Inside the Texas Chicken Ranch: The Definitive Account of the Best Little Whorehouse

by Jayme Lynn Blaschke

Thanks to the classic Dolly Parton film The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas and ZZ Top’s ode “La Grange,” many people think they know the story of the infamous Chicken Ranch. The reality is more complex, lying somewhere between heartbreaking and absurd. For more than a century, dirt farmers and big-cigar politicians alike rubbed shoulders at the Chicken Ranch, operated openly under the sheriff’s watchful eye. Madam Edna Milton and her girls ran a tight, discreet ship that the God-fearing people of La Grange tolerated if not outright embraced. That is, until a secret conspiracy enlisted an opportunistic reporter to bring it all crashing down on primetime television. Through exclusive interviews with Milton, former government officials and reporters, Jayme Lynn Blaschke delivers a fascinating, revelatory view of the Ranch that illuminates the truth and lies that surround this iconic brothel.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, True Crime, Biography, Prostitution, American History

339 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 1, 2016

About the author

Jayme Lynn Blaschke is the author of Inside the Texas Chicken Ranch: The Definitive Account of the Best Little Whorehouse. The first edition was published in 2016, and the updated, revised and expanded 50th anniversary edition (observing the closure of the brothel) was published in 2023 (both from the History Press).

His fiction has appeared in Interzone, Fast Ships, Black Sails and Cross Plains Universe, among other places. He's the former fiction editor of RevolutionSF.com, and former media director for Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America. A collected volume of his SF-themed interviews, Voices of Vision: Creators of Science Fiction and Fantasy Speak, is available from the University of Nebraska Press. Blaschke lives in New Braunfels, Texas.

Reviews

[Jayme Blaschke]

I can't very well review my own book, but I can offer this sneak peek at the table of contents:

1. A History that Grows in the Telling
2. Aunt Jessie
3. Miss Edna
4. Trixie, the Throw-Away Dog (and Other Societal Rejects)
5. Hullabaloo!
6. Big Jim
7. Everybody Who’s Anybody
8. What Doesn’t Kill Me...
9. The Wagon Wheel
10. Marvin Zindler, Eye! Witness! News!
11. Wheels Within Wheels
12. Not With a Bang
13. Hell to Pay
14. Didn’t See THAT Coming
15. Enduring Legacy

Appendix A
Appendix B
Index

[Jaime · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was born in La Grange many years after the closing of the chicken ranch, 1980 to be specific; however growing up I still heard many different stories about it from locals who claimed to have visited it personally and from other sources, but you couldn't fully be sure if they were telling you the truth or embellishing it to make the stories more interesting. When I heard about this book curiosity had me wanting to read it and I wasn't disappointed! Jayme Blaschke really researched this so well. Some stuff in the book I had already heard about but there was many surprising things I learned, not only on the chicken ranch itself but the history around Fayette County in its early years and it's many fascinating citizens. The pictures throughout the book was a added bonus and interesting as well. When I think of my hometown I don't really want to think of it as being remembered only for the chicken ranch but it was very much a big part of it's history so to me to have history documented well is a way to learn about the past and to be able to share that past with the future. Great job Jayme Blaschke! Well written!

[D · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm currently in a production of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (I'm playing Dawn, one of the Chicken Ranch girls, if you're curious!)and received Jan Hutson's The Chicken Ranch: The True Story of the Best Little Whorehouse in Texas as a birthday gift. That book read more like a primer on the subject, and despite having been re-released in 2000, it offered no new information on the subject after 1980. I think the musical was mentioned only once in that entire book. It said Big Jim, a man born in 1900, was still sheriff of La Grange.

Regardless, I though Hutson's book left A LOT to be desired and I wanted to know what happened after it all closed and after the musical and after the movie. Blaschke's book offers just that. It's the most comprehensive account on the infamous bordello out there and if something like this piques your interest, whether you're a fan of Texas history or if you're like me and just in your community theatre's production of BLWiT, you should definitely read it!

[Diana Petty-stone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well would wouldn't want to know the truth about the chicken ranch???!!!! Mr. Blaschke has throughly researched the history and the facts surrounding the chicken ranch its self as well as what else was going on at that time in Texas. Very well written and very interesting to read. Mr. Blaschke came to my book group in La Grange (!) and is a very entertaining speaker!!

