Eliza Haycraft , was a wealthy brothel madam and philanthropist , who donated money to the widows and orphans of the American Civil War. Haycraft was born on 14 February She moved to St. Louis, Missouri , from Callaway County, Missouri , in , reportedly arriving in a canoe. She arrived in St. Louis destitute, with only the option of selling herself as a courtesan.
Haycraft took advantage of the brief legalization of prostitution in her city, and soon became the owner and manager of a brothel , doing well in business despite her inability to read and write.
She signed her name with an "X", and avoided using banks. By the time the Civil War had started, she had two working operations in the continually-growing St. At the end of the war, she had five. Throughout her career, she was known for being a generous philanthropist, refusing to turn away the city's poor, offering them help and financial aid.
In , her health began to decline, and she died on December 5, , at the age of She left an estate valued at over a quarter million dollars, about 30 million U. S dollars today. She still does not have a headstone. Outlawed women certainly became wealthy as a result of prostitution during the war. Take, for instance, Eliza Haycraft, who arrived in St. Louis as a nineteen-year-old illiterate runaway wife in the mids. Louis, which she rented to her fellow madams. It was much more difficult for police to conduct periodic busts to constrain prostitution.
Eliza Haycraft used several strategies to build her vast brothel empire in St. She not only rented out her properties to fellow madams, but she also provided bail for them when needed. By leveraging her wealth and status, Haycraft effectively protected her business from periodic police busts, making it more difficult for authorities to constrain prostitution in the area.
