Laura Evans

Laura Evans, (May 31, 1871 – April 4, 1953), sometimes spelled Evens, was born Alice Chapel Reed. She was Salida's most prominent madam and a famous sex worker in the Old West.

Biography There are conflicting records of Evans' birthday. According to cemetery records, she was born May 31, 1874, but her obituary in the Salida Daily Mail-Record notes that she was born May 31, 1871 in St. Louis, Missouri. It was also possible she was born May 31, 1871 on a farm in Mobile, Alabama.

Evans became a sex worker in the 1890s. She got married at 17 years old to John Cooper Evans, Jr. They had a baby daughter, Lucille. She took the name Laura after her husband's sister.

Expanded description She likely began her career in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1890, and within a few years traveled west to the red light district of Denver, Colorado. She was known as a prankster, and her wild escapades kept her name in the press.

Evans became known as a sex worker in Leadville, Colorado, in 1894.

Evans had a daughter, Lucille, who wrote and distributed a "defamatory circular" that denigrated prominent residents of Salida. She felt contempt for her mother because of neglect.

In popular culture Buena Vista Heritage Museum in Buena Vista, Colorado, has a performance called "Madams of Central Colorado" in which Laura Evans is one of the main characters.