Biography
Little is known about Wilson's early life. Unsubstantiated rumors circulated around Omaha that she was born into an aristocratic Southern family. Wilson and her long-time partner, Dan Allen, were together in 1870, when famous Lincoln prostitute Josie Washburn worked for her. Wilson reportedly assumed the role of a parent if one of the prostitutes that worked for her got married, including paying the wedding expenses. After Allen died Wilson started investing in real estate. She amassed a large amount of money, and according to one account, half her fortune was made in the last ten years of her life from the purchase and sale of real estate. By 1886, her initial career choice provided sufficient funds for her to build a 25-room mansion at 912 Douglas Street. It was a three-story, 25-room building with racy artwork. She lived there until she left what was known as "the Sporting District." Wilson bequeathed the famous gabled brothel on Douglas Street to the city when she died in 1911. It became the Omaha Emergency Hospital and for many years served as a communicable-disease treatment center. The city would not accept the donation outright, so Wilson compromised and asked for $125.00 a month rent to be paid to her until she died. The building was razed in the 1940s. In 1910 Wilson moved to a fine home at 2018 Wirt Street in the fashionable Kountze Park neighborhood in North Omaha. Anna, who was 76 years old when she died, was said to be worth upwards of a million dollars, and claimed she didn't have one relative in the world. Wilson is buried in Omaha's Prospect Hill Cemetery next to Dan Allen. In her will, Wilson made a clause that she should be buried under nine feet ofLegacy
Following Anna's death, on each Memorial Day, a wreath was laid on Wilson's grave by Mrs. Thomas L. Kimball because of Anna's generosity over the years toward the Creche Home for Children. Mrs. Kimball's son, Thomas Rogers Kimball, continued the tradition after her death. Thomas was a prominent architect whose buildings include St. Cecilia's Cathedral, the old Public Library, and the Burlington Station. After his death in 1934, the tradition stopped; however, over the years there have been many reports of flowers left on Memorial Day. The Prospect Hill Preservation Society celebrates an annualSee also
* History of Omaha *References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Anna Burials at Prospect Hill Cemetery (North Omaha, Nebraska) 1835 births 1911 deaths Businesspeople from Omaha, Nebraska American brothel owners and madams American prostitutes American female prostitutes Crime in Omaha, Nebraska 19th-century American businesspeople 19th-century American businesswomen