In the early days of the Kansas-Pacific Railroad, young uninhibited railroad men would visit certain parlors during a layover in the cow towns. While they were inside, they would hang the brakeman's lanterns outside the door so the dispatcher's call boy could find them easily when it came time to depart.
The red light district became a part of American lexicon from those early cow towns and interestingly enough, the last one was officially closed down in Deadwood as late as the 1970s. Some thing just last too long!
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