Notorious Two-Bit Street

Book excerpt: Madams of brothels, houses of gambling, rampant government corruption—all these were found in a late 1800s Mormon community. This is the fascinating, well-researched, true history of Two-Bit Street—a street that became known throughout the world for its ladies of the evening and saloons that never closed. The American West’s wildest poured into this small Utah town after it was chosen to be the Junction City for the newly constructed 1869 transcontinental railroad. A history that spans three quarters of a century, this book shows how a pious people can be overpowered by an uncontrollable malignancy of lust. At times inspiring, this book also unveils the struggle between deep corruption and those who wanted this corruption to be destroyed. Infamous Twenty-Fifth Street in Ogden has been named as one of the ten great streets in America because of its past notoriety and its complete contiguous turn-of-the-century commercial architecture which remains as a witness of that colorful past. Lyle J. Barnes is the street’s original historian, and many other authors have quoted his history of Twenty-Fifth Street. With the fine additional research and writing done by Jean Barnes, this second edition makes Lyle’s best-selling history better than ever.