This time in history was also the genesis for one of the biggest boons to the Deadwood Brothels--hunting season . For many men , bagging a deer or elk was the last thing on their minds . Rather , for countless men , both married and single , hunting in the Black Hills was merely an excuse to go to the brothels . Additional girls were brought in to meet the enlarged clientele , and some madams went so far as to hire young men to go out and fill the deer or elk tags for the men holed up at the brothel so that when they went home , they could show their wife the trophy buck they had shot . It is just another example of the often ingenious business acumen of the madams . The increased business also meant more health concerns for the girls , and they were required to see the doctor twice a week rather than the traditional once a week . The madams paid for their sex workers to go to the doctor to check for signs of sexually transmitted diseases , as the diseases posed not only a health risk but the livelihoods and potentially even lives of the workers . In turn , the workers regularly checked customers for visible signs of infection before offering services .
More proof the cunning of the madams lies in a small nook of the brothel , where two vacuum cleaners sit . Fletcher always had two vacuums for her housekeeper . One was for actual cleaning . The other ? Inside the bag were stacks of cash for bailing out the girls should the law ever come knocking .
From the 1940s room the tour goes to the ’ 60s and ’ 70s room , when free love and drugs reigned supreme . After that room guests head to a room set up as a personal bedroom for one of the workers . This room was constructed with help from former workers , including Celaya , who at one point in the 1980s also came back to Deadwood and gave tours of the former rooms long before Deadwood History , Inc ., came into the picture .
The tour next goes to the madam ’ s office , where guests learn how the business part of the brothels worked . Among the interesting pieces in the room are Holliday ’ s actual old desk , as well as a dresser with several slots with the names of the women on each slot . This is how the workers got paid . The workers would write down whatever service the man was asking for , along with the money paid , and it was put into their slot on the dresser . At the end of the night , the madam would keep 50 percent of the money . The dresser also has old timers that were used . Yes , each service had an estimated timeframe , and timers were set before anything started . If the timer went off before the act was over the men had two choices — pay more money or get out . Both the workers and the madams — all tough women to their core — had ways of enforcing the rules without getting law enforcement involved--for obvious reasons . The cost of the services was $ 1 per minute . If a man wanted to stay the night , that would cost him between $ 200 and $ 300 .
So why was prostitution allowed to exist — and thrive — in Deadwood for 104 years despite being illegal the entire time ? Money , of course .
As one of the interpretive signs on the wall says , it takes a lot to operate a good brothel . The madams had to buy alcohol , pay money to the building owners , and were also known to grease the hands of town officials and law enforcement if and when necessary . The madams and workers spent money in Deadwood — and a lot of it .
Each room on the tour has a bed that replicates the bed of that time period .
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