The Fort Laramie Three-Mile Hog Ranch was built to serve as a social center away from the soldiers' post at historic

Fort Laramie Fort Laramie (founded as Fort William and known for a while as Fort John) was a significant 19th-century trading-post, diplomatic site, and military installation located at the confluence of the Laramie and the North Platte rivers. They joined ...

. Fort Laramie was a 19th-century military post in eastern

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the s ...

. It became notorious as a place for gambling and drinking, and for prostitution, with at least ten prostitutes always in residence. The location is notable as an example of one of only a few military bordellos still standing in the United States by 1974, the time of its nomination to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

The Fort Laramie site was one of a number of so-called "hog ranches" that appeared along trails in Wyoming. Located about from old Fort Laramie, the ranch was established in 1873 by Jules Ecoffey and Adolph Cuny as a trading post and saloon. The next year prostitution was added as a further attraction. One of the young prostitutes was said to be Martha Jane Cannary, more popularly known in later years as

Calamity Jane Martha Jane Cannary (May 1, 1852 – August 1, 1903), better known as Calamity Jane, was an American frontierswoman, sharpshooter, and storyteller. In addition to many exploits she was known for being an acquaintance of Wild Bill Hickok. Lat ...

. Both Ecoffey and Cuny had died by 1877. However, the site remained important as a social, commercial and transportation center, the nearest town of any size being Cheyenne, away. The Cheyenne and Black Hills Stagecoach Company operated a hotel for stagecoach passengers, which apparently coexisted with the bordello, both operating until the stage line was abandoned in 1887. With . The ranch was described by U.S. Army Lieutenant John Gregory Bourke:

... tenanted by as hardened and depraved set of witches as could be found on the face of the globe. It asa rum mill of the worst kind
ith The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometres, is the longest line of crags in North Germany. Geography Location The Ith is immediatel ...
half a dozen Cyprians, virgins whose lamps were always burning brightly in expectancy of the coming of the bridegroom, and who lured to destruction the soldiers of the garrison. In all my experience I have never seen a lower, more beastly set of people of both sexes.

Two structures remain: a "U"-shaped lime-grout building that housed the bar and had several rooms and a cellar, and a wooden barn. (Lime-grout was used as an early form of concrete.) Other buildings, now vanished, included a barn with loopholes for defense, eight "cribs" or two-room cabins for prostitutes, shops, and a

pool hall A billiard, pool or snooker hall (or parlour, room or club; sometimes compounded as poolhall, poolroom, etc.) is a place where people get together for playing cue sports such as pool, snooker or carom billiards. Such establishments commonly ser ...

. The Fort Laramie Three-Mile Hog Ranch was placed on the

in 1975.

References

External links

* at the National Park Service's NRHP database.
Fort Laramie Three-Mile Hog Ranch
at the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office.

Larry K Brown, 1995 High Plains Press. . {{NRHP in Goshen County, Wyoming Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Wyoming Buildings and structures in Goshen County, Wyoming 1873 establishments in Wyoming Territory National Register of Historic Places in Goshen County, Wyoming Brothels in the United States