Mattie Silks
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Mattie Silks, or Martha Ready (1848–1929), was a leading madam, prostitute, and brothel keeper in the latter part of the 19th century.
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[edit] Early life
Believed to have been born in Kansas, Silks began working as a prostitute in Dodge City, Kansas while still in her teens, possibly around the age of 16. By 1877 she had moved to Denver, Colorado, where demand for women was high due to the Colorado gold rushes.
[edit] Life in Denver
Silks is described as being a very good looking woman, with spirit and a competitive nature. She started her first brothel on Holladay Street (now Market Street) and suffered from stiff competition from other brothels. At one point, she and another madam, Kate Fulton, had the first recorded duel in Denver between two women. In addition to being in competition with one another due to their brothels, both were involved romantically with the same man, Cortez Thomson, a local businessman. Both missed their targets, but Silks' bullet did strike a bystander, none other than Thomson, injuring him slightly.
From 1877 to 1897 her brothel was the most successful in Denver. In 1898, Madam Jennie Rogers opened the House of Mirrors in Denver, and quickly became more successful than any of the competition. Jennie Rogers died in 1909, after which Silks purchased the House of Mirrors for $14,000. She continued to work as a madam, traveled, and invested in real estate, making her a very wealthy woman.
She died in 1929 from complications due to a fall. Very few people attended her funeral. She was buried beside Cortez Thomson, her longtime lover, in block 12-lot 31, of Fairmount Cemetery.
