The Undisclosed History of the Wild West HELL’S HALF ACRE BY MARY LIQUEUR Hell’s Half Acre was an area of Fort Worth, Texas designated as the red-light district “where the West begins.” In the early to mid-1870s in the Old Wild West it was known for being a very brutish, lawless, town. Filled with gamblers, prostitutes, and train robbers – it wasn’t a place “normal” people had many dealings in. It was nicknamed the “Bloody Third ward” because of the violence in the area. And over time, Hell’s Half Acre developed a reputation for bringing out the rebel in everyone that passed through the area. FORT WORTH, TEXAS IN 1876 Fort Worth Texas’ legendary Hell’s Half Acre was an accumulation of bordellos, saloons, and gambling parlors during the 1870s. The most infamous red-light district of the old “Wild West” was frequented by outlaws like “Longhair Jim” Courtright, Luke Short, Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, and Sam Bass. It also saw the likes of Butch Cassidy and his Wild Bunch. The area was developed originally to serve as a rest stop on the cattle trails from Texas through Kansas. Saloons, brothels, and gambling, liquor, and prostitution establishments overtook the area. HELL’S LOCATION Located between the tenth street to the fifteenth street boundaries – Hell’s Half Acre consisted of boarding houses, bordellos, gambling houses, hotels, saloons, and a couple other businesses. It was also a sort of “safe zone” for thieves and violent offenders. The twenty-two thousand square foot area saw the likes of Old Western characters like Bat Masterson, Butch Cassidy, the Sundance Kid, Doc Holliday, Etta Place, Luke Short, Sam Bass, Laura Bullion, and Wyatt Earp. ECONOMIC GROWTH Eventually, the sheriff and local law enforcement began to crack down on prostitution, although they turned a blind eye to gambling and other vices. The Acre was an important economic powerhouse at the time, so shootouts and illegal activities rarely resulted in arrests or anything like that. Home to the White Elephant Saloon, where the last shootout of the Wild West took place between Longhair Jim Courtright and Luke Short, the venue is still alive today. Known as much for its elegance, honest gambling, and live entertainment – as for its gunfights, illegal dealings, and harboring criminals on the run. Unlike the brothels, the saloons rarely received complaints. The Chisholm Trail, and Pacific Railway were branded as the routes for economic expansion out West, leading to the rapid development of the red-light district and its reputation for being a gambling Mecca. This neglect to interfere with illegal activities for the sake of economic development also kept the area alive as long as it was. THE CRACKDOWN ON HELL’S HALF ACRE But in 1919, Fort Worth’s “Third Ward” was labeled a den of iniquity. Due to the efforts of then sheriff, Longhair Jim Courtright, and the Protestant John Franklyn Norris – the area was slowly discredited and all that was left were a few small businesses and saloons. All the criminals were killed or imprisoned, and the area’s reputation died as quickly as it came about. For more than 30 years, Hell’s Half Acre operated on a “sin-and-gin” model of supply and demand. It was a two-fisted, pistol-packin’, easy-lovin’ veritable mall of vice that helped develop and establish Fort Worth’s economy. Rules were broken, blood was spilt, and sharing a bottle of alcohol was their way of breaking bread. The “Hole in the Wall” Gang was one organization comprised of several different gangs, all operating out of Hole in the Wall Pass. They were some of the most notorious criminals in the Wild West. The gangs formed a collective that used the Hole-in-the-Wall Pass as their base of operations. Each planned and carried out its own robberies and stick-ups with very little interaction between gangs. At times, members of one gang would ride along with other gangs, but usually, each gang operated separately, meeting only when they were at the hideout at the same time. CRIMINALS & OUTLAWS Members of the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang included such infamous criminals as Butch Cassidy’s Wild Bunch which consisted of Butch Cassidy (aka Robert Leroy Parker), the Sundance Kid (aka Harry A. Longabaugh), Elzy Lay, Tall Texan, ‘News’ Carver, Camilla ‘Deaf Charlie’ Hanks, Laura Bullion, George “Flat Nose” Curry, Harvey ‘Kid Curry’ Logan, Bob Meeks, Kid Curry’s brother Lonny Curry, Bob Smith, Al Smith, Bob Taylor, Tom O’Day, ‘Laughing’ Sam Carey, Black Jack Ketchum, and the Roberts Brothers, along with several lesser known outlaw gangs of the Old West. Jesse James was also mentioned to have visited the Hole-in-the-Wall hideout. However, the most infamous characters were: Harry Longabaugh (Sundance Kid), Ben Kilpatrick (Tall Texan), and Butch Cassidy seated in front, left to right, and Will ‘News’ Carver (left) and Harvey ‘Kid Curry’ Logan (right) standing behind them. 