current Judith Ranger Station at 406-566-2292. Kenck Cabin The Kenck Cabin was built in 1924 by a travelling dentist/doctor who arrived in the area in 1904 and spent his entire career along the Rocky Mountain Front. The cabin was constructed with fire-killed logs. After Dr. Kenck's death the cabin remained in the ownership of his two sons and was permitted on the district as a recreation residence. When the surviving son passed away in 2003, the cabin was donated to the Forest Service by the Kenck Family Trust. In accepting the cabin the Forest committed to maintaining its historical and recreational value. The cabin is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places and is now on the cabin rental program for your enjoyment. Please help us maintain the past for the future. If you would like more information, please contact Augusta Ranger District at 406-562-3247. Courtesy of https://www.fs.usda.gov/ ׉ 7cassandra://n5OoFQ3laS51MEhICWsSS4G4WZst-Cwwt1uTz_tX_O0&`caEb׉E P a g e 7 G h o s t T o w n s a n d H i s t o r y o f M o n t a n a N e w s l e t t e r Tidbits About Hasmark and the Algonquin The discovery of prosperous mining was the reason for most of the settlements in what is now known as Granite County. Many of the important mining claims around the Upper Flint Creek Valley were staked in 1866. First being those found by Hector Horton and Financed by James Stuart et al. then, according to Rossiter Raymond a party of prospectors on their way from Idaho to the Black Foot diggings staked numerous silver showings that started with the Comanche Lode. Ted Antonioli reconstructing the record believes the group was made up of Dan Brown and his brother Emanuel (Sandy), Charles Frost, Ben Franklin, John Edwards, Dan Chisholm, William Mathias, C.A. Bell and maybe others. These prospectors probably traveled from Idaho to the Bitter Root, then over the Burnt Fork Trail to Rock Creek then Flint Creek. Charles Frost promoted himself as being the leader, but Dan Brown was elected president of the assembly of miners. Born in Pennsylvania in 1819, Dan died on December 7, 1885 in Philipsburg and the Granite County Historical Society has placed a marker on his grave that was absent a headstone. These new mining claims were staked with reference as to their locations by referring to three different cabins: Horton’s near the Cordova (which became the Philipsburg townsite); the Brown/Franklin cabin or cabins (likely located higher up the gulch along Camp Creek next to the future Northwest Company Millsite also referred to as Cole Saunders smelter); and Mathias Cabin (possibly located in the future Algonquin mine yard.) After the Hope mine was located, the Poorman’s Joy, the Trout and the Algonquin were discovered. The Northwest Mill was built in 1875 and the camp of Troutville (Tower) grew up around the mill. The camp housed miner and mill workers with a boarding house and a storehouse, but there was no liquor sold in camp and it never had a post office thus is not named in “Names on the Face of Montana” by Cheney. Within a short time the Algonquin Mill was built at Hasmark, just one-half mile from Tower. Hasmark had a post office from April to August 1880 and then from 1892 through 1897 with Samuel Silverman as the postmaster. The name Hasmark was derived from two important men: H. A. Styles and Markle according to Cheney. By taking the initials of Styles; HAS, and adding these letters to the first part of Markle they arrived at the name Hasmark. Hasmark was short lived but Tower was important to the population even as late Hasmark Geological Map from Emmon's Philipsburg Quadrangle circa 1913 Hasmark and Algonquin Mill from Steve Neal Collection as 1918, when the Granite County Board of County Commissioners called for bids on May 20, to build new Tower Cliff Gulch Road 8,000 feet in length. The Northwest Company, controlled by Charlemagne Tower, A.B. Nettleton and other capitalists from Philadelphia built the Northwest Mill to treat the ore brought out of the newly discovered