Chicken Ranch anniversary: Happy Birthday Aunt Jessie!

On this date in 1885, Fay Stewart was born in Waco. She would've been 131 years old today. Stewart would later adopt the alias of Jessie Williams and operate a small brothel in Austin's Guy Town district before moving to La Grange in 1913. In 1915, she bought 11 acres of land outside of city limits and opened what would eventually become known as the Chicken Ranch. Known locally as Aunt Jessie, she ran the brothel until selling it to Edna Milton in 1961.

Faye Stewart’s parents came from Georgia, moving to Waco well before she was born. The family lived for years on Franklin Street, but struggled after Stewart’s father died unexpectedly in 1886. While it is entirely possible that Stewart learned the ropes of prostitution in Waco's infamous Two Street vice district, there’s scant evidence she was successful enough to own her own brothel there.

Curiously enough, despite the fact Aunt Jessie spent nearly three decades in La Grange and was as well-known a civic benefactor as anyone in Fayette County, I have found no photographs of her. Zero. Nada. Which is strange, since I know photos of her exist somewhere. So in lieu of Aunt Jessie's photo, we'll have to settle from the 1958 edition of the La Grange phone book. Think that cover art is coincidental? Or was someone with the Yellow Pages making a not-so-subtle joke? In any event, here's to Aunt Jessie, the woman who turned a number of shoddy prostitution operations into the brothel known today as the Chicken Ranch.

Ghosts of the Chicken Ranch by Jayme Blaschke & Lisa Blaschke

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Chicken Ranch anniversary: Miss Jessie (1885-1952)

On this date in 1952, Faye Stewart, otherwise known as Jessie Williams or simply "Miss Jessie," passed away at the age of 67 in San Antonio, just a couple of months after selling the infamous Chicken Ranch brothel in La Grange to Edna Milton. Her sister-in-law, Eddie Ledda Moody, traveled from McLennan County to oversee Miss Jessie’s burial in Sunset Memorial Park. I still have not obtained any photographs of the lady, although I know they exist. If anyone can help a guy out, I'd be grateful!

So, that photo above. This is indeed a thing. When The Wife brought it home, my eyes just about popped out. One dozen eggs from the "Texas Chicken Ranch," otherwise known as "The best little henhouse..." Wow. This is not something that just happened. Reading the fine print, I quickly discovered that these eggs were packaged for H-E-B, the ever-expanding Texas grocery chain. This, friends, means two things: 1) Texas Chicken Ranch eggs will soon be available all over the state, if they aren't already, and 2) H-E-B knew exactly what it was doing when it staked it's claim to the "Texas Chicken Ranch" label. The infamous brothel has now passed from myth, on through legend and directly into the fabric of Texas history, where it has become a family-friendly double-entendre, not unlike the adult jokes Warner Brothers peppered throughout the old Looney Tunes cartoons.

This goes directly back to a conversation I had following my presentation to the La Grange Lions Club. One attendee asked me what they should say when certain members of the community come down hard against acknowledging the Chicken Ranch, or using it in any way to promote La Grange. I answered that the Chicken Ranch was very much a part of Texas history and not just limited to La Grange or Fayette County. I would argue that the Chicken Ranch is actually more significant to Texas history, because the brothel's closure in 1973 marks a very real symbolic break between the rural, agrarian Texas and the modern, metropolitan state. That no matter how much some people in La Grange want to pretend it never existed, the rest of the state will never allow that to happen. H-E-B's Texas Chicken Ranch eggs is emblematic of that truth.

Look, I said. The next time someone makes the argument that La Grange is wrong to acknowledge the Chicken Ranch, ask them this: What is worse? The Chicken Ranch or the JFK assassination?

Dallas has a museum on the sixth floor of the former Texas Schoolbook Depository. Does this glorify, condone, endorse or encourage the shooting of national leaders?

The story of La Grange is the story of Texas. If they ever want that story known by a larger audience, they need to seriously embrace the Chicken Ranch's place therein. It's a shame the city hasn't done so already.

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Chicken Ranch anniversary: Miss Jessie (1885-1962)

On this date in 1962, Faye Stewart, otherwise known as Jessie Williams or simply "Miss Jessie," passed away at the age of 77 in San Antonio, just a couple of months after selling the infamous Chicken Ranch brothel in La Grange to Edna Milton. Her sister-in-law, Eddie Ledda Moody, traveled from McLennan County to oversee Miss Jessie’s burial in Sunset Memorial Park.

Faye Stewart’s parents came from Georgia, moving to Waco well before she was born. The family lived for years on Franklin Street, but struggled after Stewart’s father died unexpectedly in 1886. While it is entirely possible that Stewart learned the ropes of prostitution in Waco's infamous Two Street vice district, there’s scant evidence she was successful enough to own her own brothel there. By 1910, however, she’d moved to Austin and assumed the alias of Jessie Williams, as was customary for women in the sex trade intent on protecting their families’ reputations.

Curiously enough, despite the fact Miss Jessie spent nearly three decades in La Grange and was as well-known a civic benefactor as anyone in Fayette County, I have found no photographs of her. Zero. Nada. Which is strange, since I know photos of her exist somewhere. So in lieu of Miss Jessie's photo, we'll have to settle from the 1958 edition of the La Grange phone book. Think that cover art is coincidental? Or was someone with the Yellow Pages making a not-so-subtle joke? In any event, here's to Miss Jessie, the woman who turned a number of shoddy prostitution operations into the brothel known today as the Chicken Ranch.

[Note: I originally listed Jessie's death as 1952. It has been corrected to 1962. I apologize for any confusion.]

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