Nothing lasts forever and Ohio Week has come to an end. I found many interesting pictures but none with as fun of a backstory as this unassuming-looking boat.
Huron Historical Society
This houseboat, with white horizontal clapboard siding, is a floating brothel. It was leased by Phillip Stakes from the Wheeling Railroad, and remained docked by the Berlin Street Bridge in Huron, Ohio for many years in the early 1900s.
According to the Erie County Reporter, the demise of this local business came in November 1917 at the hands of Mayor Heyman. Having a boat of ill repute was bad enough but the last straw came after some sailors visited the boat one night and a disagreement occurred between one of the prostitutes and a sailor. This resulted in the sailor in question being shot in the thigh.
I was very curious about the local reaction to the closure but I couldn’t find any more information about this particular boat, I did learn that floating brothels were by no means unique to Huron, Ohio. They weren’t exactly trendy but there were quite a few of them.
old spirituals 
Many years ago I was a partner/owner of an old houseboat. I and my partner restored the boat (it was 18 years old at the time) and enjoyed the pleasures of having a house on the waters of Lake Lanier in Georgia. As is the case with all boats, it was a hole in the water into which an owner throws money. That is especially true for a vintage boat. The other truism about boat ownership is the happiest days are the day you buy it and the day you sell it. Perhaps that is why houseboat owners of the past found a more profitable use for their boats.
But, Kimberly, your time was not wasted on the OHIO topic. You revealed a piece of history heretofore unknown to me — and probably many others. America had floating brothels!!!! As usual, my curiosity got the better of me and I did some cursory research. I discovered Aquatic Temptations : “The Potomac Arks” – Houseboat Brothels of Alexandria. I was surprised, but not shocked, to learn that at one time Washington, DC, was embellished with Aquatic Temptations on the Potomac River, like Lake Huron.
https://offbeatnova.com/2020/09/20/aquatic-temptations-the-potomac-ark-houseboat-brothels-of-alexandria/
It seems appropriate to end this comment with, “Anchors Aweigh!!!” Which is also the tile of the official song of the U.S. Navy.
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how funny! 😀
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I didn’t know this about boat ownership! So it’s not all it’s cracked up to be? I went on a whale-watching trip once a few years ago and found out the hard way that I don’t do boat trips!
The Aquatic Temptations is a pretty versatile name: works for a floating brothel or a Motown group.
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that’s hilarious! a floating brothel!
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Well it sounds funny to us. I don’t see how anybody visits a floating brothel without leaving with the clap
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Use of the word clap is a great double entendre. Surely some patrons did received or gave a resounding applaud and/or a STD.
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Lol! The clap sounds nicer than gonorrhea. When I looked it up just now, I learned a fun fact: “The clap” is a reference to the French word “clapier,” which means brothel, a place where STDs such as gonorrhea can be transmitted.
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