|
Country Art Gallery |
|
|
|
|
|
The Chicken Ranch Dollhouse An
Adults only Dollhouse! This Dollhouse can still be viewed at Country Arts Gallery The Chicken Ranch may be gone but it has never been forgotten. We built this dollhouse in 1991 after many of our visitors of our other dollhouses at Country Arts Gallery said ," Why don't y'all build a Chicken Ranch Dollhouse." The Chicken Ranch Dollhouse consist of two rooms in 1" to 1' scale. The front room is where the boarders met their guests. One of the dolls looks very much like Dolly Parton that played the part of Miss Mona (Miss Edna, name of real madam) in the movie "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas". The other doll is, Ernestine, the Black housekeeper and Miss Edna's right hand helper. There is a variety of living room furniture in this room. There are coke bottles on the table because they served nothing but coke. Each guest had to purchase the boarder (or his date) a bottle of coke for $1. This was how the double checked the number of guests that they had each day. The painting on the wall is of the exterior of the original Chicken Ranch. On another wall not seen is a painting of the last sheriff of Fayette County. The door with the sign "Occupied" leads to the bedroom.
The bedrooms were the most use rooms in the house. They were furnished with nice furniture, lots were antiques. In this room are the usual things like a bed, a bed stand and a dresser. In the bed you will find a boarder and her guest. We could not have dolls in this scene unless they are anatomically correct but they are well covered up. Their clothes are scattered around the room, even hanging from the ceiling fan "like in the movie." On the inside of the door there is a sign that reads "Nothin' Naughty Round Here", words from one of the songs in the movie. This dollhouse sits on a swivel that turns so that you can see into each of the two rooms.
The side yard you will find a Chicken House that housed the many chickens that were brought to trade for services during the depression years thus the name was changed to the Chicken Ranch.
The following is a condensed history of the Real Chicken Ranch as we heard it. ( passed down by word of mouth) The Real Chicken RanchThe Chicken Ranch was first opened as a brothel in 1844. It was operated and owned by two local men whose relationship ended in a gun fight with one being killed. After several owners (madams) and a few location changes, the Chicken Ranch found a home outside the city limits of La Grange, Texas in 1914. During the depression some of the local guests paid with chickens. They started calling it the Chicken Ranch and it stuck. The two most famous madams were Miss Jesse (1905-1952) and Miss Edna (1952-1972). Miss Jesse ruled with an iron rod while Miss Edna ruled with a posted set of rules. Both madams had a direct phone line to the local sheriff and made it mandatory that all working girls visited a doctor once a week. Never in history has there been a more unique whorehouse that operated in the same location for 130 years. It was under the watchful eye of the local sheriffs Although prostitution is and was illegal in Texas, citizens never voted against the Chicken Ranch. Many assume that the majority of the voters were men; however, this is an incorrect assumption because many women did not oppose it as well. The citizens considered the ranch good for the local economy. The Chicken Ranch was booming during the 1960's when most the clientele consisted of soldiers, college boys, and many prominent politicians. Customers came from all over the United States, Canada, and Europe. In late 1973, the Chicken Ranch closed its' doors due to excessive controversy and the persistent efforts of Houston consumer affairs reporter, Marvin Zindler.
This Chicken Ranch Dollhouse would be a great conversation piece and fun in the decor of a ranch or country home.One of a kind dollhouse from the town where the real original Chicken Ranch was located for 100 years. Comes with 4 dolls similar to the ones pictured here. I promise you will be pleasingly surprised.
|
|
