SIGNATURE MONTANA | 43
Historic Sanborn Perris fire insurance maps label places of prostitution
as "female boarding" as shown in this 1900 map of Great Falls.
Library of Congress.
Even tiny Scobey, the seat of Daniels County, has a red-light survivor.
In 1915, Minnie "One-Eyed Molly" Wakefield, nicknamed for her glass
eye, bought the town's largest hotel. Gambling and women were the
main aractions. e first-floor "entertainment" rooms were equipped
with sinks. A large upstairs sleeping room accommodated travelers.
When federal officials closed red-light districts in 1917, Molly's hotel
sat empty until 1920, when Daniels County bought the building. It
is Montana's only brothel-turned-courthouse and a grand example of
Western false front architecture. A surviving sink in one county office
recalls its former use.
Prostitution did not end aer 1917, but the women became more
discreet, moving to hotels, rooming houses, and upper floors of
business blocks. If there is truth in local lore, some Townsend residents
The Dumas, built like other rooming houses of the era, retains its original
second-story suites. Author photo.
HIGH
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16 Locations Across Montana
E x p e r i e n c e M o n t a n a ' s M o u n t a i n H i g h s
Medical and Recreational Dispensary
