Location Description and History

Pearl de Vere was well known in Denver as Mrs. Martin and had obtained a small fortune from her services to the wealthy gentlemen of Denver. However, when the first slowdown occurred in the city, the wise Ms. Pearl headed to the booming gold camp of Cripple Creek in 1893. Purchasing a small frame house on Myers Avenue, she opened up for “business” and it was an overnight success. Catering to the more prosperous gentlemen of Cripple Creek, Pearl’s ladies were the most beautiful of any parlor in the camp, wore fine clothing, received monthly medical exams, and were paid well. Pearl, at 31, was described as red-haired, beautiful, strong willed, and a smart business woman. Eventually, Pearl would meet a man named C.B. Flynn, who was the owner of a small mill. The two married in 1895, and Pearl continued to run her profitable business. Not long after their marriage, a devastating fire raged through Cripple Creek. It destroyed Pearl’s business, Flynn’s mill, and most of the business district.

The fire ruined Flynn financially and he eventually accepted a job smelting iron and steel and Monterrey, Mexico. However, Pearl remained in Cripple Creek, intent on rebuilding her business. The result would be one of the finest parlor house that the city had ever seen. The new parlor house was a two-story brick building and was named “The Old Homestead.” Opening in 1896, Pearl spared no expense in decorating the elaborate parlor, importing wallpaper from Paris and outfitting it with the finest of hardwood furniture, carpets, crystal electric chandeliers and gaming tables. The house even included a telephone, an intercom system, and two bathrooms, at a time when such things were mostly unheard of.

Four beautiful women were employed by Pearl, making her house the most whispered about place in town. Drawing a rich clientele from as far away as Denver, references were required of the guests. At $250 a night, only the extremely wealthy could afford to visit The Old Homestead, and reservations were generally required.

On June 4, 1897, Pearl threw a very extravagant party sponsored by a millionaire admirer from Poverty Gulch. During the evening Pearl claimed that she had a bit too much to drink and excused herself, going upstairs to her bedroom. There she took some morphine to help her sleep, which was a common practice at the time.

During the night, one of her girls checked in on Pearl, who was lying in her bed still draped in the chiffon ball gown. Finding her breathing heavily and unable to wake her, a doctor was immediately summoned. But, it was too late and at the age of thirty-six, Pearl De Vere died on that early morning of June 5, 1897.

The Old Homestead continued to operate until 1917. Later it would serve as a boarding house and a private residence. In 1957 the owners of the house discovered many original items and wanted to share the house with the public. After extensive renovations, The Old Homestead was opened as a museum in June, 1958. Filled with many pieces of original furniture and displays that tell the story of the shady side of Cripple Creek, the house is the only original parlor to survive. (Narrative from pamphlet at location)

Employees and patrons of the Old Homestead have had the sensation of being touched by an unseen presence. Objects have been mysteriously relocated on occasion.

We arrived at 3:00pm and were given a tour of the building while monitoring various instrumentation. Two unusual photographs were taken in one of the rooms upstairs near the conclusion of the tour. Team members returned upstairs after the tour but were unable to locate anything substantial.

Photographs

Two interesting photographs were taken one after the other during the tour of the building. The photographs taken before and after these two are completely normal. Foreign obstruction was ruled out as a cause of the object in the photographs due to lack of flashback and transparency around the edges of the object. No other data was obtained.