Dora Bolshaw ~ "Black Hills Madam"

Dora Bolshaw, later known as Dora DuFran, was the daughter of Joseph John and Isabella Neal (Cummings) Bolshaw. She was born on 16 November 1868 in Liverpool, England. Dora emigrated to the United States with her parents around 1869. The family settled first at Bloomfield, New Jersey and moved to Lincoln, Nebraska in 1876-1877. 

An extremely good looking woman in her youth, she got her start in prostitution around the age of 13 or 14. She then became a dance hall girl, calling herself Amy Helen Bolshaw. 

The gold rush hit Deadwood, South Dakota when she was around 15. It was there that Dora promoted herself as a Madam and began operating a brothel. She coined the term "cathouse" after having Charlie Utter bring her a wagon of cats.

In early 1876, Utter and his brother, Steve, took a 30-wagon wagon train of prospectors, gamblers, 180 prostitutes and assorted hopefuls from Georgetown, Colorado to the gold rush in Deadwood, South Dakota. Like many wagon trains, the wagons were Shutler wagons which were notable for "gaudy paint jobs". In Cheyenne, Wyoming Wild Bill Hickok became partners with Utter in the train, and in Fort Laramie, Wyoming, Calamity Jane also joined up. The train arrived in Deadwood in July 1876, and Utter began a lucrative express delivery service to Cheyenne, charging 25 cents to deliver a letter and often carrying as many as 2,000 letters per 48-hour trip. Dora picked up several girls from Charlie's train.

Dora picked up several girls from Charlie's train and, from time to time, Old West personality Martha Jane Burke (Calamity Jane) was in her employ. Dora's main competition in Deadwood was Madam Mollie Johnson.

She had several businesses over the years and demanded that her girls practice good hygiene and dress well. Her most popular brothel was called "Diddlin' Dora's", located on Fifth Avenue in Belle Fourche, South Dakota. Diddlin' Dora's advertised itself as 'Three D's ... Dining, Drinking and Dancing ... a place where you can bring your mother.' Though the cowboys frequented the popular place, most just wanted to 'get down to business,' with at least one man remarking, 'I wouldn't want my mother to know I had ever been there.' Dora's other brothels in South Dakota and Montana were located in Lead, Miles City, Sturgis and Deadwood. 

While in Deadwood, Dora married Joseph DuFran, "a personable gentleman gambler" who helped grow her business. After her husband's death, she moved the business to Rapid City, South Dakota where she continued having success as a brothel owner. She died of heart failure on 5 August 1934. Her pet parrot Fred and husband Joseph are buried with her at Mount Moriah.