If you're thinking of spending the night in Wallace, Idaho, be cautious! Not every building that offers rooms is what it seems.

Lipstick and rouge left open on a dresser. Lingerie tossed on a chair. Dresses and shoes, all abandoned.

Why would the women of Wallace depart in such a rush, never to return for their most personal belongings?

Oasis Bordello Museum

Left behind were hidden trap doors and drawers full of kitchen timers.

When Jack and Michelle Mayfield bought their old house, they bought a lot of secrets.

You see, the house used to be the "Oasis Room" – an old-fashioned bordello, and perhaps the last working whorehouse in the Northwest.

"My dad always referred to these places as a necessary evil," said Michelle.

At the turn-of-the-century, men in Wallace outnumbered women 200 to one. They were miners, brought in to dig for silver.

Several stores, 20 bars, and four bordellos sprang up to "support" the miners.

"The mining companies made sure that there were plenty of girls in the towns so the guys wouldn't leave," explained Jack. "This side of the street was extremely wild or rowdy. The other side of the street is not a lot different than what you see now. It was like an invisible line down the middle of the street."

For nearly a century, the Oasis Room thrived.

"Madam Ginger" had a harem of girls. Each had her own color-coded bedroom. There was lots of security and lots of house rules – that's where the kitchen timers come it.

"When the timer rang… the maid would go and knock on the door," said Jack. "They were so busy they wore out the timers."

At times they were so busy, guys were sent to the basement.

"For the overflow," he explained. "There was enough room for a cot, a chamber pot and a chair."

For less-than-legal entertainment, there were a distillery and a cardroom – coverup included.

But the working girls didn't just take money, they gave back to the town.

"They bought band uniforms for the school. They bought a police car in 1983," he said.

In 1988, it all came to an end. The mines closed and the law no longer looked the other way.

Tipped to a raid one day, the girls skipped town without packing and never came back.

Jack and Michelle kept everything as they found it and opened the doors as the "Oasis Bordello Museum."

When they first opened it, many locals told them to sweep Wallace's red-light district under the carpet.'

"But it's still part of history," said Jack. "I don't believe we should sweep history under the carpet, no matter what it is."

No you can go behind the green door without any shame.

The Oasis Bordello Museum is open to the public and costs less now than what the miners used to pay. It is located at 605 Cedar Street in Wallace, Idaho, Tel. 208-753-0801.