Alex Buscemi
Take a step back in time with these rare photos of Wild West brothels, offering an unexpected peek into the rougher, hidden side of history.
While tales of cowboys and dusty saloons usually come to mind when thinking about the Old West, these photos capture another layer of that era, showing how brothels were a part of everyday life in many frontier towns.
Each photo invites a closer look at a time when life was wild and society’s rules were still taking shape.
Scroll on for rare historical photos might just surprise you.
1. The exterior of an old-school brothel, date unknown.
2. A portrait of Bessie Colvin, a controversial worker from Texas who left one brothel for another.
3. A glimpse inside madam Alice Abbot’s photo album depicting her days working in Texas.
4. Two Saloon Girls pose for a snap at their brothel in Montana.
5. A working lady poses for a photo in Arizona.
6. A room inside of a Texan brothel.
7. A Kentucky madam photographed in her parlor.
8. A gentleman waits for a lady at a brothel in Kentucky.
9. Two Alaskan ladies lift their skirts for the camera.
10. “Saloon girl (Alaska, 1890’s).”
11. Famed worker Julia Bulette poses for a photo.
12. “[A worker] at a Storyville, New Orleans brothel in 1912, the only legalized red-light district in North America until it was shut down in 1917.”
13. Good time girl Laura Bullion as depicted in her mugshot.
14. Two women sit on a bed at what appears to be a brothel.
15. Ladies hang out outside in Yukon, Canada.
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