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Learn about Lancaster’s Notorious Past

Lancaster was once infamous as a “wide open” city for vice. Around 1900, police and other officials encouraged and even participated in prostitution, gambling, and drinking. During Prohibition (1920-1933), Lancaster law enforcement ignored mammoth illegal distilleries, breweries and saloons, and refused to cooperate with federal agents.

Two Lancaster Vice Walking Tours explore the people and politics of this surprising history: The Backstreet Brothel Tour focuses on the history of commercial sex in in the early 1900s. The Brew-Haha Tour examines brewing, distilling, and the history of Prohibition in Lancaster.
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dreamland theatre lancaster pa
Photos courtesy of LancasterHistory

  • We loved learning about the hidden side of Lancaster and imagining what the city was like 100 years ago. Hearing stories about individual people and how they lived really brought the tour to life. Highly recommend!

    Jennifer R
    Lancaster Vice Attendee

  • I had no idea about this side of Lancaster's history! Now I see familiar places in a whole new light and it was fun to walk the side streets and learn about places I'd never seen before.

    Kelly M
    Lancaster Vice Attendee

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Blog

Latest from the Blog

The Soap Factory Raid
3 min read

The Soap Factory Raid

By Ainsley McClure On November 5th, 1927, Lancaster City Police cooperated with federal agents from Philadelphia to bust…

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Hot Dogs, Buns, and Booze: The Hot Dog Cart Raid
3 min read

Hot Dogs, Buns, and Booze: The Hot Dog Cart Raid

By Anna Chiaradonna In April of 1926, city police raided a hot dog stand at the corner of Farnum and Church Streets…

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Podcast

The Lancaster Vice Files Podcast

Meet the people who worked in Lancaster's underworld

Fair Elise and Mary: You’ll Be All Right now
Episode 6

Fair Elise and Mary: You’ll Be All Right now

This is the second episodes about Fair Elise, a toddler who spent several years in a brothel. She ended up in a brothel in…

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Fair Elise: Child of the Brothel
Episode 5

Fair Elise: Child of the Brothel

This is the first of two episodes about Fair Elise, a toddler who spent several years in a brothel. She ended up in a brothel…

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Barbara Foreman, Charity Girl
Episode 04

Barbara Foreman, Charity Girl

Barbara Foreman worked as a tobacco wrapper in the city in the early 1900s. She was part of a growing number of wage-earning…

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Jennie Taylor, Proprietor of Disorderly Houses
Episode 03

Jennie Taylor, Proprietor of Disorderly Houses

The local newspapers of Lancaster, Pennsylvania wrote often about Jennie Taylor, the daughter of a formerly enslaved man.…

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