I was raised in Alpena, a small town located on Lake Huron in northern Michigan. One of the early newspapers in Alpena was the Alpena Argus . Throughout my research, I have come across several newspaper articles referencing "houses of ill fame". This peaked my interest. I could never imagine a place like this could be found in the small town that I grew up in. Obviously, in the 1800's there was just such a place or places in Alpena and the gossip seemed to spread, just as it would today...
So what is a "house of ill fame"??
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I could almost guarantee that visiting such a place, could make you "infamous" in a small town
The following articles are just a few examples of reports of infamous characters tied to houses of ill fame
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Alpena Argus (Alpena, Michigan) 14 May 1879, Wed • First Edition • Page 3
Take note: that Mr. Glover from the article above received a sentence of 9 months in the house of correction, while Ms. Hoy only received 30 days in county jail. I guess it helps to be a woman if you are keeping a house of ill fame.
Alpena Argus (Alpena, Michigan) 11 Dec 1889, Wed • First Edition • Page 3
This article tells the story of sailors from a logging camp getting into a brawl with some local boys. It appears that one gentleman, not sure from which side, was caught and paid a fine. However, all other men involved decided to come to an unwanted but necessary compromise to keep quiet. No other charges were pressed.
Alpena Argus - (Alpena, Michigan) - 25 Mar 1891, Wed • First Edition • Page 3
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The article below talks about a woman, who fled from Alpena County to Rogers City after some of her "associates" were arrested and prosecuted. She arrived in Rogers City and did not find work, so she decided to head back towards Alpena. On her way back, on a cold Northern Michigan December night, after drinking more than her fair share, she passed out and froze. She died shortly after. Her death seemed to make national news.
The interesting part to me is that the main concern of the writer was the reputation of the city of Alpena and not the young woman that died.  Alpena Argus (Alpena, Michigan) 15 Jan 1879, Wed • First Edition • Page 3
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These four articles span a time period of 12 years, from 1879 to 1891. So appears that our little town of Alpena did have a few "infamous" characters in its midst.
Hi Rebecca, A clue to why Alpena had so many houses of ill repute (& I can show you at least 2 buildings, but. they are respectable homes today) Back in the 1800’s Alpena was not a “family town”. Yes there were families, but if you look at an old city directory, or pictures of the town, you will see MANY hotels. Some “hotels” might have only a few rooms to rent, others had more. Lumberjacks came to Alpena to work all winter in the woods because it was much easier to fell the trees & haul them out of the woods in the winter with frozen ground. The bears were snoozing for their long winter naps & flies & mosquitoes were also not an issue. Because most of the men who came to work in the woods left their families behind, or had no families, when a male came to town, he desired ‘companionship’. Not all did, but enough so that there was a good market for the world’s oldest profession
I would love to hear more! Thank you for reading the post and for the background information. I love hearing the stories behind the stories. 🙂