The Dumas Brothel, located at 45 E. Mercury Street in Butte, Montana, claims to be “America’s longest running house of prostitution.” In 1890, when the brothel first opened, Butte was a mining town, and several “parlor houses” and brothels lined Mercury Street , the heart of Butte’s thriving red light district. Facing pressure to clean up the district, the brothels and prostitutes concentrated in the area known as “Venus Alley”, a small, shielded alleyway off Mercury Street.

Patrons could only identify the brothels by a red light that was placed in front of the building. Through the 1980s, the city continued its attempts to eradicate the red light district, causing the destruction of many of the buildings in the area.

In 1959, Ruby Garrett, the owner of the brothel when it ceased being an active house of prostitution, shot and killed her common law husband during a card game, resulting in a manslaughter conviction. However, it was a 1982 conviction for federal tax evasion that ultimately caused the brothel’s closure.

The Dumas Brothel became a museum , but it faced numerous financial difficulties, and the owner of the museum closed it in 2005 due to safety concerns. Hoping to preserve the building and reopen the museum, the building’s owner began repairs to the building two years later. New owners succeeded in reopening the museum the following year, but continued financial difficulties still threaten the Dumas. The brothel is listed on the National Register of Historic places as part of Butte’s historic district.

Researched, written, and narrated by University of West Florida Public History Student Michael Lawhorne