Naughty Women Who Helped Shaped Nevada City
- siennasinclaire
- Dec 28, 2025
- 8 min read
Updated: Dec 28, 2025
Before Nevada City became a postcard of Victorian charm, it was a booming, unruly gold-mining town.
Saloons lined Broad Street. Gambling halls hummed after dark. Upstairs rooms glowed late into the night. And woven through it all were women whose presence shaped the town as surely as the gold pulled from the earth.
For women in the mid-19th century, opportunity was scarce. Most had little access to money of their own, limited legal independence, and few paths to property ownership or business unless attached to a husband or family. Running a gambling hall, owning a home, or earning freely outside a man’s control was almost unheard of.
Mining towns changed that. They didn’t just run on gold—they created rare spaces where women living on the outskirts of polite society could claim income, autonomy, and a form of freedom otherwise denied to them.
Courtesans, madams, dancers, gamblers, and entertainers were not side stories to the Gold Rush—they were part of its foundation. They built businesses, stabilized fragile economies, and softened a brutal, transient world. Many knowingly gave up polite society, understanding that independence came at the cost of judgment, exclusion, and permanent banishment from respectability.
Their names were rarely preserved, their contributions often reduced to whispers or erased entirely.
What remains today is a beautiful town with an incomplete story.
This is the missing chapter—one that reveals how Nevada City was shaped not just by miners and money, but by women who stepped outside the rules and, in doing so, carved out lives of agency in a world that offered them very few choices.
Lola Montez
The Celebrity Courtesan
No discussion of Nevada City’s naughty past is complete without Lola Montez, the most famous courtesan to ever pass through the region.
Though she lived primarily in nearby Grass Valley, Nevada City was deeply influenced by her presence. Lola was a European scandal turned Gold Rush icon, known for her infamous Spider Dance, where she lifted her skirts and stomped imaginary spiders from her legs, sending audiences into a frenzy.
She was a performer, courtesan, provocateur, and entrepreneur—exactly the kind of woman mining towns worshipped and feared.
Lola Today: The National Exchange Hotel
Nevada City still honors her legacy at the historic National Exchange Hotel, home to:
LOLA Restaurant, named in her honor
The Lola Booth in the bar, complete with her portrait
Sitting there with a cocktail feels like slipping into the Gold Rush after dark—velvet, whispers, and history pressing in close.
Eleanor Dumont
“Madame Moustache”
Arriving in Nevada City in the mid-1850s, Eleanor Dumont operated an elegant gambling establishment—Vingt-et-Un—on Broad Street, catering to wealthy miners, gamblers, and businessmen who moved easily between gambling rooms, parlor houses, and dance halls after dark. Her rooms were known for champagne, music, and refinement, placing her firmly within Nevada City’s after-hours economy.
Importantly, there is no historical evidence or contemporary mention of Dumont operating a brothel, working as a prostitute, or running a house of prostitution during her time in Nevada City. Her documented role here centers on gambling, not sex work.
Accounts from later periods of her life, however, describe her differently. In other mining towns across the American West—most notably Bodie, California—she is referenced as a well-known madam and gambler, with some sources noting that her reputation arrived ahead of her. These later descriptions suggest that as boomtowns shifted and her circumstances changed, Dumont may have expanded her activities beyond gambling alone.
Her story illustrates the layered nature of vice culture in mining towns and how women’s roles evolved over time. Gambling halls, brothels, theaters, and dance houses existed side by side, often sharing clientele and geography. Dumont’s life reflects that fluidity—moving between worlds as opportunity, age, and survival required—while remaining a powerful example of female autonomy in a male-dominated frontier economy.
Lotta Crabtree
The Child Star Who Built a Fortune
Born in New York City and raised in the gold-mining hills of Northern California, Lotta Crabtree rose to fame as a child performer in the very mining camps that shaped Nevada City and Grass Valley. From the age of six, she entertained miners hungry for diversion after long days in the hills, quickly becoming a beloved presence in a world fueled by risk, money, and spectacle.
As a young girl living in the Grass Valley mining camps, Crabtree crossed paths with Lola Montez, who taught her elements of dancing and stagecraft. In 1855, she performed for miners for the first time—audiences that also filled saloons, gambling halls, and brothels after dark. Theater, nightlife, and vice culture existed side by side, drawing from the same crowds and energies.
There is no historical evidence that Crabtree worked as a prostitute or courtesan. Her inclusion here reflects the reality that performers occupied a blurred social space within mining towns, moving through the same after-hours world as courtesans and madams while carving out very different paths to power.
Crabtree’s path was extraordinary. Over a career spanning nearly four decades—from childhood until her retirement at age 45—she became one of the most famous entertainers in America, affectionately known as “The Nation’s Darling.”
By the 1880s, she was the highest-paid actress in the country, earning $5,000 a week (roughly $158,000 today). When she died in 1924, her estate totaled $4 million, the equivalent of approximately $75.8 million today.
Her story stands as a reminder that the mining camps did not only produce legends of gold and scandal—they also produced women who transformed performance into autonomy, fame, and lasting financial independence.
Dance Hall Queens, Madams +
The Women Without Names
Beyond the famous figures were dozens—likely hundreds—of women whose names were never fully recorded.
Dance Hall DarlingsWomen who performed can-cans, sang, flirted, and danced with miners, often transitioning into brothel keeping as they gained influence.
Boarding House MadamsRespectable by day, discreet by night—these women ran some of the most profitable operations in town.