[Leia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I reserve five-star ratings for books that really touched me in some way. This one did. It was well-researched, captivatingly written, and accompanied by helpful and arresting photographs. While giving a comprehensive history of the Chicken Ranch accompanied by a myriad of sources, the author also made it seem like an old friend. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in Texas history, oral history, or the spectacle that was the Chicken Ranch.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pardon me if I get unusually long-winded here. Everybody, all around, seemed to do a great job on this one. I could easily recommend Jayme Blaschke's non-fiction work, and the hard work was evident.

I had to look very hard to find any error, at all. I might have found a few fatigue sentence errors, which is exceedingly good by today's standards. It is also very much an extensive look at this former institution, its place in the local community, history, and sociological perspectives. A quality book worthy of sharing and discussion in many professional, academic, and governmental corners.

This book probed well beyond the deceptive surface of the oldest profession. It is said to have been established during the Texas Republic in 1844 when such businesses were a norm with the Central and Eastern Europeans who settled in the LaGrange-area. Times changed, and bets are that the 1973 closing led by Houston TV celebrity newsman Marvin Zindler might have been only a few years ahead of the eventualities.

On the surface, any such institution is bad, and too often subject to mob control. Human trafficking is nowadays considered a usually connected side crime. Fortunately, there is a growing effort against that.

Prostitution has probably been with us since prehistoric times, and will not likely ever completely go away. Numerous militaries around the world have their own bawdyhouses. Sooner or later those professional, academic, and governmental powers that be will likely have to convene in several places.

My first job after getting my bachelor's degree was in LaGrange in 1978. The dust was still settling from the closing events in 1973, and I knew several of the local players still in the area. This is one book that anyone curious about these things really should read. Inside the Texas Chicken Ranch is a quality read. I recommend it.

[Ray Grasshoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly interesting, superbly researched, and well-written ... what's not to like? As a native of Fayette County, although not La Grange -- the home of the Chicken Ranch -- I found this book very informative, filling in many gaps in my knowledge of the history of prostitution in that small town; the people who operated and worked at the brothel; the people and authorities who lived with the brothel in their midst, all the time not particularly advocating for it, but looking the other way and allowing it to flourish for decades; and the colorful characters and motivations involved in the public controversy that erupted and ultimately closed its doors in the 1970s. The book has an excellent bibliography, too, and a good index. Four stars instead of five? Well, five could be in order, but I find that an extremely high bar for any book ... and blame a lesser rating here primarily on a questionable print quality, with text not very dark on all pages, and sometimes inconsistencies in lightness/darkness. A reference page or two at the front or back with short bios of the many people referenced in the book might be helpful, too. The bottom line? Buy this book. You won't be disappointed.

[Jim Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has been on my 'to buy' list for a long time, but once purchased, it had only seconds on the 'to be read' list before I started it. I grew up just about 20-some-odd miles away from the Ranch during the '60's and '70's, and before we even had all that firm a grip on what happens in a whorehouse, my friends and I knew about the Chicken Ranch.
This book is a great read, enjoyable from beginning to end, about a piece of Texas history far more important than the musical loosely based on the events surrounding the Ranch's closing. After reading it, I'm convinced of Blaschke's claim that it's the definitive account. I expected a lot of thoroughness, and my expectations were exceeded.
Highly recommended.

[Diana Twiss · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read interesting story of a piece of Texas History most people may not know about.

I enjoyed this book very much.

[John Spiller · Rating 5 out of 5]

To be frank, I started this book with low expectations. So many things could go wrong. Maybe the author just cobbled together previous published accounts of the famed Chicken Ranch. Or maybe it was poorly or turgidly written, bleeding all the enjoyment out of a uniquely Texan institution. Or was it possible that the subject matter -- no matter how salacious -- just wasn't interesting enough to support a full book?

I was completely wrong. Inside the Chicken Ranch *is* the definitive account of the Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. But it's more than that: it is a well-written, well-researched and even-handed account of an enduring piece of Texana.

To quote another reviewer: " Jayme Lynn Blaschke has a historian's passion for the facts, a reporter's ability to seek out and assemble the facts, and a writer's skill to make the result highly readable and entertaining."

[Christine Sharbrough · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting look at the infamous LaGrange, Texas brothel. Since I'm about 30 miles from the original location, I had to read it. I liked it fine but I didn't read the story straight through. It was the wrong time for me, hence the 3 stars. For those who are fans of the ZZ Top song and/or the movie with Dolly Parton and Burt Reynolds, it puts the story in context.

[Marie Watts]

Blaschke did a good job and covered all the bases with his book.

