The Lancaster Vice Files
Each episode opens the secret files of anti-vice investigators to piece together the portrait of a person from the hidden history of prostitution, gambling, and drinking in Lancaster, Pennsylvania around 1900.
A century ago Lancaster was known as a "wide open" city for prostitution, gambling, drinking because city officials encouraged and participated in vice. An undercover investigation of vice in 1913 left behind extensive records documenting the personalities and politics of Lancaster's underground economy. Using these files, this podcast unearths the surprising variety of people who struggled and sometimes succeeded in vice.
The Lancaster Vice Files
Mary Stence, Living Quiet
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Brothel keeper Mary Stence said that the key to her success was "living quiet." But, in many ways, this was misleading. This podcast explores the tumultuous and quiet aspects of her life and work around 1900.
Written by Alison Kibler
Research assistance from Ainsley McClure and Anna Chiaradonna.
The narrator is Anna Barrett. Extra voices from Sarah Henchey and Vincent Smaldone.
We thank the staff of LancasterHistory for their assistance with the Law and Order Society Papers. We are grateful for the financial support from Franklin & Marshall College.
Sound engineering by the Institute of the Mechanical Surround and Vincent Smaldone.