Pearl DeVere

Little is known about Mrs. Isabelle Martin, better known as Pearl DeVere, except that she was believed to have been born in Chicago, Illinois around 1862, and raised by well-to-do parents. 

She migrated to Denver, Colorado while in her teens and was known in Denver as "Mrs. Martin", though it's not believed that she was married at the time. By the age of 14 or 15 she was a working prostitute in Denver ... when business slowed, she moved to the new boomtown of Cripple Creek, Colorado, in 1893.

Cripple Creek would be the last great Colorado gold rush. Almost overnight, a city sprang up from a small community. The need for prostitutes in a land where men far outnumbered women was great. "Mrs. Martin" changed her name to Pearl deVere, and began working as a prostitute there. Within months, she had started her own brothel, with several girls in her employ.

Pearl purchased a small frame house on Myers Avenue, from which her business operated. At the time, she was described as being 31 years of age and a pretty woman with red hair and a slender build. She also was said to have been a good businesswoman, strong willed and smart. Her girls were instructed to practice good hygiene, dress well and have monthly medical examinations. She chose only the most attractive girls for employment and paid them well for their services.

She catered to the most prosperous men in Cripple Creek, and her brothel soon became the most successful in town. She was well known for wearing lavish clothing in public, and for never being seen twice in the same clothes. In 1895, she met and married businessman C. B. Flynn, a wealthy mill owner. The two had been married only a matter of months before a fire raged through Cripple Creek's business district, destroying most of the businesses, including his mill and her brothel.

In order to recover financially, Flynn accepted a position as a smelter in Monterrey, Mexico. Pearl remained in Cripple Creek, rebuilding her business. She had a two-story brick building constructed in 1896, decorating it with lavish carpets, hardwood furniture and electric lamps. The house was equipped with two bathtubs with running water. Each of her girls had her own bedroom, used for entertaining her guests, complete with a dresser, changing screen and large bed. She also supplied each of her girls with a large trunk that could be secured with a lock, for their personal items.

When a client entered the establishment, if he could not decide on a particular girl, he could enter what was referred to as the viewing room. In this room, located through a small door on the second floor, the clients could look down through a large window into the parlor where all the girls were gathered. Once the client decided on a woman, she would be brought up to the viewing room, where she would remove all her clothing so that the client could make a final decision.

She named her newly opened business "The Old Homestead", where she held parties to bring in clients and charged $250 per night for them to stay over. On 4 June 1897 she held a large party, serving the the best wine and caviar. It was sponsored by a wealthy admirer who brought her an imported Parisian chiffon gown that had cost him $800. The two reportedly had an argument, after which the gentleman stormed back to Denver. Pearl told her girls that she was going up to bed.

During the night, she was found in bed by one of her girls ... unconscious and draped in the chiffon gown. Finding her breathing heavily and unable to wake her, a doctor was summoned. But it was too late. At the age of 36, she was pronounced dead the early morning of June 5. The doctor stated that he believed she died of an accidental morphine overdose, though that was never confirmed. (It was known that she often did take morphine to help her sleep.)

After being notified by the funeral parlor, her sister made the long journey to Cripple Creek from Chicago. There she discovered Pearl was a madam at the most notorious brothel in Cripple Creek and not the well-respected millinery owner her family was led to believe. Her sister refused to have anything to do with the funeral and remains and left immediately for home.

Though Pearl's business was successful at the time of her death, she didn't have enough money for a proper burial. She had spent all her income on the lavish furnishings for both she and her house. Some of her clientele suggested selling the expensive gown she was wearing when she died, using the proceeds to pay for her ceremony. Being well-liked by many of the townspeople and miners (she had been known for being somewhat of a philanthropist to the town), they personally made arrangements for the funeral procession. Meanwhile, a letter arrived in the mail from the gentleman who gave Pearl her gown. The letter asked that she be buried in the gown and included a check for $1,000 to pay for her funeral (about $36,000 in today's money).

Pearl had the most lavish funeral procession in Cripple Creek's known history. All the bands in town played the appropriate somber tunes on the way to the cemetery while nearly everyone in the town came to watch - either out of respect, or just plain curiosity. After her burial, they continued to play while heading back to town, lightening the mood and making it more of a celebration by playing more upbeat tunes including, There'll be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight.

At least one newspaper reported that she committed suicide, which could not be confirmed. She was buried in a large ceremony in Mt. Pisgah cemetery, where her grave was marked with a wooden marker. By the 1930s, her grave site had been all but forgotten. However, as tourism for Cripple Creek picked up, her grave marker was replaced with a marble stone. The original wooden headstone can now be seen hanging on the wall in the Cripple Creek District Museum.