[Timothy Horn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book to be a very interesting read. The author, through his various and exclusive interviews with not only Madam Edna Milton, but also her nephew and several other people with first hand knowledge of the infamous Chicken Ranch, does a masterful job in telling the story of this most famous brothel. The real story of the Chicken Ranch is a complicated one. How it survived when prostitution and brothels were illegal is an amazing story itself. Local law enforcement condoned it, legislators condoned it and the townsfolk of LaGrange themselves condoned it. The reasons given for allowing the Chicken Ranch tiptoe a fine line between reasonable and illogical. My guess is that law enforcement personnel and legislators as well as many prominent LaGrange people frequented the brothel and that's why it operated for so long. The book does not really specifically say that, but reading between the lines, I formed that opinion. Although the book does tell about certain visitors to the Ranch, it really doesn't go into any details about any specific well known visitors. This was my only disappointment. I guess I was expecting some juicy details that never materialized. The author and Ms. Milton were very discreet when it came to those type of details. The story did lead me to contemplate on some things about Lyndon Johnson and a troupe of Bob Hope entertainers, plus the group ZZ Top most likely visited the place several times in their youth as they wrote their hit song LaGrange about the Chicken Ranch. I also would've liked to have read about some of the girls who worked there. Where did they come from? What were their stories? What happened to them when the Chicken Ranch closed? Again, the author and Ms. Milton were very discreet, and the girls, except for a few alias names, remained anonymous. However, a truly great aspect of the book is the amount of pictures integrated throughout the chapters. They were great and they put a face to all the people talked about, plus it provided the reader with an idea of what the Chicken Ranch looked like inside and out. All in all, I thought the book was a great and very intriguing read and anyone who likes Texas history, or just a good fascinating story, would really like this book.

[Online Eccentric Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

More reviews (and no fluff) on the blog http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/

This is an updated version where the author gets a chance to make corrections and update some facts. This isn't an examination of the chicken ranch so much as an examination of Texas history and how the chicken ranch ended up fitting into that picture.

There are a lot of discussions about the myths and they are interesting until the end words for each one, which is that they are very likely not real people and just embellishments. I think I would have preferred a whole section on 'myths and legends that aren't true but kind of fun' rather than telling each story as if fact and then dismissing it. It felt ike having the rug pulled out from under me.

What is here is more about the myths that would contribute to the reputation that led to songs such as La Grange from ZZ Top. The author clearly loves the topic and researched it well. As such, this is much less about the actual people who worked there. But there is a lot here to unpack and it is a fun read. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

[Kasey Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inside the Texas Chicken Ranch: The Definitive Account of the Best Little Whorehouse in Texas by Jayme Lynn blaschke

Genre: Nonfiction, American History

Want to know a lot about the history of prostitution in Texas? I have the book for you! This account focuses on the famous LaGrange Chicken Ranch, but stretches all the way back to the very roots of Texas. Full of well-researched facts, including many personal interviews. The Texas twang and Folksy tone of the many "characters" leaps off the page. I could not stop reading it in my best deep central Texas accent!

If you've never heard of the Chicken Ranch, you probably weren't around much in the 70s and 80s, or you might not be from Texas, and that's okay. If you want a feel for the way things might really have been and meet some larger than life characters, here's a darn good resource!

"Impossibly, the little country brothel slipped the confines of fact and fiction long ago, passing into the realm of folklore. It may not share the revered dignity of the Alamo or the lonesome romance of bygone cattle drives, but the Chicken Ranch has earned its place in Texas mythology. One way or the other, the Chicken Ranch legacy—truths, falsehoods and everything in between—will endure."

[Christine M in Texas (stamperlady50) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inside the Texas Chicken Ranch
By: Jayme Lynn Blaschke
4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Had to pick this one up from Fabled Book store when the author did an event. It’s a part of Texas history that captures your attention.

I did not know about this part of history but I had seen the movie with Dolly Parton.

This house has been in LaGrange for many decades and has seen many people pass through its doors including politicians, college students and soldiers. It seemed to be a right of passage of Texas boys claimed the author. I found the part about the Aggies and Longhorns fascinating. So many politicians were named in this book as well.

The towns people and the sheriff did not want to see the place closed down because the proprieter gave back to the community and the girls were looked after and an asset in the community.

There were a lot of great pictures to accompany the book at Edna the owner was definitely a character and her life had many obstacles after the place closed down.

