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The Bordello |
You won't find this in a history book, at least not yet!!
Historical Perspectives column published July 28, 2001, in the Tribune-Star,
By Mike McCormick.
"For the better part of six decades, Terre Haute's "Red Light District" was
known from coast to coast.
Its genesis might be debated, but tradition holds that Mary Jaycox opened the
first house of ill fame in the "West Side" district, north of Wabash Avenue, in
the 1890s.
Madame Jaycox resided on the east side of North Second Street between Wabash and
Cherry, across the alley from the Stag Hotel (later renamed the Indois Hotel).
Jaycox was not the first Terre Haute woman to engage in prostitution; it was a
common pursuit throughout the 19th century. Several madames, particularly Lize
Cunningham of "The Bull Pen" on South First Street, earned a considerable
reputation.
By the turn of the century, however, the area west of Fourth Street, between
Wabash and Locust, was known as "The Tenderloin." The size of the district may
have reached its peak before Prohibition.
The Rev. Charles F. Kean of London, England, conducted a door-to-door census in
August 1907, concluding there were "95 houses of ill fame in the city but only
14 outside of the 'red light district.'"
That means 81 "houses" were in the allocated territory.
Kean counted 385 prostitutes inhabiting the locale but quickly asserted that
"417 more girls outside of the district rely on vice to make a living." Saloons
with "girls in the back," gambling dens and "houses" elsewhere in the city were
alternative venues.
Early Sanborn fire insurance maps corroborate the large numbers. The
designation, "LBH," signifying "Ladies Boarding House," appears often. The
district was no secret. Local citizens and sightseers toured the area, usually
by vehicle, to observe the activity.
Local newspapers referred to the houses as "resorts."
Former Terre Haute Gazette co-publisher Spencer F. Ball, a leading civic-minded
citizen until his death on Nov. 6, 1917, publicly lobbied to reduce the size of
the district, not eliminate it.
Ball proposed keeping all houses of ill fame off of Wabash Avenue, west of Third
Street and south of Chestnut Street. He had a modicum of success. During
Prohibition, it has been estimated that "only about 60 houses" remained.
The "West Side" also accommodated saloons, "soft drink parlors," bootleggers
(during Prohibition), gambling dens, gangsters, husbands or boyfriends of women
living there and others whose livelihoods were associated with district
activities. Downtown businesses benefited hugely. "The girls," particularly
madames, were free spenders.
For the first two decades of the 20th century, Frank "Buster" Clark and his wife
Kate reigned over the "Red Light District."
Second in command was Frank "Mickey" Meharry. At one time, Meharry was married
to Clark's sister, "Dot."
Meharry's last wife, Mary Ann, later became an important area fixture. The
Meharrys owned a saloon and several businesses. In the Forties and Fifties,
Meharrys' elegant "house" at 214 Cherry St. was exquisitely decorated.
An authority on antiques, Mary Ann adorned the residence with paneling and
furnishings acquired when the elegant Minshall mansion -- at the site now
occupied by the Indiana State University School of Technology --was razed by the
Ohio Oil Co.
The Meharrys leased houses for others to operate as brothels. George and Mary
Gillette operated a tavern and brothel at 115 and 117 N. Second St. Tom and Ruth
Brady had a tavern at 230 N. Third St. and brothels on Eagle
Street. And, after World War II, Jim and Kate Adair owned a tavern and bordello
north of Eagle Street on North Second Street.
Claude "Bruiser" Bandy and his wife, Nellie, were long-term denizens of the
district at 108-110 N. Second St.
Between 1918 and 1943, the most famous area brothel was owned by Edith Brown at
206 N. Second St. It was not Edith's first house of prostitution; she had at
least two others before acquiring the attractive two-story structure, with
adjoining garden and fountain. Previous inhabitants, including Maud Tate,
maintained a bordello there.
Brown made stylish improvements, adding Tiffany chandeliers and other garish
effects. In the fenced backyard was a private swimming pool, perhaps the city's
first.
A stained glass canopy over the front entrance read: "MME. BROWN." Eventually
Edith wed Eddie Gosnell, founder of the Twelve Points Hotel (the Gosnell House)
and the Spring Brook Rod and Gun Club, who wielded considerable influence in the
district.
When Edith acquired 206 N. Second St., Mary Jaycox's daughters, Mamie and Kate,
George and Lillian "Tommie" Becker, Mattie Wysong, "Dutch" Watts, Blanche
Gordon, Maggie Lockett, Jennie Bartlett and Lola Morrison were among the
district's prominent names. The role each played is partially obscured by the
mists of time.
Other names identified with the district over the years include Jack and Maude
Hines, George "Hominy" Godsey, Hosea Vice, Johnny Boyd, Blackie Wright, Luke
Fogle, "Stiffy" Jeffers, James "Shorty" Hollywood, Jack McKinley, Georgia
Mushett, Audrey Dorsey, Jim Lockhart, Charlie and Rosie Moon and Phil Redd.
For many years, Redd purportedly managed most "resorts" featuring
African-American girls on North Third Street.
With some exceptions, inhabitants residing in the district got along with each
other, sharing daylight stories about nighttime experiences. Part of the lore is
the "love affair" between Edith Brown's parrot, "Bill," and one owned by Mary
Ann Meharry.
Terre Haute's "West Side" disappeared with redevelopment in the late Sixties.