Fannie Porter, an ambitious woman with a cordial and sincere attitude that frequently challenged the law, was one of Texas’s most famous madams in the trade of prostitution during the state’s Gilded Age and Progressive Era. Born in England in February 1873 and raised in the United States from age one (presumably by her parents), Porter had an unfortunate childhood– she was regularly bullied and did not enjoy her basic schooling. Her misfortunes in San Antonio prompted her to join groups of underprivileged women at the brothels as a prostitute at age fifteen. In this era, prostitutes were labeled as ‘fallen women,’ slaves of a prominent trading line that attracted non-married and married males to their beds, where they gave their client sexual pleasures before being tossed away with a few coins under their skirts. Prostitutes were common on the streets of the progressive-America (although illegal in some places), and though the industry created much revenue, young girls and women who sold their bodies for money often did not advance in social status. They were constantly looked down upon by society, refrained from any higher opportunities, and were stuck in an unfortunate and depressing position with little or no help– in a time before charities and homeless shelters. Often labeled as a ‘chamber maid,’ Fannie Porter dismissed all labels and enjoyed her five-year tenure as a prostitute, which in turn led to her future career as a brothel owner (image of Fannie Porter by Texas Escapes).
Porter’s persistence to hard work led her to open her own brothel at age twenty. The brothel, which was located at the corner of Durango and San Saba Streets, became the most popular prostitute institution in San Antonio’s Sporting District— the city’s red-light district in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries that comprised of many venues ranging from dance halls, gambling arenas, and dirty brothels. Many clients visited the house regularly and were impressed at the cleanliness of the area and the politeness of the prostitutes. Porter chose only the most attractive young women as her ‘girls,’ and required her ‘girls’ to practice good hygiene and maintain an immaculate personal appearance. She generally employed five to eight girls, all ranging in ages from 18 to 25, and all who lived and worked in the brothel house. By the turn of the twentieth century, Porter’s brothel was labeled as “one of the more popular whore houses of the Old West.’ It became a frequent stop-off (headquarters and hide-out) for outlaws, including Butch Cassidy, the notorious train and bank robber of the West; the Sundance Kid, better known as Harry Alonzo Longabaugh, a colleague of Cassidy; and Kid Curry, a gunman who was frequently involved in numerous shootouts with police and civilians. As her San Antonio brothel gained popular traction and money from wanted convicts, Porter crossed the legal line of fair play and frequently challenged the law.
Some of the outlaws who visited the brothel engaged in sexual relationships and professional partnerships with Porter’s ‘girls.’ Teenager Della Moore became Kid Curry’s girlfriend, remaining with him until her arrest for passing money from one of his infamous robberies. She was arrested but eventually released and returned to work as a prostitute for Porter’s brothel again. Lille Davis, another Porter ‘girl,’ became sexually involved with William “News” Carver, a member of Butch Cassidy’s gang who enjoyed seeing his name in newspaper stories of his gang’s exploits. Laura Bullion, a member of the Wild Bunch Gang, is also believed to have worked as a prostitute at Porter’s brothel between 1898-1901. Though she knew that she was illegally harboring and serving outlaws, Porter was well respected for her discretion, always refusing to turn in wanted convicts to the police (image of a poster inviting street-walkers to visit Madam Fannie’s Boarding House by Pintrest).
Moreover, Porter was welcoming and respectful towards the authorities, often treating lawmen with exceptional customer service, including allowing her special guests to lounge in comfy chairs in a carpeted parlor lit with candle light, lay on clean silk sheets in the decorated bedrooms, and drink chilled champagne after their fruitful experience. William Pinkerton of the Pinkerton National Detective Agency once paid her institution a visit. Clam and cautious of her actions, Porter played the part of a middle-man, pleasing all customers and raking the money. Additionally, Fannie Porter was among the few brothel owners who respected and treated her ‘girls’ with sanity and kindness. She was extremely defensive of her ‘girls,’ insisting that any who mistreated them never return to the brothel.
Porter’s fame did not last for long. As crime in Texas increased and lines of authorities also swelled in numbers following Reconstruction, brothels became illegal (and were gradually stamped out and extinct). Porter was arrested in 1888 and 1891, however investigations on whether she was involved with the Wild Bunch Gang ceased to gain momentum after lack of evidence. The rest of Porter’s life is a mystery. After 1905, she retired semi-wealthy and moved from San Antonio. Some stories note that she married a man of wealth, others record that she retired in seclusion, while some say that she moved back to England. Though none of these rumors have been confirmed, it is known that Fannie Porter lived until she was sixty-four years of age when in April 1937, she was killed in a car accident in El Paso. And slowly, Fannie Porter and her famous San Antonio brothel faded from existence and the history books.
Porter’s stance in history and stamp on the prostitution trade system is gone. Her famous brothel house was demolished in the early 1990s, though her establishment had been closed for many decades before then. It is important to note that Fannie Porter was a tactical businesswomen, knowing how to please her best clients, slightly deceive her enemies and the authorities, treat her products (the ‘girls’) with respect and kindness, and make a lot of money in a very prosperous and expansive city. Though prostitution is frowned upon in our modern world, and rightly so, Fannie Porter became a key agent and an instrumental part in altering one of the nation’s profitable trade lines during one of America’s growth spurts.
For more information on Fannie Porter— read the TSHA article by Richard F. Selcer: https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fpo51
The outside of a gambling hall/brothel in San Antonio’s Sporting District– photograph probably taken in the early twentieth century (photograph by TexAgs).
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