Louise Wooster

American madam

Louise Wooster

Born|

Louise Catharine Wooster

June 12, 1842

Tuscaloosa, Alabama, US

Died| May 16, 1913(1913-05-16) (aged 70)

Birmingham, Alabama, US

Resting place| Oak Hill Cemetery, Birmingham, Alabama
33°31′32″N 86°49′0″W﻿ / ﻿33.52556°N 86.81667°W﻿ / 33.52556; -86.81667
Nationality| American
Other names| Lou Wooster
Occupation| Brothel madam
Known for| Lou Wooster Public Health Award named in her honour

Louise Catharine Wooster (June 12, 1842 – May 16, 1913),[1] better known as Lou Wooster, was a famous madam in Birmingham, Alabama.[2] Her colorful character and her care for the sick and dying during the cholera epidemic of 1873 endeared her to the Birmingham community.[2] The shocking true story of the Birmingham Madam The "Lou Wooster Public Health Award" is named in her honor.[2][3][4]

## Overview[edit]

Louise Wooster was born on June 12, 1842, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama[2][5] to William Wooster and Mary Chism Wooster.[1][3] Her father died in 1851 and Mary Wooster remarried.[1][2] A few years later, Lou's stepfather abandoned the family and took their money with him.[1][2] Mary Wooster died a few years later virtually destitute.[1][2]

By her middle teens, Lou was an orphan with nothing to rely on but the mercy of relatives.[1] During this time, she was abused, attempted suicide,[1] and her older sister became a prostitute.[1][2][5] She later wrote that she "fell, step by step, until at last I was beyond redemption".[1]

In 1873, Lou was a well-paid lady of the evening when a deadly cholera epidemic swept through Birmingham. Several thousand people fled the city, but Lou stayed to nurse the sick,[3][4] feed the hungry, and prepare the dead for funerals.[1][2] After the epidemic, few of Lou's clients remained in Birmingham and she moved to Montgomery, Alabama, to open a brothel.[1][2]

By 1880, she had returned to Birmingham operating multiple brothels[1][5] near City Hall where she could attract the wealthiest patrons.[2] Lou made a fortune, donated heavily to charities[1][2] and frequently came to the aid of fallen women.

Lou was a master at storytelling and self-promotion. She wrote a book chronicling her life titled Autobiography of a Magdalene.[2]

## Death[edit]

Lou died in 1913 and was buried in Birmingham's Oak Hill Cemetery.[1][2][3]

## Honors and recognition[edit]

The Lou Wooster Public Health Award is presented annually by the University of Alabama School of Public Health to recognize individuals, groups, or organizations who are unconventional public health heroes.[1] The award is named in honor of Lou Wooster,[2][3][4] the 19th-century Birmingham madam who risked her own death by staying in the city to care for the sick and dying during the 1873 cholera epidemic.[1] Lou Wooster organized the women in her brothel "determined to stay and help nurse the poor sick and suffering ones who needed me."[1] Her courage went a long way toward assuring there was a Birmingham for the leadership to come back to.[1] When she died in May 1913, hundreds of empty black carriages drove by the funeral home to pay respects to a local hero.[1][2][4] Recipients are driven by a horse-drawn carriage from the School of Public Health to Oak Hill Cemetery where Lou Wooster is buried.[4]

The first award was presented in 2007 Representative Patricia Todd, MPA,[4][6] who is also known as the first openly gay State Representative in Alabama. In 2010 the award was presented to American Electric Power[6] for their efforts to work with environmental groups and other stakeholders to reduce pollution from power production. Master Chef Frant Stitt[4][6] was recognized in 2011 for his work in improving nutrition by working on urban farms and creating new menus for University Hospital. In 2012 the VF Corporation[4][6] was recognized for its decision to rebuild the Hackleburg, Alabama Wrangler Distribution Center destroyed by the April 27, 2011 tornado. Rebuilding this facility will have profound impacts on the long-term health of the community.

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Causey, Donna R. "Madame Wooster cared for the sick in Birmingham & had a romance with John Wilkes Booth is honored at UAB". Alabama Pioneers. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Crider, Beverly (16 March 2013). "Birmingham Pioneer "Madam" helped save the city". AL. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
3. ^ a b c d e "The shocking true story of the Birmingham Madam". AL.com. 4 April 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
4. ^ a b c d e f g h "Birmingham Revealed: The Life of Louise Wooster". Vulcan Park & Museum. 17 March 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
5. ^ a b c "Louise Wooster: Humanitarian, Madam, and John Wilkes Booth's Lover?". Alabama Heritage. 17 February 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
6. ^ a b c d "Lou Wooster Public Health Hero Award". UAB School of Public Health. Retrieved 30 January 2018.

