Some time later Zindler came back to La Grange for a follow up story. Marvin Zindler, an investigative reporter from Houston, Courtesy of Special Collections, University of Houston Libraries. No social contact was allowed with the local citizens but the girls did shop in the local stores on a regular basis. She even made a sizeable donation to the local hospital. She contributed to local organizations, churches and any other group that bothered to ask. Miss Edna continued the tradition of philanthropy started by Jessie Williams. The house had a total of sixteen bedrooms each equipped with its own tiny lavatory. The last addition made to the house was a dining room. Supposedly, when Edna signed the mortgage, the structure looked like a typical Texas farmhouse, having whitewashed pine siding, dark green trim and no recognizable architectural style. While Edna was in charge, the only major changes to the building itself was the addition of air conditioning. She started as a worker but eventually took over for Miss Jesse and proved to be just as capable and entrepreneurial. Probably the most famous of the Madams, Edna Milton arrived at the Chicken Ranch from Oklahoma in 1952. The brothel was listed on the tax rolls as a poultry farm. The meat and the eggs provided the household with plenty of food and extra income came from the sale of chickens and eggs. Soon chickens were everywhere and the establishment officially became known as the Chicken Ranch. Therefore, Miss Jesse began the “poultry standard” of charging “one chicken for one screw”. Though the Ranch had plenty of clients, times grew harder and income harder to obtain. The Chicken Ranch supposedly got its name when the Great Depression hit. Miss Jesse would walk the halls and if she heard any customers giving her girls a hard time she would chase them out with an iron rod. Nothing exotic was allowed, and none of the bedroom doors had locks on them. Miss Jesse ruled the house with a firm hand. No one considered shutting down the prostitution, but the sheriff did ask that the drinking be curtailed. In 1919, a statewide prohibition amendment was approved. Drinking and dancing took place in the front parlor while the latest music emanated from the Victrola. In the early years, Miss Jessie’s house was a Texian version of the classic houses of New Orleans.
Her last known residence was in Wichita Falls, where she worked as a waitress while her husband worked on the railroad. Grace fell in love and moved away with her new husband after selling her part of the business to Jessie for $1200. This became the permanent site of the Chicken Ranch. In 1915, Jessie and a partner, Grace Koplan, purchased eleven acres of land on Rocky Creek Road. Having made a pact of mutual coexistence with law enforcement along with the security of financial prosperity, Miss Jessie abandoned the tattered downtown hotel they occupied and moved her business to the southeastern outskirts of town. Miss Jessie may be considered by some to have been a madam on an epic scale, a woman of rough-hewn country charm and shrewd backwoods tenacity. In 1905, Miss Jessie Williams arrived from the Waco area after changing her name from Faye Stewart. But the truth is, the Chicken Ranch was the Oldest Continually Operating Non-Floating Whorehouse in the United States when it shuttered its doors in 1973.Ĭhicken Ranch souvenirs and memorabilia can be purchased through our online gift shop. Although many stories and rumors exist about the Chicken Ranch, the truth is much less inflammatory. If you have ever heard of the small town that is La Grange, chances are you know it due to the infamous history of the Chicken Ranch.