Searching for an Iowan’s history at a Texas brothel

I recently stopped at a small town looking into a house of ill-repute.  This was done at the request of an old friend.  
Chery knows I spend some time in Texas, research odd things, and prefer a library or museum to a golf course. With that in mind she revealed a bit of her family folklore, then asked a favor.  
Chery’s great-grandmother, the former Minnie Belle Anonymous, was said to have worked in a bordello in La Gange, Texas, in the early 1900s.  
In 1909 Minnie returned to this area, married a local businessman (Chery understandably preferred her last name not be included), and lived happily ever after—at least until she passed on in the late 1940s.    
The story of Minnie Belle’s past, Chery said, was only whispered about until 1979, when a Broadway musical called “The Best Little ——-house in Texas” became a hit.  
Three years later the movie, starring Dolly Parton and Burt Reynolds, was released.
Chery had done enough homework to know the story was based on a facility that operated for decades in La Grange; the same one that allegedly employed her great-grandmother.  
Would I consider, she wondered, seeing if there’s any record of Minnie Belle to be found in La Grange? I said I’d try.   
We’d be passing through the town anyway, and prying into the life of a long-dead southwest Iowa hooker seemed a fun way to spend an afternoon.
The two-story wood frame farm house on the Colorado River is gone; dismantled, a local told me, after the place was shut down in 1973 and taken to Dallas, where it was rebuilt as a restaurant.  
The history, however, goes back more than 150 years.  
The original opened on main street in 1844, then closed during the Civil War. Local historians tell us there was little formal activity until 1905 when a lady named Jessie Williams, known as “Miss Jessie,” reopened the place.  
Miss Jessie was a civic-minded woman active in community affairs, advocating for better streets and schools and, profession aside, was an all-around good citizen. She contributed freely to charities and welcomed politicians to call anytime, free of charge.
There were, however, those who thought Miss Jessie’s downtown business unseemly. She did not entirely disagree, wanted a bigger place with more privacy, and bought the two-story farm home with ten acres just outside the city limits.  
The outbuildings were mostly unused until the Great Depression. At that time Miss Jessie, due to dire economic conditions, began accepting chickens in lieu of cash.
I am not making this up. Numerous published histories of the town tell us that for several years Jessie’s girls tended chickens by day, increased the flock by night.  
Jessie herself took to selling poultry and eggs, while the girls ate lots of omelets.
People who had chickens stolen could sometimes find them at Jessie’s, although chickens are hard to identify.  
The Depression gave way to World War II. By the 1950s business at Jessie’s “Chicken Ranch” was again booming.  
The nearby military base is said to have flown helicopter shuttles on weekends and paydays.
A good many college freshmen were initiated at Jessie’s—appropriately so as a number of the more popular weekend hostesses were coeds from the University of Texas.     
Now to the question posed by Chery.  Sorry, but I could find no trace of her ancestor. The city register does not list Minnie, nor do census records.
But as the librarian pointed out, this does not mean she wasn’t there. Miss Jessie did not keep written records, her employees tended to use assumed names, and they didn’t register for much of anything.  
Chery said thanks anyway, then recalled that her great-grandmother had a special fondness for her flock of Rhode Island Reds.       
 

The Red Oak Express

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