Around the world, people know the name of Belle Starr, the famous bandit queen. They do not always realize that Belle had a daughter named Pearl who spent most of her life in Fort Smith as the owner of a bordello.
She was the first child of the Belle and Jim Reed, the first husband of Belle and a known thief and murderer. Growing up, Pearl was subject to the upheaval caused by her parents' lives of crime, moving around the country before settling in Indian Territory.
Her father died in a gunfight when Pearl as six and her mother was murdered when she was twenty-one. Capitalizing on the dime novel fame of Belle, she changed her name to Pearl Starr at this time. After securing sufficient capital, Pearl moved across the river to Fort Smith, Arkansas and established her own bordello.
Located on "the Row," Fort Smith's water front street of gambling halls, saloons and bordellos, the house was clearly identified with a bright red star surrounded by lighted pearls. The parlor featured a talented piano player, good whiskey and the "most beautiful girls west of the Mississippi.
The only time Pearl was implicated in a crime was in After a burglary at a general merchandise store in Fort Smith, police found several of the stolen items hidden at Pearl's Winslow home. She was found guilty of robbery and sentenced to a year in the Arkansas State Penitentiary.
