05/04/2017
Perle
She is believed to been born in Evansville, Indiana around 1862.She moved to Denver, Colorado in her teens. she was known in Denver as "Mrs. Martin", although it is not believed that she was married. By the age of 14 or 15 she was working as a pr******te in Denver. When business slowed she moved to Cripple Creek, Colorado, in 1893.
The need for pr******tes in a land where men men outnumbered women. "Mrs. Martin", as she was previously known as changed her name to Pearl De Vere, and started working as a pr******te in Cripple Creek. Within months, she had started her own brothel.
Pearl De Vere was described as being 31 years of age at the time, with red hair and a slender build, and was a pretty woman. she was said to have been a good business woman, strong willed and smart.
Pearl De Vere catered to the most prosperous men in Cripple Creek and soon her brothel became the most successful in Cripple Creek. Pearl was well known for wearing lavish clothing in public, and was never seen twice in the same clothes. In 1895 she married businessman C.B. Flynn, a wealthy mill owner. The two had only been married a few months when a fire raged through Cripple Creek's business district, destroying most of the businesses, including his mill and her brothel.
In order to financially recover, Flynn took a job in Mexico and Pearl remained in Cripple Creek and rebuilt her business. Pearl had a two story brick building constructed in 1896.
Pearl called her newly opened business "The Old Homestead". She held parties to bring in clients, and charged them $250 per night for clients to stay over.
During the night Pearl, was found unconscious on a bed by one of her girls. A doctor was summoned, but she was pronounced dead in the early morning hours of June 5, 1897. The doctor stated that he believed she died of an accidental morphine overdose, but that was never confirmed. It is known that she often toon morphine to help her sleep.
Pearl was buried in a large ceremony in Mt. Pisgah Cemetery, where here grave was marked with a wooden marker. By the 1930's, her grave site had all been forgotten. However, as tourism for Cripple Creek picked up, her grave marker was replaced with a marble stone.