The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 96, July 1992 - April, 1993 Page: 66
681 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
A typical parlor house, also known euphemistically as a "boarding house," lo-
cated at Eleventh and Rusk, facing St. Patrick's Catholic Church just 3/2 blocks
away. This photograph from the Purity Journal in 19o6 shows the functional,
two-story frame design typical of Fort Worth with its recent cowtown heritage.
Courtesy Dallas Historical Society.
orderly house," plus she had to ante up five more fines for her girls
who were arrested at the same time.2'
By the late 18gos, Fort Worth had five well-known madams, accord-
ing to the recollections of Frank DeBeque, a variety-theater owner who
lived in the city for thirty years. Long after they were all gone he still
remembered both their names and addresses: Jessie Reeves, who ran a
bawdy house on the corner of Thirteenth and Rusk; Mary Porter, who
had a house between Twelfth and Thirteenth on Rusk; Pearl Bebe,
who ran the first house north of Mary Porter's; Dollie Love (Wilson),
21 See Fort Worth Gazette, Apr. 5, 1887. In one appearance in county court on this date, the
city's three best-known madams were each fined $ioo for doing business as usual. See also I-lil-
ary Evans, Harlots, Whores, & Hookers: A Iistory of Prostitution (New York: Taplinger Publishing
Co., 1979), 202. Fort Worth Democrat, Dec. 6, 1881 (quotation).
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 96, July 1992 - April, 1993, periodical, 1993; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101215/m1/92/?rotate=90: accessed May 2, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.