'The Wild Bunch', also known as the 'Fort Worth Five,' posed for a portrait in downtown Fort Worth in 1900. (©John Swartz. Courtesy National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Pinkerton's, Inc.) Not very many women were allowed to enter the Hole-in-the-Wall Pass hideout, but there were a few special ladies. Namely, Etta Place (Butch Cassidy, the Sundance Kid’s girlfriend), Will Carver’s girlfriend Josie Bassett was allowed. Josie’s sister and Parker’s longtime girlfriend Ann Bassett, Elzy Lay’s girlfriend Maude Davis; and gang member Laura Bullion were allowed in the hideout. THE INFAMOUS LIVES OF THE WILD BUNCH GANG Of all Western outlaws, Butch Cassidy is arguably the crowd favorite. Known as the “Robin Hood of the West,” he was raised by Mormon pioneers on a ranch in Utah. In his teenage years, he left home to live life as an outlaw. Moving from cattle rustler to master planner of train, bank, and mine robberies – Cassidy couldn’t stay out of trouble. He was known for being charming, fearless, brave, and witty. His gang called themselves the “Wild Bunch” and ran the longest sequence of successful bank and train robberies in the history of the Wild West. One of the first major crimes attributed to him is the robbery of the San Miguel Valley Bank in Telluride, 1889. Taking a whopping $20,750 (about $488,000 back in 1889) to a hideout in Brown’s Hole on the Utah-Wyoming border. The first robbery credited to the Wild Bunch outlaws was a bank stickup in Montpelier, Idaho. They took home $7,165 between five people – worth about $150,000 today. PLEASANT VALLEY COAL COMPANY When they stole $8,800 from the Pleasant Valley Coal Company, the telegraph wires along the trail were cut to prevent news of the robbery from spreading. They then retreated to Robbers Roost where they’d continue planning robberies for the next several years. The OVERLAND FLYER TRAIN The gang stole $60,000, there was a shootout, and the gang escaped to their hideout in the middle of a savage, inhospitable piece of land authorities wouldn’t dare travel across. THE RIO GRANDE TRAIN The gang made a hit which would become their largest prize to date at $70,000 – about $1.7M today. THE UNION PACIFIC TRAIN The gang made $55,000. BANK ROBBERY IN WINNEMUCCA, NEVADA They stole $32,640. NORTHERN PACIFIC TRAIN They made a whopping $65,000. This was the gang’s last recorded hit. After that Butch Cassidy, the Sundance Kid, and Etta Place went to Argentina where they purchased a ranch. The rest of the gang went on with their lives in different directions. It wasn’t long before the trio was back to their old ways. They began robbing South American banks, and their fate is unknown. What happened to Longabaugh (the Sundance Kid) and Cassidy in or after South America is now both a mystery and a legend. OTHER WESTERN FIGURES Kid Curry: Harvey Logan, aka “Kid Curry” was the most feared killer in the Old West. He was a cattle rustler, charged with crimes like robbery and murder. He was quick to shoot, and constantly on the run. In 1904 he was found with other outlaws trapped in a box canyon in Colorado – after evading authorities and being shot in the shoulder, he committed suicide to avoid capture. News Carver: William Carver, aka “News Carver” was a bank robber who was murdered shortly after the photo of the “Fort Worth Five” was taken. The Tall Texan: Ben Kilpatrick, aka “The Tall Texan” was killed in an attempted robbery of the Southern Pacific’s Sunset Flyer. He was 36 years old. Etta Place: She spent the winter of 1896 in the Wild Bunch hideaway located at Robbers Roost. Only 20 years old at the time, she was beautiful, poised, and something that contradicted the brutish, savagery of the Old West. The girlfriend of Butch Cassidy, and eventual wife of the Sundance Kid, she was known to have a good shot. ROBBERS ROOST Robbers Roost was a popular outlaw hideout for 30 years. It is located in southeastern Utah. Amazingly, the original Wild Bunch corral remains in Robbers Roost with a stone chimney, caves, and original carvings. The terrain is rough. To get there, you must travel through a maze of canyons, in extreme heat. Because of this, it was never breached by authorities. Robbers Roost had hundreds of hiding spots on what became known as the Outlaw Trail. It was defended by a 200-man gang complete with tunnels, landmines, and a fully weaponized posse of outlaws.