Maggie Hall
Maggie Hall (December 26, 1853 - January 17, 1888) was a prostitute originally from Dublin, Ireland in early Murray, Idaho history.[1]
Molly B'Damn
Born in Dublin, Ireland into a Catholic family, Maggie arrived in New York City in 1873. Unable to find legitimate work, she headed out west to seek her fortune in the mining camps until she finally ended up in the mining community of Murray, Idaho. She worked in the mining camp under the name Molly Burdan and is better known as Molly B'Damn or Molly B'Dam because of her colorful language. On her way over Thompson Pass (border between Montana and Idaho) in the winter of 1884, she saved the life of a stranded woman and child. During the smallpox epidemic of 1886, Hall organized the efforts to care for the sick.
She died from complications of tuberculosis at the age of 34 (her tombstone erroneously gives her age as 35) and is interred in the Murray Cemetery.
Her tombstone reads:
Sacred
To The Memory Of
Maggie Hall
Molly-B-Dam
Died At Murray
Jan. 17 1888
Age 35 Years
IHS
Legacy
Her legendary compassion led the citizens of Murray, Idaho to name their annual city celebration the "Molly B'Damn Gold Rush Days" in her honor. The Sprag Pole Museum located in Murray, Idaho features a reconstruction of her bedroom as one of the exhibits.
References
- Sources
- Anne Seagraves, Soiled Doves: Prostitution in the Early West, Wesanne Publications, Hayden, Idaho, 1994.
- Myles Dungan, How the Irish Won the West, New Island, Dublin, Ireland, 2006.