As a staple part of Fort Smith for over a century, Miss Laura’s has collected many rumors, some even permeating the “common knowledge” of Miss Laura’s history. While some things get lost to history and others tend to become subject to reading according to current times, Miss Laura’s Brothel Museum is dedicated to uncovering the past in as accurate detail as possible. That includes debunking the myths, the things that have been spread “over the transom.” The first being:

Myth: Miss Laura’s charged $3 per night

Truthfully, we have no clue what Miss Laura’s charged. Nothing in Miss Laura’s history alludes to a $3 charge. As was popular for brothels of the time, and as we see in artifacts recovered from another house on Commercial Row, Miss Laura’s would’ve most likely used a token system. This system would’ve had customers pay the madam for a token, which they would then exchange with one of the working girls later that night.

We have two recovered tokens (pictured below) from 111 Front Street on Commercial Row. One is a five cent token from when Madam Minnie White owned the house in the early 1910s. The other token, from when Florence Robinson owned the house around 1909, is marked with a 10, but no currency designation. The “10” could’ve been used for different purposes, though we don’t know at this time. 

Based on other factors of the time, we assume Miss Laura’s was a “high-end” brothel. Being such would have led to a demand for quality over quantity. Quality would entail higher prices.

Other Brothels of the Time

Another way for us to speculate the cost of Miss Laura’s is to look at other brothels in surrounding states during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. While doing so doesn’t give us definite numbers for Miss Laura’s, it does give us a framework for reference. Some of these brothels were charging exuberant prices; there’s no reason to think Miss Laura’s would be any different.

The first we’ll look at was in the small-town of Bowling Green, Kentucky: the brothel of Madam Pauline Tabor. Tabor ran her brothel from 1933 to the late 1960s in what she called “the backroads of America.” Starting out at $2 for an hour and one room and $10 for a night, Tabor’s prices would rise as the years went on, including $10 for “special requests,” and eventually $25 all night “dates.” In today’s terms, those starting prices would be around $38/hour and just under $200 for a night.

Years earlier, from the late 19th century to her retirement in 1917, Nell Kimball ran a few houses in different parts of the U.S., eventually ending up in Storyville’s red-light district in New Orleans. In her memoir, she describes one of her houses as a “$20 luxury house” ($20 in 1900 being the equivalent of over $700 today)—a high-end brothel through and through.

Also in New Orleans, over in the French Quarter, Norma Wallace ran her brothels from 1920 to 1962. Wallace’s clientele ranged from politicians and judges to gangsters; in other words, people with wealth. Visitors could expect to pay around $15 for one session at Norma’s high-end brothel in the 1940s or 50s, the equivalent of nearly $200 today.

What does that mean about Miss Laura’s?

It means Miss Laura’s still has a lot of history to uncover. Learning about other brothels gives those researching with Miss Laura’s a ballpark of what Miss Laura’s might’ve charged, but there’s still so much history to learn, so many facts to uncover right here in city records. We’re still searching daily and sharing history as it’s uncovered.

Until then, stop by to grab a commemorative token at Miss Laura’s gift shop. Or get one with a special admission rate when you drop by for a tour. Either way, we hope you can stop by Miss Laura’s soon to capture a little piece of history!

Sources:

Pauline’s: Memoirs of a “Happy Hooker” by Pauline Tabor

Nell Kimball: Her Life as an American Madam by Nell Kimball

The Last Madam by Christine Wiltz