## Further reading[edit]

* Wooster, L. C. W. (1911) Autobiography of a Magadalen. Birmingham: Birmingham Printing Company.
* Baggett, James (2005) A Woman of the Town: Louise Wooster, Birmingham's Magdalen. Birmingham. Birmingham Public Library Press.
* Baggett, James (Fall 2005) "Louise Wooster: Birmingham's Magdalen." Alabama Heritage.

* v
* t
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Prostitution in the United States

Areas|

* American Samoa
* California
* Prostitution in Los Angeles in the 19th century
* Guam
* Hawaii
* Nevada
* Rhode Island
* Texas

Brothels|

* 217 West Main Street
* Angel's Ladies
* Arnold's Bar and Grill
* Ash Meadows Sky Ranch
* Bird Cage Theatre
* Chicken Ranch (Nevada)
* Chicken Ranch (Texas)
* Cottontail Ranch
* Dennis Hof's Love Ranch
* Donna's Ranch
* Dumas Brothel
* Everleigh Club
* Fort Laramie Three-Mile Hog Ranch
* Gleim Building
* Kit Kat Guest Ranch
* Lester Apartments
* List of brothels in Nevada
* The Love Ranch
* Mary Todd Lincoln House
* Miss Hattie's Bordello
* Moonlite BunnyRanch
* Mustang Ranch
* No. 1 Geisha
* Old Bridge Ranch
* Paresis Hall
* Sagebrush Ranch
* Shady Lady Ranch
* Sheri's Ranch
* The Star
* Stone Jail Building and Row House
* Wild Horse Adult Resort & Spa
* Willis House

Law|

* Agency for International Development v. Alliance for Open Society International, Inc.
* 2013
* 2020
* Bennis v. Michigan
* Chamberlain–Kahn Act
* Mann Act
* Raines law
* Red Light Abatement Act
* Regulating Brothel Prostitution in St. Paul, 1865–1883

Media|

* American Pimp
* Dreamcatcher
* Secrets of a Hollywood Super Madam

Organizations|

* BAYSWAN
* COYOTE
* Equality Now
* Free the Slaves
* SWOP-USA

People|

| Activists|

* Norma Jean Almodovar
* Fred Cherry
* Committee of Fifteen
* Committee of Fourteen
* Robyn Few
* Melissa Gira Grant
* Carol Leigh
* Alice Little
* Rose Livingston
* Meg Muñoz
* New England Female Moral Reform Society
* New York Female Moral Reform Society
* Polaris Project
* Tracy Quan
* Audacia Ray
* Annie Sprinkle
* Margo St. James
* Sheila White

|

Brothel
owners
and
madams|

* Elizabeth Adams (aka, Madam Alex)
* Polly Adler
* Ah Toy
* Josephine Airey
* Brenda Allen
* Josie Arlington
* Dorothy Baker
* Sydney Biddle Barrows
* Big Sue
* Belle Brezing
* Julia Bulette
* Hilma Burt
* Nina Clifford
* Big Jim Colosimo
* Joe Conforte
* Belle Cora (Arabella Ryan)
* Cora Crane
* Ana Cumpănaș
* Kristin M. Davis
* Phoebe Doty
* Dora DuFran
* Ada and Minna Everleigh
* Mame Faye
* Vina Fields
* Heidi Fleiss
* Jody Gibson
* Dante "Tex" Gill
* Mary Gleim
* Lou Graham
* Eunice Gray
* Mary Ann Hall
* Hester Jane Haskins
* Eliza Haycraft
* Mike Heitler
* Dennis Hof
* Mollie Johnson
* Lizzie Lape
* Kitty Leroy
* Red Light Lizzie
* Laura Bell McDaniel
* Adeline Miller
* Mother Damnable
* Meg Muñoz
* Deborah Jeane Palfrey
* Grace Peixotto
* Willie Piazza
* Poker Alice
* Fannie Porter
* Mattie Silks
* Sally Stanford
* Pearl Starr
* Libby Thompson
* Mary Thompson
* Kate Townsend
* Frederick Trump
* Deborah L. Turbiville
* Pearl de Vere
* Tessie Wall
* Lulu White
* Minnie White
* Anna Wilson
* Louise Wooster

