Laura Bell McDaniel (sometimes referred to as "Laura Belle McDaniel") , arrived in Colorado City in about 1891 and it wasn’t long before she was running one of the fanciest brothels in town. She went on to become the “reigning madam in Colorado City for the next 30 years, according to Jan Mackell in her book “Brothels, Bordellos, and Bad Girls: Prostitution in Colorado, 1860-1930.”
Laura Bell's former home on Cucharras Street (near the Post Office) is now the site of an elderly care center, and one of the few buildings that remain in the “red-lights district,” of Old Colorado City.
The higher numbers of women moving to this part of the country, prostitutes were less in demand. And, Prohibition in the early 1900s meant the “demise of the red-light districts,” which at one time were found in all but two towns in Colorado, MacKell explained.
Additional background information:
She was born Laura Bell Horton, on November 27, 1861 near Buffalo Lick, Missouri to farmers, James and Anna Horton. Twenty-plus years later, Laura Bell, her mother, and two sisters moved to Colorado. Her mother opened a boarding house and worked as a laundress. She also operated the boarding house with McDaniel's two younger sisters. In 1885, Laura Bell purchased a house next her mother's house and worked as a clerk as she raised her daughter and nine-year old nephew, Wiley Short. According to Wikipedia, she conducted herself with dignity while in public. She also helped the homeless by helping them find a place to live and giving them money. She also donated to charities.
People that had a significant role in her life included Charles L. Tutt Sr., a real estate and mining magnate; Minnie Smith, a female gambler; and John O'Bryne, nicknamed "Prairie Dog", who was a hack driver and brakeman for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway.
In 1893, she divorced Tom McDaniel. McDaniel married Herbert N. Berg, the financial editor of the Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph in February 1911 and she continued to operate her businesses. Berg died in 1916.
Sources:
1. Brothels, Bordellos, and Bad Girls: Prostitution in Colorado, 1860-1930, Jan Mackell 2007.
2. Westside Pioneer (online archives), https://www.westsidepioneer.com/
3. Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Bell_McDaniel
Laura Bell's former home on Cucharras Street (near the Post Office) is now the site of an elderly care center, and one of the few buildings that remain in the “red-lights district,” of Old Colorado City.
The higher numbers of women moving to this part of the country, prostitutes were less in demand. And, Prohibition in the early 1900s meant the “demise of the red-light districts,” which at one time were found in all but two towns in Colorado, MacKell explained.
Additional background information:
She was born Laura Bell Horton, on November 27, 1861 near Buffalo Lick, Missouri to farmers, James and Anna Horton. Twenty-plus years later, Laura Bell, her mother, and two sisters moved to Colorado. Her mother opened a boarding house and worked as a laundress. She also operated the boarding house with McDaniel's two younger sisters. In 1885, Laura Bell purchased a house next her mother's house and worked as a clerk as she raised her daughter and nine-year old nephew, Wiley Short. According to Wikipedia, she conducted herself with dignity while in public. She also helped the homeless by helping them find a place to live and giving them money. She also donated to charities.
People that had a significant role in her life included Charles L. Tutt Sr., a real estate and mining magnate; Minnie Smith, a female gambler; and John O'Bryne, nicknamed "Prairie Dog", who was a hack driver and brakeman for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway.
In 1893, she divorced Tom McDaniel. McDaniel married Herbert N. Berg, the financial editor of the Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph in February 1911 and she continued to operate her businesses. Berg died in 1916.
Sources:
1. Brothels, Bordellos, and Bad Girls: Prostitution in Colorado, 1860-1930, Jan Mackell 2007.
2. Westside Pioneer (online archives), https://www.westsidepioneer.com/
3. Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Bell_McDaniel
Laura Bell McDaniel (sometimes referred to as "Laura Belle McDaniel") , arrived in Colorado City in about 1891 and it wasn’t long before she was running one of the fanciest brothels in town. She went on to become the “reigning madam in Colorado City for the next 30 years, according to Jan Mackell in her book “Brothels, Bordellos, and Bad Girls: Prostitution in Colorado, 1860-1930.”
Laura Bell's former home on Cucharras Street (near the Post Office) is now the site of an elderly care center, and one of the few buildings that remain in the “red-lights district,” of Old Colorado City.
The higher numbers of women moving to this part of the country, prostitutes were less in demand. And, Prohibition in the early 1900s meant the “demise of the red-light districts,” which at one time were found in all but two towns in Colorado, MacKell explained.
Additional background information:
She was born Laura Bell Horton, on November 27, 1861 near Buffalo Lick, Missouri to farmers, James and Anna Horton. Twenty-plus years later, Laura Bell, her mother, and two sisters moved to Colorado. Her mother opened a boarding house and worked as a laundress. She also operated the boarding house with McDaniel's two younger sisters. In 1885, Laura Bell purchased a house next her mother's house and worked as a clerk as she raised her daughter and nine-year old nephew, Wiley Short. According to Wikipedia, she conducted herself with dignity while in public. She also helped the homeless by helping them find a place to live and giving them money. She also donated to charities.
People that had a significant role in her life included Charles L. Tutt Sr., a real estate and mining magnate; Minnie Smith, a female gambler; and John O'Bryne, nicknamed "Prairie Dog", who was a hack driver and brakeman for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway.
In 1893, she divorced Tom McDaniel. McDaniel married Herbert N. Berg, the financial editor of the Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph in February 1911 and she continued to operate her businesses. Berg died in 1916.
Sources:
1. Brothels, Bordellos, and Bad Girls: Prostitution in Colorado, 1860-1930, Jan Mackell 2007.
2. Westside Pioneer (online archives), https://www.westsidepioneer.com/
3. Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Bell_McDaniel
Laura Bell's former home on Cucharras Street (near the Post Office) is now the site of an elderly care center, and one of the few buildings that remain in the “red-lights district,” of Old Colorado City.
The higher numbers of women moving to this part of the country, prostitutes were less in demand. And, Prohibition in the early 1900s meant the “demise of the red-light districts,” which at one time were found in all but two towns in Colorado, MacKell explained.
Additional background information:
She was born Laura Bell Horton, on November 27, 1861 near Buffalo Lick, Missouri to farmers, James and Anna Horton. Twenty-plus years later, Laura Bell, her mother, and two sisters moved to Colorado. Her mother opened a boarding house and worked as a laundress. She also operated the boarding house with McDaniel's two younger sisters. In 1885, Laura Bell purchased a house next her mother's house and worked as a clerk as she raised her daughter and nine-year old nephew, Wiley Short. According to Wikipedia, she conducted herself with dignity while in public. She also helped the homeless by helping them find a place to live and giving them money. She also donated to charities.
People that had a significant role in her life included Charles L. Tutt Sr., a real estate and mining magnate; Minnie Smith, a female gambler; and John O'Bryne, nicknamed "Prairie Dog", who was a hack driver and brakeman for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway.
In 1893, she divorced Tom McDaniel. McDaniel married Herbert N. Berg, the financial editor of the Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph in February 1911 and she continued to operate her businesses. Berg died in 1916.
Sources:
1. Brothels, Bordellos, and Bad Girls: Prostitution in Colorado, 1860-1930, Jan Mackell 2007.
2. Westside Pioneer (online archives), https://www.westsidepioneer.com/
3. Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Bell_McDaniel
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Shares stone with John Kistler, Anna Kistler, Birdie Hooyer and Laura Pearson
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