The Best LIttle Whorehouse in Texas(Gordon England) The Lone Star state has unique traditions and unusual lifestyles, from the Alamo to six-man football. One of the most famous and well-known traditions on that list involved men visiting a house of ill repute in the small town of La Grange, fifty miles east of Austin. This highly successful business opened in 1905 and eventually became the longest continuously operating bordello in the United States. When money was scarce during the Great Depression, one live chicken bought moments of pleasure at the establishment. After a few years, chickens overran the bordello, and the worn, white-painted, pinewood farmhouse with 16 bedrooms and lavatories officially became named the Chicken Ranch.

An unusual tradition spawned from the relationship between Texas A&M University football coaches and Edna Milton, the Chicken Ranch Madam. Each year that A&M won their Thanksgiving Day football game against the University of Texas, the A&M coach treated his team to a free night in La Grange.

Visiting the bawdy house became a rite of passage for A&M freshmen, and many teenagers brought to La Grange at young ages by their fathers to become men. Cussing and drinking were not allowed on the premises, giving it an air of respectability. Miss Edna's girls made weekly visits to local doctors to keep themselves "clean" in the days before AIDS.

I attended college in San Antonio in 1972. My male classmates knew the renowned brothel as La Grange. My buddies didn't start weekends with plans to go to the Chicken Ranch. Instead, impromptu journeys became organized after nights of beer and parties left unfulfilled testosterone urges. Around midnight, carloads of excited boys and beer left campus for a long night in La Grange. Not so brave or drunk classmates cheered them goodbye and good luck.

After two-hour journeys along backroads through darkness and farmland, the excited boys entered a dark town with one red light and a few streetlights. Rather than posting signs to the out-of-town Chicken Ranch, police waited at the stoplight to give directions to men wandering through town. Upon reaching the bordello, where off-duty police organized the parking lot, they joined lines of men awaiting their turn to spend $15 for fifteen minutes. Afterward, a long, quiet return ride brought them back to campus around sunrise. Most girls at our small college knew when their boyfriends made that midnight run. The girls stayed away from their boys until a doctor's visit cleared them. Life was different in those days.

In 1973, the band ZZ Top released their Number One hit, La Grange, glorifying the Chicken Ranch. The publicity gave the town national publicity, or unwanted exposure, depending on the point of view. After years of turning a blind eye, Texas conservative evangelicals became mortified by the song. A Houston broadcaster undertook a campaign on his radio show to pressure Governor Dolph Briscoe to close the house of ill repute. La Grange residents resisted interference in their multimillion-dollar enterprise. Politics being what it was, Briscoe succumbed to bad press and launched an undercover operation that documented 484 people entering the brothel in two days. The Chicken Ranch closed a few days later. Men continued their midnight runs to La Grange for several years, only to find their friendly farmhouse closed. But that's not the end of the story.

In 1978 a release of the musical play about the Chicken Ranch, called The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, won two Tony awards. Local productions of the play have become theater staples in cities across the country. After that, a 1982 hit movie adaptation of the play, starring Dolly Parton and Burt Reynolds, immortalized La Grange.

The story continued on. In 1979, investors moved the brothel farmhouse to Dallas, opening it as The Chicken House Restaurant. Yesteryear's legend did not fare well in a modern metropolis and closed one last time three months later. Books glorifying the Chicken Ranch's place in Texas history continue to be written, ensuring perpetual memories of a unique Texas tradition.

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