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Located in Fayette County, just outside the city limits of La Grange, the Chicken Ranch operated as an illegal but tolerated brothel from 1905 until 1973. It was established by Miss Jessie Williams.
The name or the brothel derives from the fact that during the Great Depression, chickens were accepted as payment for sexual services.
In the early 1950s, Edna Milton began managing the house, eventually buying it after Miss Jessie had died in 1961. The prostitutes working at the Chicken Ranch underwent a criminal background check by the sheriff and weekly health checks by a doctor. They were not allowed to have outside social contacts with townspeople. The brothel bought supplies from local vendors on a rotating basis and was generally well-liked.
In 1973, Houston TV reporter Marvin Zindler forced the closure of the ranch after running a week-long special on it. The sheriff of Fayette County, Jim Flournoy, armed with a petition opposing the closure and carrying 3,000 signatures, tried to meet the governor and revert the closure, but he was rebuffed.
The Texas Chicken Ranch is the basis for the 1978 Broadway musical and later movie The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas[?].
Walter Plankinton[?] opened the Nevada Chicken Ranch in 1976 near Pahrump, Nye County, about 60 miles west of Las Vegas, as close to the big city as legally possible. He encountered severe opposition from local law enforcement and other brothel owners:
In 1982, Plankinton sold the Chicken Ranch for $1,000,000 to Kenneth Greene, a San Francisco business man. Greene hired Russel Reade, a friend and ex-teacher, as manager. Some progressive rules were established; for instance, the brothel counsels the working women about retirement savings and health insurance.
The Chicken Ranch has a reputation for being pricey; prices start at $100 but the average amount for one hour of intercourse and oral sex is about $400. The house receives 50% of that money.
As of 2003, the Chicken Ranch remains in business.
wikipedia.org dumped 2003-03-17 with terodump