1140 Main St History - Laserfiche WebLink

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W.J. and Mary E. Morgan Ownership, 1922-1930 By a deed recorded in 1922, Jacob Williams sold 1140 Main to W.J. Morgan and Mary E. Morgan (1898-1953). William J. Morgan (b.1895) was born in England and immigrated to the US in 1912. Mary E. Novak Morgan was born in Colorado to parents from Austria/Bohemia. Both the Morgan and Novak families lived primarily in Lafayette. In 1919, William worked at the Simpson Mine in Lafayette. A move to the Vulcan Mine in 1920 brought William and Mary to Louisville where William later became a clerk at the Acme Mine. While the Morgans were living at 1140 Main, William Morgan became a naturalized citizen in 1923. Mary Morgan was also noted in a 1924 issue of the Lafayette Leader as running a cottage industry as a hairdresser. Aira. W. J hMorgsn of La u is- Wilk- will lie at the home of Mrs, Marvin Noll( k in Lafayette on Idon day, Wednesday and Friday II 1ff each week and II I b• p repar- ed to do al! i indu of hairdressing m.rcel li ng and cwrliag. The 1930 census shows the Morgans living on Main Street in Louisville with their son, William, age 10. Shortly after, they moved back to Lafayette and sold the property to Elphe Kammert Webster. Webster Ownership of 1140 Main and 940 Caledonia, 1930-1968 George Webster (1888-1945) and Elphe Kammert (1896-1962) married in 1922. George operated the Hub Store in Lafayette with O.C. Alderson in the 1920s. The Websters moved to Louisville in 1927. George became the manager and part owner, with O.C. Alderson, of the Hub Store at 800 Main in Louisville. The Hub Store was a line of dry goods and clothing stores located in a number of towns and cities. Alderson owned another Hub store in Lafayette and Elphe worked as a clerk in the Louisville store. The Hub Store in Louisville was operated by members of the Webster family from 1927 until it closed in 1964. During the time that the Websters ran The Hub store, they were active business members in the community, sponsoring trophies during the Fall Festival and other community events. They regularly sponsored Scout and 4-H clubs, allowing them to have "live" window displays where club youth demonstrated crafts, skills, and earned badges.