Nov. 11, 1825: Portland’s Eastern Argus newspaper reports that a third riot in a year’s time has broken out in reaction to the presence of bordellos in the city.
The first round of the so-called Portland Whorehouse Riots took place in 1824, when a group of men and boys ejected the bordellos’ tenants and tore down the buildings as a crowd stood by silently.
About 2 a.m. on a spring morning in 1825, another mob tore down houses the prostitutes had moved into, setting one house on fire when its occupants resisted the rioters’ efforts to demolish it. Several people were arrested, but nobody was convicted.
In the third, more violent confrontation, a shootout erupted when a mob tried to attack the latest set of buildings the prostitutes had moved into, killing one man and wounding several others.
The violence was not unique to Maine. That same year, rioters who were tearing down bordellos in Boston beat up police officers who tried to intervene.
Joseph Owen is an author, retired newspaper editor and board member of the Kennebec Historical Society. Owen’s book, “This Day in Maine,” can be ordered at islandportpress.com. To get a signed copy use promo code signedbyjoe at checkout. Joe can be contacted at: jowen@mainetoday.com.
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