The Dumas Brothel was a bordello in Butte, Montana. It grew considerably through the years, with the miners employed by the city's copper mines often patronizing the establishment. After several changes of the "madams" and continuing pressure from authorities, the brothel closed in , described as "a rare, intact commentary on social history".
At the time of its closure, it was the longest operating brothel in the United States, having operated years after prostitution was made illegal. After closing, the brothel changed hands several times, eventually becoming a tourist attraction owned and managed by a series of Butte residents.
In the s, a group of women, called "ladies of the line", began selling sexual services on Park Street, in the north of the city of Butte, Montana. By the mids, a variety of dance halls, gambling houses and saloons had appeared in the city. By , Butte's East Galena Street was lined with brothels; in fact, nearly every building on the street housed prostitution.
This area of Galena Street would come to be known as the "twilight zone". Holter, a wealthy businessman from Helena, Montana. Two French Canadian brothers, Joseph and Arthur Nadeau, would eventually acquire the most property in Butte's prostitution areas, or " red light district ".
The Dumas Brothel Museum is a two-story brick building at the north side of east Mercury street in the historic city of Butte, Montana. It also includes a basement level containing clandestine tunnels. There is a single story addition that was added to the rear of the main structure in , and this leads directly onto the infamous brick- lined "Venus Alley", once the hub of Butte's red light district.
