[answering for Denver only] In the 1880s the "Soiled Doves" were among the first to arrive in Denver. Wherever there were the presence of liquor and isolated men the cat houses prevailed. No "virtuous" women came out west until the expansion of the railroad and a transition from being a mining stop over territory town.

In mining towns in the Rockies, they could be makeshift tents in the later 1800s the current street Market (used to be called Holladay street) was the epicenter of cat houses with crystal chandeliers and even electricity. Many of the women changed their names to avoid bringing shame to their families. They were often orphans, or women faced with severe economic hardships, orphans or even narcotics addicts. A common cause of death during this time was also death during a botched abortion, pneumonia and tuberculosis. Because of their background and addictions most women did not leave the profession alive. Death by overdose was common, committing suicide on Christmas was even more common. Many Doves were abused to the point of death by their customers. Most Doves even in the nicest of "Parlors" did not make enough to ever retire from the profession to live a life without shame. Toward the latter part of the 1880s Denver's prostitution district was so renown that there were even brochures created as guides for visiting patrons.

The known exception to the common tale of woe was Mattie Silks and Jennie Rodgers. Both were well know "respectable" madams who offered their clients the finest experiences with the most diverse and attractive women in Denver. The women there wore the finest fashionable clothes, were well mannered and never cussed. Never called Brothels, they described their establishments as "Young Ladies Boarding Houses". Although both women themselves, they were not reported to treat their workers any better than other brothels. Nor did the Doves at these establishments make more money. They were provided the safety of a sometimes more genteel clientele as well as provision of the cat house being sanctioned from the local police (which meant job security as well as not being tossed out on the street without any notice). The two Madams were fierce competitors. There were rumors of a topless gun fight between the two madams which was of course a falsehood passed through the years that gained a new sensational narrative with every telling. Jennie Rodgers died from illness and without much cash. Mattie Silks had a very interesting latter life. She changed her name and during WW1 she became a patriot and was even awarded a certificate of merit by the Treasury Secretary for selling Liberty Bonds. She converted her brothel into a proper hotel in 1919 and sold it for a profit to Japanese investors who converted it into a Buddhist Temple suprisngly. She lived a quiet life in her latter years and died from complications of a broken hip in 1928. She passed as a staunch catholic with a crucifix clutched in her hands.

For further reading I recommend the following books: "Hell's Bells: Prostitution, Crime and Vice in Early Denver" by Clark Secrest

“Our Ladies of the Tenderloin: Colorado’s Legends in Lace,” by Linda R. Wommack

It was possible to escape the sex trade, and most women did eventually do so, but the outcome was not always good. The principal route was by marriage to an attracted suitor. A woman interested in escaping the trade had plenty of options in a gold camp ─ there were plenty of men (some of whom were newly rich), and there were few women.

If a woman didn't marry, destitution and spinsterhood were a distinct possibility. Unlike many other trades, the sex trade is predominantly limited to younger age. Aging women faced a declining trade and were frequently forced to seek other work. Before then, however, they could make a great deal of money by contemporary standards.

Those who were canny and saved their earnings could make a go of it in business, whether by backing a hotel, becoming a madam or some other means. This sometimes required the backing of a male partner, however. Those who spent their earnings faced a dismal future. Employment opportunities for women were extremely limited, and women who remained in the trade were pressured into increasingly risky encounters to make money. Many contracted disease and suffered ill effects as they aged. Others became addicted to drugs or alcohol. Those who became pregnant had to care for children. For all these women, poverty and starvation loomed unless they were able to find stable work ─ a waitress was one of the more savory options.

Lael Morgan's Good Time Girls of the Alaska-Yukon Gold Rush and Ruth Rosen's The Lost Sisterhood: Prostitution in America 1900-1981 are good places to start if you're interested in the topic. There also are plenty of biographies and local histories of prostitution out there. This is an immensely popular field to examine, with both feminist and Western historians interested in the topic. The Prostitutes and Gamblers of Virginia City, Nevada: 1870 is an older but still interesting work (in my view -- /u/itsallfolklore is the person to go to for Virginia City). and Paula Petrik has some pretty fascinating analyses out there.

Petrik's "Capitalists with Rooms: Prostitution in Helena, Montana" tells a fascinating story:

"Between 1865 and 1883, for every woman who had a definite chance to leave prostitution, having accumulated enough capital, there were two who had less of a chance. Whether any significant number from either group managed to edge safely into middle-class respectability is purely a speculative matter. ... Of those who can be traced, a good number of them were able to move out of actual prostitution and up in the tenderloin's hierarchy. By the same token, there is evidence that indicates this upward mobility within prostitution and possible outward mobility into 19th century society became virtually impossible for Helena's fancy ladies after 1890."

Thaddeus Russell, author of A Renegade History of the United States, argues that 19th century prostitution was liberating and enriching for the women who participated. As he explains it, these women had freedom of action and the money to enjoy that freedom, since employment options for women were virtually nonexistent.

Petrik has the best counter to that argument: "Nevertheless, it has been argued that achieving success through prostitution was, at best, a pyrrhic victory. For prosperity in the demimonde, a whore paid equal social costs."

As we see throughout the West, unless a prostitute got out of the business, she would face increasing pressure from the organization of the industry. In the earlier years of a settlement, prostitutes could "go it alone" and make good money doing so. They could establish themselves in niches of legitimate business (hotels and saloons, for example) and transition outward. In Helena, we see this from the 1860s through 1883. In Dawson City, it's the first five or so years of the Klondike rush.

Once the town becomes established, however, there is a concentration of capital. You see more women employed in bawdy houses and the like instead of being independent contractors. Eventually, the town becomes established enough that prostitution is no longer tolerated openly. There is inevitably a moral push that shifts the industry behind closed doors.

Alaska was one of the last places to see that push. In Fairbanks, for example, "the Line" of prostitution houses was not demolished until 1952. Wrangell's red-light district burned down in the same year, and the districts in both Seward and Juneau closed down about that time. Even then, however, the industry continued to thrive behind closed doors, particularly during the pipeline boom of the 1970s.

Did the working conditions, backstory, and prospects of a prostitute on the frontier differ greatly from those of a prostitute in the eastern cities?

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Thanks!

I'm actually very curious to see some personal written accounts of these women. Anyone know of any?