The business was notably dramatized in the Broadway musical The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas , adapted into a film of the same name. Run by a widow known as "Mrs. Swine", the brothel operated in a hotel near the saloon, and featured three young women from New Orleans, Louisiana. The women under Swine's employment used the hotel lobby for entertaining, and rented a room upstairs for conducting business.
The brothel was successful for over a decade, but closed during the Civil War when Swine and one of her prostitutes were forced to leave town as Yankees. After the war, prostitution was endemic in the local saloons, but no official records were kept. In , Jessie Williams, known as "Miss Jessie" although born Faye Stewart [ 2 ] bought a small house along the banks of the lower Colorado River and opened a brothel.
Williams maintained a good relationship with local law enforcement: by excluding drunkards and admitting politicians and lawmen, she ensured that her house would be tolerated. In , after learning of an imminent crusade against the red-light district, Williams sold her house and purchased ten acres 40, m 2 outside the city limits of La Grange, two blocks from the HoustonβAustin highway.
In , the Chicken Ranch began advertising. Under the direction of two sisters who worked in the house, the prostitutes sent packages and letters to local men fighting in WWI. The advertising, and an increase in automobile ownership, increased the traffic flow to the brothel, and new rooms were subsequently added to meet the increased demand.
No external signage marked the brothel's presence within the house. Every evening, the local sheriff Will Loessin would visit the Chicken Ranch to learn the latest gossip and whether any patrons had boasted of crimes. Many local crimes were solved with information gained from these visits. Sheriff Loessin often paced the halls, and, using an iron rod, would eject patrons of the brothel for abuses toward its employed prostitutes. During the Great Depression , Williams was forced to lower her prices.