Courtesans|

* Ashley Alexandra Dupré
* Lillie Langtry
* Fanny White

Pimps|

* Scotty Bowers
* Hester Jane Haskins
* Mike Heitler
* Dennis Hof
* Ice-T
* Iceberg Slim
* Don "Magic" Juan
* Red Light Lizzie
* Jack Ruby
* Lee Shelton
* Fillmore Slim
* Al Swearengen
* Dennis Tinerino

Prostitutes|

* Ah Toy
* Air Force Amy
* Josephine Airey
* Brenda Allen
* Norma Jean Almodovar
* Josie Arlington
* Mickey Avalon
* Dorothy Baker
* Richard Berkowitz
* Diamond Bessie
* Big Nose Kate
* Mattie Blaylock
* Scotty Bowers
* Gary Ray Bowles
* Sarah A. Bowman
* Brandi Britton
* Carrie Brown
* Julia Brown
* Julia Bulette
* Lisa Crystal Carver
* Sylvia Clevenger
* Andrew Cunanan
* Honeysuckle Divine
* Issan Dorsey
* Phoebe Doty
* Dora DuFran
* Pearl Elliott
* Robyn Few
* Alexis Fire
* Albert Fish
* Florrie Fisher
* Heidi Fleiss
* Ali Forney
* Denham Fouts
* Ronnie Lee Gardner
* Jody Gibson
* Billi Gordon
* Maggie Hall
* Fred Halsted
* Eliza Haycraft
* Toni Jo Henry
* Richard Holcomb
* Endesha Ida Mae Holland
* Xaviera Hollander
* Amber L. Hollibaugh
* Jason Holliday
* John Holmes
* Calamity Jane
* Helen Jewett
* Dean Johnson
* Mollie Johnson
* Robert La Tourneaux
* Jillian Lauren
* Kitty Leroy
* Rose Livingston
* Alice Little
* Annie Lobert
* Crazy Lou
* Brooke Magnanti
* Chicago May
* Rosa May
* Laura Bell McDaniel
* Adeline Miller
* Della Moore
* Tanya Moore
* Vicki Morgan
* Mother Featherlegs
* Jean O'Hara
* Barbara Payton
* Louise Peete
* Willie Piazza
* Fannie Porter
* Tracy Quan
* Tina Rodriguez
* Shalimar Seiuli
* Mattie Silks
* Valerie Solanas
* Almeda Sperry
* Annie Sprinkle
* Nancy Spungen
* Margo St. James
* Pearl Starr
* David Henry Sterry
* Star Stowe
* Sunset Thomas
* Estella Marie Thompson
* Libby Thompson
* Mary Ellen Tracy
* Tiger Tyson
* Pearl de Vere
* Sheila White
* Anna Wilson
* Louise Wooster
* Aileen Wuornos
* Venus Xtravaganza

Johns|

* Craig J. Spence
* Eliot Spitzer

Red-light districts|

* Barbary Coast, San Francisco
* The Block, Baltimore
* Broadway (San Francisco)
* Bucktown, Davenport
* Burnt District, Omaha
* Cheshire Bridge Road
* Chinatown, Honolulu
* Columbus Avenue (San Francisco)
* Combat Zone, Boston
* Creek Street (Ketchikan, Alaska)
* Fremont Street
* Hell's Half Acre (Fort Worth)
* Hunts Point, Bronx
* Kensington, Philadelphia
* Las Vegas Strip
* The Levee, Chicago
* Liberty Avenue (Pittsburgh)
* Minnesota Strip
* Murrell's Row
* Nevada State Route 582
* North Street (Boston)
* Northern Liberties, Philadelphia
* San Antonio Sporting District
* Sepulveda Boulevard
* Slabtown (Atlanta)
* SoHo, Manhattan
* Sporting District, Omaha
* Stingaree, San Diego
* Storyville, New Orleans
* Sunset Boulevard
* Tenderloin, Manhattan
* Tenderloin, San Francisco
* Times Square
* Venus Alley, Butte
* Western Avenue (Los Angeles)

Violence|

* Denver Prostitute Killer
* Disappearance of Jessie Foster
* Murder of Carrie Brown
* Murder of Tanya Moore and Tina Rodriguez

Other|

* 1989 DC Prostitute Expulsion
* Big Apple Oriental Tours
* Church penitentiary
* Commercial sexual exploitation of children
* Emperors Club VIP
* Hookers for Hillary
* John Hour
* John school
* Operation Stormy Nights
* Police abuse of sex workers
* Prostitution in Harlem Renaissance
* Sex trafficking
* Three minute men
* Truckers Against Trafficking

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