The Chicken Ranch was as an illegal but tolerated brothel

Brothel

Brothels are business establishments where patrons can engage in sexual activities with prostitutes. Brothels are known under a variety of names, including bordello, cathouse, knocking shop, whorehouse, strumpet house, sporting house, house of ill repute, house of prostitution, and bawdy house...

 in the U.S. state of Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

 that operated from 1905 until 1973. It was located in Fayette County

Fayette County, Texas

Fayette County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of 2000, the population was 21,804. Its county seat is La Grange. Fayette is named for the Marquis de la Fayette, a French nobleman who became an American Revolutionary War hero...

 about 2.5 miles east of downtown La Grange

La Grange, Texas

La Grange is a city in Fayette County, Texas, near the Colorado River. The population was 4,478 at the 2000 census. The 2006 estimated population was 4,645. But a 2010 census estimated that the city had a population of 4,923...

. The business was established by Miss Jessie Williams, and was the basis for the 1978 Broadway musical

The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas

The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas is a musical with a book by Texas author Larry L. King and Peter Masterson and music and lyrics by Carol Hall...

 and later movie The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas

The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (film)

The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas is a 1982 film adaptation of the musical of the same name released by Universal Pictures, which was co-written and directed by Colin Higgins...

.
The brothel that became the Chicken Ranch opened in La Grange in 1844. Run by a widow known as "Mrs.