Boyce Ditto Public Library will host a talk with a question-and-answer session featuring Stephenville residents James Pylant and Sherri Knight, authors of “The Oldest Profession in Texas: Waco’s Legal Red Light District,” on Thursday, Oct. 27, beginning at 6 p.m.
The book examines Waco’s complex stance on prostitution, debunks myths and unveils – for the first time – the true identities of several early madams. From 1869 to 1918 more than 1,200 women lived and worked in the red light district of Waco, Texas – once known as “Six-Shooter Junction.”
When the city legalized prostitution, floozies flocked to Waco, where saloons and bordellos flourished. Or as one Dallas newspaper commented: “The variety show in Waco is said to be more rotten than Gotham politics, smells louder than limburger cheese, is more indecent than a San Francisco opium joint, and has a general flavor of un-ripe chickens about it.”
Published by Jacobus Books, “The Oldest Profession in Texas” tells shocking true stories about several of Waco’s colorful characters, including:
• Matilda W. Davis, the first fully licensed madam.
• Cora McMahan, who shot her mouth off until someone shot off her mouth.
• John and Mary Doud, a pimp and madam who trained their fourteen-year-old niece to run a brothel.
• Mollie Adams, Waco’s most successful madam.
• Josie Tumlin, a boisterous harlot who had stints in both prison and an insane asylum.
• Jessie Williams, the infamous “Chicken Ranch” madam.
Another character in the recounting of this portion of history was a crusader, the Rev. James T. Upchurch. Rev. Upchurch sought to reform the women who had fallen into prostitution and to save their lives from violence, illegal abortions, venereal disease and suicide.
Authors Pylant and Knight are former Mineral Wells residents. Knight (then known as Sherri Oxford) taught at Lee Junior High School during 1976 and 1977. She wrote two other books – “Tom P’s Fiddle: A True Texas Tale” and “Vigilantes to Verdicts: Stories from a District Court.” Pylant is also the author of “Blood Legacy: True Story of the Snow Axe Murders” and “Sins of the Pioneers: Crimes & Scandals in a Small Texas Town.”
The event is free and the public is invited, though the subject matter is not considered appropriate for children.
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Boyce Ditto Public Library will host a talk with a question-and-answer session featuring Stephenville residents James Pylant and Sherri Knight, authors of “The Oldest Profession in Texas: Waco’s Legal Red Light District,” on Thursday, Oct. 27, beginning at 6 p.m. Courtesy
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Sherri Knight Courtesy
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James Pylant Courtesy
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A look at the 'oldest profession in Texas'
Authors to appear at Boyce Ditto Public Library to discuss their book that recalls the wilder side of Waco
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