#thechickenranch, #texashistory, #thehistoeypress, #jaymelynnblaschke, #bookreview, #bookstagram, #booksconnectus, #stamperlady50

[Mandi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Y'all.. THIS is the Texas history I want to hear! This book is chock full of hilarious, unbelievable, and downright crazy stories that actually happened in the central Texas area. I paused reading nearly every page to tell my husband "Did you know...?!?"

The story of the Chicken Ranch is absurd and un-put-down-able. And I was completely floored by the tangential stories about other related happenings (from Bonnie and Clyde to President LBJ to the little-known connection of Texas A&M with prostitution).

I don't read history. Ever. But this didn't read like a history book. It read like a gripping memoir of a place that has an absolutely insane story to tell.

Highly recommend for anyone who's curious about REAL Texas history, hilarious trivia, Hollywood/Broadway, or how prostitution continued (il)legally in the state of Texas well into the 1970s.

And if you read this, definitely let me know so we can talk about it!!

[Zachary · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's some really interesting history here hidden amidst profiles of lawmen and politicians with only a tangential relationship to the main story. As in, we spend a lot of time reading about their exploits and personal histories when their actual involvements with the story of the Chicken Ranch is pretty uninteresting. The show that comes from the Chicken Ranch--i.e., "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas"--is hailed in this book as a unique and timely piece of work that critiques modern morality and culture, and uses the symbol and reality of the actual Chicken Ranch as a way to do that. This book has an opportunity to do something similar and interesting in its coverage of this institution's history amidst the larger, changing history of the surrounding American culture. But it doesn't do that. There's some interesting anecdotes and fascinating bits here and there, but the overall narrative ends up falling flat.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I drove through LaGrange last week, not even thinking about the “Chicken Ranch.” It was more about the Czech pastries and the Fayette Power Plant (coal-fired) operated by LCRA.

The author begins with an interesting history of the area to start off the book. Mostly this book told about how the brothel survived as long as it did when such places were illegal. Such is Texas history!!! No expose of its clients, or women who worked there—-only the about the Madam who made it famous. And the police force of LaGrange that tolerated it.

[Marc · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great book if you want to read about why the Chicken Ranch was such a big deal in the 1970s. You will read about how the Ranch affected La Grange and Fayette County, Texas. You will learn about how the Ranch became a political hot potato. Finally, you will read about the production of the play and later the movie “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.” Oh, and Marvin Zinder from Channel 13 Eyewitness News plays a big role. This was an enjoyable read, but it was at least fifty pages too long.

[Rick Fifield · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a story about the Chicken Ranch outside of LaGrange, Texas made famous the song "LaGrange" by ZZ Top and the movie "Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" Blaschke does a good job of telling the story of the Chicken Ranch, despite the limited information and error in other books previously written. He also interviewed many of the principle people involved with the ranch and town for quite a few years.

[Terry A. Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well written. Blaschke has done a ton of research that throughly documents all the elements prior to and after the closing of the Chicken Ranch. I worked at the TV station during the early Marvin Zindler era and lived theough the whole episode. Blaschke describes Zindler to a tee. A more egotistical, narcisstic person has never been born.

[Alyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-researched book about the history of the Chicken Ranch, a brothel outside La Grange, TX that lasted close to a century. Factual without being (too) salacious, the story is fascinating set in the context of the history of politics and prostitution at the time of the brothel’s heyday.

[Nina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read. The author certainly did his homework and it shows. There are lots of interesting details about the history of the Chicken Ranch, the factors that allowed it to survive for as long as it did, and the events that brought it down. I have some minor quibbles with how the book is organized, but I’d definitely recommend it to anyone interested in the topic.

[Michele Lawson · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a truly interesting read about the original Chicken Ranch and its place in Texas history. I highly recommend this book, but if you are thinking it contains explicit sexual content, it does not. It is about the place, the politics, and a small town in Texas that became a media sensation.

[Dana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was interesting. I had watched The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas when I was younger and listened to the ZZ Top song La Grange, but never really thought they were based on a real place... until now. It was great to learn the history of this area in Texas and how it had lasted for so long.

[Jerome Parmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Started out slow but got to get her but got better at the end

[Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting read

This book told of the history of the Chicken Ranch in Texas. It was fascinating and informative about the people involved.

[John Shaw · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is about a brothel.
It is the most boring book about
Sex
EVER.
Not even fun pics.
WTF???
I’m not looking for a history of sex politics.
-ugh-

[Steve Ewing · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting but needed to be edited - went on too long