mines. The Northwest Company came about because A.B. Nettleton after meeting J.K. Pardee in Cottonwood, Utah convinced him to travel to Montana to look at mining property he held a bond on. They arrived at Philipsburg after a 700 mile stage ride and Pardee inspected the mines on Trout Hill, which included the Speckled Trout. His report was so satisfactory that Nettleton and his friends paid off the balance ׉ 7cassandra://eBD05x-h1Sl9ZLKSuh-aq_Y17V4a9Td3wHskGo9UDpw)\`caEbcaEb(בCט(u׉׉ 7cassandra://znpKprfPKPLfErzw2b-GLkEvqwPOEfHsYqxnbJFLL2A;`׉ 7cassandra://VDntc6qQJ7VfjIB_9ybezOQGUsqESF4G5Qp8P_GuOTo͌`s׉ 7cassandra://FKGhXCUKfVpPQwmF0UePm6uYJzyq8JyCy0w8ReAWEGw%`׉ 7cassandra://Pa1USI1s4t-8i2NOICBC83wTGgr7sQK1O76fhSZ7Nmk ͠]caEbנcaEbx9׉H*https://granitecountyhistory.blogspot.com/Gׁ ׁ rנcaEbs 9ׁH+https://granitecountyhistory.blogspot.com/)ׁ ׁ Ј׉E P a g e 8 G h o s t T o w n s a n d H i s t o r y o f M o n t a n a N e w s l e t t e r due on the bond. This bond worth $151,000.00 and other eastern capital was used to form the Northwest Company, with Pardee as resident manager. The Algonquin (called “The Gonk”) was referred to by Emmons in “Geology and Ore deposits of the Philipsburg Quadrangle, 1913”, as “located in the valley of Flint Creek a few rods west of Hasmark” and located by Dan Brown in 1866. It was sold shortly after being staked to Philadelphia capitalists that included Charlemagne Tower and A.B. Nettleton, also owners of the future Northwest Company. This mine was never really productive but the silver mill built on the site is credited by R. W. Raymond with producing $493,000 in 1881 and 1882. Most of the ore milled at this twenty stamp mill was likely from the Granite Lode (Emmons). According to the January 6, 1899 Philipsburg Mail “…About 8 o’clock last Saturday evening the Algonquin mill and hoisting works at Hasmark were discovered to be on fire and within a short space of time the entire plant was reduced to ashes…” Hasmark had a census of 89 people in the 1880 Census and included Hector Horton: Brick Mason. Most of the population was male laborers but included the Hugh, Fisher, Reed and Showers families and 16 Chinese who were cooks, housekeepers and miners. The seven acres that comprise the Hasmark townsite are currently owned by Librarian Gina Vale and she has restored the building that was the saloon. –Courtesy of the Granite County History Blog Algonquin Mill Drawing The purpose of the Granite County History Blog (https://granitecountyhistory.blogspot.com/) is to share and seek information on the history of Granite County, Montana. In a few cases our topics will lap over into adjacent counties as mining districts especially do not respect the later boundaries imposed by politicians! It is a project of members of the Granite County Historical Society, an organization founded in 1978 by the late Barry Engrav of Philipsburg and now comprised of 8 members dedicated to preserving and interpreting historical documents, artifacts, and sites in the greater Philipsburg area. Our goal is to interest current residents, folks with family roots, and those with an academic interest in the area to add their knowledge to this blog as an ongoing project to deepen and in some cases correct the narrative of the people and events that shaped history in this part of Montana. The recent explosion of scanned historical documents onto the internet is making it possible to greatly speed up historical research, refine historical chronology, and deepen historical interpretation. Perhaps we are entering into a "golden age" of research into our past! Anyone with an interest in the Philipsburg area or Montana history is invited to discuss the topics of our posts, as well as their own data and sources, which we hope will create an ongoing dialogue about the area now known as Granite County. ׉ 7cassandra://FKGhXCUKfVpPQwmF0UePm6uYJzyq8JyCy0w8ReAWEGw%`caEb׈EcaEbcaEb(,&Ghost Towns & History of MT- Nov. 2022JJoin us for stories and photos of the Ghost Towns and History of Montana! ca frJj