The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas

Production Team

No One is Guilty

A Best Little Whorehouse article by Melanie Grace Guthrey

August 1, 1973 - The oldest, non-floating whorehouse in America closed its doors for the last time and there was no one to blame - no one whose counterpart appears in the Broadway musical The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas anyway. Melvin P. Thorpe (based on the real newsman Marvin Zindler) may have crusaded against the infamous Chicken Ranch, but he too was just a pawn in a large game shaped by political and economic forces. As the show mentions, the real Chicken Ranch (located in La Grange, TX) had closed for a brief period in 1972 to avoid being shut down permanently by the crusading State forces that cleaned prostitutes out of Galveston. Even so, it was more than the arrival of television cameras that brought about the Chicken Ranch’s eventual fall only a year later. The Chicken Ranch was destined to close in 1973 and there was naught to be done about it.

In the summer of 1973, President Richard Nixon became implicated in the attempted Watergate robbery of June 17, 1972. Looking at a timeline of the Watergate hearings during the 1973 against the closing of the Chicken Ranch paints a cause and effect relationship between America's increasing suspicion of and decreasing faith in her government. On July 13th 1973, it was revealed that Nixon had been taping all of the conversations and telephone calls in his offices since 1971. Then, on July 23rd (the very week Zindler’s Chicken Ranch story ran on ABC-13 out of Houston) Nixon refused to turn his recordings over to the Senate Watergate Committee. For Texans to hear about their own, local elected officials permitting the continual operation of a 'bawdy house' at this time, in this very month, was just too much. No matter how many signatures La Grange residents placed on a petition, to allow the Chicken Ranch to continue operate would have destroyed what little faith the public had left in its politicians.

The presidential treachery came on the heels of other problematic government decisions. In relation to the issues of the play, in 1972 the Supreme Court struck down a Connecticut law that criminalized the distribution of contraceptives to single women. This allowed all women in all states to procure birth control. January of the next year saw the ruling of Roe v. Wade, which legalized all abortions through the first trimester (second and third for health and safety reasons). These two rulings were viewed as opening the doors for other morally ambiguous practices. As many others, Texans must have been worried for the future of their country and children. Then, so it seemed, the only way to make their own home secure was to keep the things they have had control over as wholesome as possible - i.e. closing the local brothel.

Not only was the U.S. in ethical turmoil over the acts of her judicial and executive branches, but the country was economically unstable as well. Inflation was increasing at a surreal rate: in January of 1973, food prices rose 2.3% and in February they grew another 2.4%. In April, women boycotted the purchase of meat because of its high price. Although this boycott forced Nixon to place a cap on meat prices, living expenses were still escalating. People were losing jobs due to the recession as the price of living continued to increase. Texans must have been thinking that they would have been better off without the whorehouse that scared off outside businesses. Would there also be more funds circulating in the town if there were no girls selling themselves?

The United States was on shaky ground economically and ethically by the time the Chicken Ranch story broke in late July of 1973. Morals were degrading, the economy was falling apart, and the president was a crook. Any place of ill-repute was destined to be closed at this juncture in history. Citizens, constituents, and local politicians could not control any of the big issues, but they did have control over their own districts. The only reaction to having yourself and your town accused of protecting a whorehouse in the summer of 1973 was to close the place once and for all. Miss Edna (Miss Mona in the musical) and her girls knew this was not a temporary thing like the year before. No amount of signatures or disagreements could combat the need for the government machine to work. So the Chicken Ranch closed.

Timeline of the Real-Life Chicken Ranch

1844 - Mrs. Swine brings 3 young women from New Orleans to a hotel in La Grange, TX
1905 - Miss Jessie buys a house in Waco, TX. Later, she avoids it being shut down by moving just outside La Grange. It is here that the Chicken Ranch will become infamous.
1917 - Miss Jessie creates "middle-management" positions to handle community relations. They send letter and packages to soldiers in the World War I and II.
1930's - Earns name of Chicken Ranch during the Great Depression as ‘guests’ pay with poultry.
1952 - Edna Milton takes over for Miss Jessie, buying the estate after briefly working there.
July 1973 - Marvin Zindler runs the famous report on KTRK-TV, ABC-13.
August 1, 1973 - The Chicken Ranch has officially closed and all the girls have left.
1974 - Zindler goes to La Grange for a follow-up and is attacked by Sheriff Flournoy. This results in a $3 mil. lawsuit. Flournoy destroyed the video but not the audio, which was later broadcasted.
1977 - Building bought and opened in Houston as a restaurant with Edna as its hostess.
October 20, 1977 - Larry L. King's musical opens at The Actor's Studio in New York City.
1978 - The Chicken Ranch Restaurant closes; building and furnishings auctioned off.
June 19, 1978 – The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas opens on Broadway at the 46th St Theatre.
1982 - Film version of musical featuring Bert Reynolds and Dolly Parton premieres.
1982 - Entrepreneur opens brothel of the same name and practice close to Las Vegas.
March 27, 1982 - Broadway show closes after 1584 performances.

The Real Chicken Ranch

Gilbert = La Grange Small town of 3,000 in 1970’s halfway between Austin and Houston.
Lanvil County = Fayette County

For more information, please visit see blog.emerson.edu/tblwit/ .