Traveling CourtesansHigh-end companions who followed wealthy miners, gamblers, and railroad men from camp to camp.
Chinese CourtesansOften trafficked and exploited, their stories are rarely told but were a tragic and real part of Nevada City’s sex economy.
These women kept Nevada City alive during boom-and-bust cycles. When mining slowed, their businesses often carried the town.
Walking Nevada City Through
the Eyes of Its Courtesans
When you visit today, walk slowly—imagine these women in the places you stand.
Broad Street - Parlor houses once filled the upper floors of nearly every building.
Commercial Street - Dance halls, gambling rooms, and hidden brothels buzzed with music and laughter.
The National Exchange Hotel - A favorite stop for traveling performers and courtesans. Don’t miss the Lola Booth.
Nevada Theatre - Where courtesans and actresses shared the same stage—and sometimes the same clients.
Weaver Street & Lost Hill- Former crib districts where lower-income workers lived and survived.
This history is still there—you just have to know where to look.
Getting Around at Night
Nevada City is small—very small. On a normal night, getting around is easy. The main bars, restaurants, and nightlife all sit within three compact blocks, making it ideal for walking and bar hopping.
That said, conditions matter.
There are only two Uber drivers in Nevada City, and everyone in town knows who they are. They typically work between 5:00 pm and 10:00 pm. Outside of those hours, getting a ride becomes unpredictable. There is a taxi service, but during my stay I never actually saw one in operation.
I visited during the winter months, when tourism is slower and the weather can be relentless. It was pouring rain, cold, dark, and we were in heels, with a mom who could barely walk—let alone see well in the dark. What would normally be a simple two-block stroll suddenly wasn’t an option.
We ended up:
grabbing Uber when available
waiting longer than expected
and relying on the kindness of locals who offered us rides
After 10:00 pm, Uber becomes hit-or-miss. You may get lucky—or you may wait 20–30 minutes for a driver coming in from a neighboring town, if one comes at all.
Going to Grass Valley?
If you plan to head to Grass Valley for dinner or an evening out, plan your ride in advance.
What I did was reserve an Uber the day before, scheduled for about 15 minutes before dinner, from my hotel in Nevada City to the restaurant. You can also reserve a ride back.
Once you’re in Grass Valley, it’s much easier—there’s a larger population and Uber availability is far more reliable, even later at night.
The takeaway
In good weather, walking is easy and part of the fun
In rain, cold, heels, or with mobility or vision challenges, plan ahead
Schedule rides earlier in the evening if possible
Don’t assume late-night Uber will be available in Nevada City
If dining in Grass Valley, reserve your Uber ahead, then relax once you arrive
Nevada City is magical at night—but it rewards those who think one step ahead, especially when the weather turns.
Where to Stay
National Exchange Hotel
This is the best hotel in town, hands down—and not just because of its history. The National Exchange carries a very sexy, old-world energy, with velvet tones, candlelight moods, and a sense that something scandalous could still happen upstairs.
It’s also deeply tied to Nevada City’s naughty past, embracing it rather than sanitizing it. Their website even features a page dedicated to Lola Montez, making it feel less like a hotel and more like a living chapter of the town’s history.
If you stay anywhere, stay here.
Best Bar
The Bar at the National Exchange Hotel
Nevada City has plenty of bars you can easily walk to, all clustered within a few blocks—perfect for a casual bar hop on a good-weather night.
That said, my favorite by far is National Exchange Hotel.
The bars inside the National stand out for their decor, sexiness, and unapologetic dedication to Lola Montez. The atmosphere is intimate and seductive, layered with history, velvet tones, candlelight, and the feeling that the past is still very much alive after dark. It’s the kind of place where you plan for one cocktail and end up staying all night.
They also host fun, themed nights that keep the energy fresh—everything from drag shows to vinyl nights and more. There’s almost always something happening, so it’s worth checking their website under Happenings before you go.
If you only choose one place to drink in Nevada City, make it the National—and let the night unfold from there.
Best Places to Eat + Espresso Martinis
(Evening Edition)
A must. Named after Lola Montez herself, this is where history, indulgence, and atmosphere collide. Perfect for a long, sexy dinner that feels intentional.
**Does not make the best espresso martini because they don't have an espresso machine so uses cold brew but still decent.
Elegant and intimate, with one unforgettable hidden gem: their cave. If it’s not already booked, you can sometimes tour it—and you absolutely should. For something truly special, reserve it privately and enjoy a sexy, romantic dinner inside the cave, surrounded by stone, candlelight, and a sense of being deliciously tucked away from the world.
Be sure to check their website as well—Stonehouse regularly hosts events and live music on select nights, which adds even more atmosphere to an already memorable evening.
**Makes the best in the town becuase they have an actual espresso machine. Not the best foam and not the best I've ever had, but the best for the town.
Worth the short drive to Grass Valley. The Holbrooke carries its own Gold Rush decadence and pairs beautifully with the Lola Montez story across town.
**Does not make the best espresso martini because they don't have an espresso machine so uses cold brew but still decent.
Skip the main dining room and sit at a table in the bar instead. The lighting is moodier, the energy is livelier, and there’s often a band playing. This is where the place really comes alive.
**Does not make the best espresso martini because they don't have an espresso machine so uses cold brew but still decent. They will allow you to bring a shot of espresso to make a proper one. There's a coffee shop on every corner of this town.
