Oregon Okay with Licensed Brothel

You broke the law, but you seem
to have paid in advance.

As with an earlier post, I don’t want to speculate to wildly over the identity of the brothel keeper in an article from the East Oregonian of Pendleton, Oregon of August 21, 1913. She’s described as “Belle Olcott,” but the only Olcott I can find living in Pendelton in 1913, is Ida Beale Olcott, the wife of a farmer. She and her husband later moved to San Diego California. But perhaps I would be maligning her in suggesting that she is the subject of our tale.

On the other hand, the article does note that Belle Olcotte (who may or may not be Ida Beale Olcott) previously ran the “Stock Exchange,” which (given the location) was either a saloon or a place where livestock were traded. Either of those might actually be the occupation of the wife of a farmer. The article suggests that she had another occupation, “conducting a bawdy house.”

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