It was a fact of mining town life that some women had no choice but to sell their bodies for a living. She was 25 and had already been married and divorced when she first came to town with her only surviving child, a baby girl named Florence.
About nine years later, in , she married George Urban, a local miner and carpenter. Rachel had a big heart, giving generously to the poor and needy. She was a large woman, weighing about pounds, with a peg leg and a pet parrot that swore at passersby from the front porch. In most Western mining towns, red light districts were adjacent to the railroad. This was true for Park City, as well. In the s, the red light district was near the train station on Heber Avenue now Zoom Restaurant.
In , many Parkites protested its presence so close to homes and businesses. The city forced the district further east up what is now Deer Valley Drive. Miners came for socializing, drinks, and gambling. There was no charge to visit the girls on the main floor.
In , at age 69, Rachel Urban died of stomach cancer. She was buried in the Park City Cemetery. Livingston, Cheryl. Colleen Whitley. Logan: Utah State University Press, MacKell, Jan. Red Light Women of the Rocky Mountains. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, See page Sources: Kimball, Gary. Death and Dying in Old Park City.
Park City: Tramway Books, Related Stories.
