People and Places
Life and Death at the Dumas Brothel : America’s Longest Running Bordello
By Emma Field
Located in Southwest Montana, the city of Butte sits at the heart of Montana’s rich and fascinating history. Butte was established as a mining camp in 1864 and since then, Butte has proven itself to be a hub for intriguing historical landmarks, sites, events, and figures. Today, Butte boasts the title of housing the largest historic district in the United States and attracts hundreds of tourists each year. One of the most popular historic attractions that visitors are drawn to is the Dumas Brothel. The Dumas Brothel was a bordello that was an instrumental part of Butte’s red-light district. From 1890 to 1982, the Dumas was fully operational, making it the longest-running brothel in the U.S. Throughout this time, the Dumas was overseen by several owners and madams, and had a major influence on the Butte community as a whole. The brothel managed to remain functional through World War I, World War II, Prohibition, and the criminalization of prostitution and sex work.
The Dumas Brothel was founded in 1890 by Joseph and Arthur Nadeau, two French Canadian brothers who first came to Butte in 1888. At this point, Butte was beginning to rapidly expand and prosper due to the mass amounts of copper that were being discovered both in Butte and in other areas nearby. Thousands of people, particularly Irish individuals, were rushing to Butte at this time for a variety of reasons, including to escape the potato famine of Ireland, or to search for wealth amidst the copper boom. In response to the influx of men looking for work in the mines, the Nadeau brothers filled a need for women with the opening of the Dumas.
Rural Response : Saving lives in Central Montana
By Gigi Conway
It was a crisp fall evening in Central Montana—the two-week sweet spot where it’s still warm enough to wear a T-shirt outside as you watch the leaves change color before the brutal winter inevitably hits us all like a ton of bricks. Dylan Morris, a senior at Fergus High School, was driving home on a Sunday evening. As he took a turn down a road he’d driven daily, his car suddenly rolled. By the time emergency responders arrived at the scene, Dylan had died. It was not until the next morning that healthcare workers were able to identify his body. Dylan was set to graduate the following spring—a leader on the school’s student council, a talented football player, and an all-around well-loved guy. “Everyone knew and loved Dylan,” Nicole Woolett, a Fergus High School alumna, remarks. “He must have driven that road a hundred times. You can’t help but wonder if someone would have gotten there sooner if he would still be with us today."