Cripple Creek Prostitute Register
Special Thanks: Jan Collins, Cripple Creek District Museum
Jan MacKell Collins, director of the Cripple Creek District Museum, has collected records on Cripple Creek prostitutes from various sources, from which the following death records were extracted. She notes that because they were prostitutes, they were probably not claimed by their families and were buried in unmarked graves at Mount Pisgah Cemetery, Cripple Creek. Because prostitutes often used aliases, she says, these may not be their real names. Collins is the author of Brothels, Bordellos, and Bad Girls: Prostitution in Colorado, 1860-1930 (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2004).
Bauschell, Goldie
Died 14 August 1911
Came from California
5' 6", 205 lbs., light brown hair, blue eyes; smallpox scar
on face, bullet scar near front of head.
Coombs, Myrtle. Myrtle, who may or may not have been a prostitute, died from the results of an abortion she was given by Lucinda Guyer in 1895 at Cripple Creek. Lucinda was tried for the death and spent a year at the Colorado State Penitentiary. After her release she returned to Cripple Creek.
Cotton, Maud (alias, possible real name Lizzie Breen)
Born: circa 1878 Died: 12 NOV 1898, Sister's Hospital, Cripple Creek
Comments: Parents may have resided in Dallas, TX. Cripple Creek Morning Times, November 12, 1898, p. 1
Davenport, Ruth
Died January 1896 of pneumonia above Mernie's Dance Hall.
Elliott, Julia
Died 7 September 1911 of pneumonia at Teller County Hospital
Born Minnesota
5' 4", 121 lbs., dark brown complexion, brown/gray eyes,
brown hair.
Garland, Blanch
Died 1900 of an overdose.
Rolfe, Nellie
Died 1903 of an overdose.
Russell, Conie
Died 1914 of apoplexy.
Unknown prostitute
Killed by Slim Campbell in Victor or Cripple Creek in June 1904, per Cripple Creek District Museum Labor War files.
If you’re planning to visit the museum, call first to determine hours.
Cripple Creek District Museum
P.O. Box 1210 (5th and Bennett Ave.)
Cripple Creek, CO 80813
Phone: (719) 689-9540 and (719) 689-2634
E-mail: ccdmuseum@aol.com
Web page: www.cripple-creek.org/