Thursday, April 28, 2011

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Today’s excerpt: 
The Red-Light District

A humorous account from an 1890 edition of the Logansport Pharos:

“Mrs. Will Chandler made things lively on Twelfth street for a time last night, by bombarding a house of ill repute in that neighborhood. She entered the place, found her husband enjoying the society of the soiled inmates, lead him out by the ear, and stationing herself on the street proceeded to demolish every window in the ranch by throwing rocks through them. The mistress of the house thought to frighten Mrs. Chandler away by firing several shots at her from a revolver, but it was to no avail, for the plucky little woman stood her ground like a major, and responded to each shot with a perfect shower of rocks.”

It wasn’t just legitimate businesses that profited from Logansport’s reputation among train travelers as a destination city.

A bustling red-light district — just across the tracks from the main depot on Fourth Street — was populated by numerous houses of ill repute. Prostitution was a vice that was largely tolerated by townspeople and the local police, as exemplified by this account of a raid on madam Mary McCarty’s brothel from an 1887 issue of the Logansport Journal:

“Miss McCarty has been keeping a house of prostitution in her present location for some time now, and as her place is quiet and orderly the officers have never molested her. But the neighbors complain now. They say they have no objection to Mary, as a lady, but the gang that haunts the retreat often disturb the peaceful citizens about the place and they intend to prosecute Miss McCarty on that ground.”

Occasional large raids on the so-called “resorts” in the red light district did little to persuade brothel owners to shut down. Men continued to “cross the tracks” throughout the era of the Iron Horse and well into the late 20th century. As trains came in to the main depot, passengers would disembark on the north side of the train (facing the depot). But conductors would allow men who wanted to visit the brothels to use the exits on the other side of the train, which faced the red light district. This allowed the train itself to provide cover for the brothels’ customers, as it blocked the view of the red light district from the busy station.

Prostitution was so rampant that the American Social Hygiene Association identified Logansport as a hot spot for the “open toleration of sin” in its nationwide survey of 221 cities. The study was featured in a 1952 article in Look magazine.

The brothels were closed down for good when nearly 50 local, state, and federal authorities raided three brothels in 1980 and arrested 20 people, including madam Sherry Ball. She received a reduced sentence in exchange for her testimony in cases against two former police chiefs and a city councilman indicted on bribery and misconduct charges for accepting more than $20,000 in hush money from the brothels. The successful prosecution was attributed in part to the efforts of the city’s first female mayor, Jone Wilson, to clean up the city.

The houses of ill repute did, however, contribute to the community in positive ways. They would often raise money for charities, and funded the paving of a large oval drive that encircles Riverside Park. Each year, candles were sold at each of the brothels to raise money for — of all things — the Catholic school.

Paul Kroeger, whose funeral home has been in business just a few blocks from the former red-light district since 1952, recalls that the brothels closed “to the universal dismay of many in the community.”

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