612 Jefferson Ave Historic Survey

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Resource Number: 5BL 11288 Temporary Resource Number: 157508435008 The house was built in ca. 1900 and has not been extensively modified since then. The southeast porch was enclosed between 1948 and 1976. Windows were replaced in modified openings in 1965. In 1976, the southwest porch roof was constructed and siding was replaced. The carport was built in 1983. 30. Original location X Moved Date of move(s): V. HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONS 31. Original use(s): Domestic, Single Dwelling 32. Intermediate use(s): N/A 33. Current use(s): Domestic, Single Dwelling 34. Site type(s): Urban residence 35. Historical background: This building is part of Jefferson Place, the first residential subdivision in Louisville. 612 Jefferson was the home of members of the LeComte family from France for many years, and has also been associated with the Hicks family of Louisville for over 91 years. 612 Jefferson and 620 Jefferson (5BL11292) next door had shared ownership for a period. In 1898, Jefferson Place developer Charles Welch conveyed twenty-nine different lots in Jefferson Place to a Denver lawyer, Harper Orahood, apparently for Orahood to resell. The lots for this parcel were among these properties. Orahood conveyed 612 Jefferson to August LeComte by a deed that was recorded in 1905. Orahood also conveyed 620 Jefferson to August LeComte by a deed that was recorded on the same day. Boulder County gives 1900 as the year of construction for this property. Although the dates given by Boulder County have sometimes been found to be in error with respect to historic buildings in Louisville, for this particular house there was no other evidence found that could help prove or disprove this date. The property in question is outside of the boundaries of the Sanborn Maps that were done for Louisville in 1893, 1900, and 1908 (they focused on the downtown business district and La Farge Avenue only). The house does appear in the correct location on the 1909 Drumm's Wall Map of Louisville. August LeComte and his family may have purchased the house and started living here even earlier than 1905, as their address in the 1904 directory is listed as being on Jefferson between Pine and Hutchinson (which is a description of the location of 612 Jefferson). The 1910 census shows the family as living in this location next to the De Santo family next door at 600 Jefferson (5BL11287). The family was made up of August LeComte Sr. (1859- 1923) and Louisa Helart LeComte (1859-1912); their children, August Jr., Florence, Leah, Victor; and Louisa's mother. August, Louisa, August Jr., and Louisa's mother had all been born in France and came to the US in 1887 or 1888. August LeComte Jr. was born in 1886 and died in 1951. According to the 1916 directory, August LeComte Sr. and August LeComte Jr. were both living at this house, which then had the address of 121 Jefferson. Father and son worked as coal miners in Louisville, and August LeComte Sr. also worked as a carpenter. A family history of the LeComte family in the files of the Louisville Historical Museum shows that August LeComte Sr. was conscripted into the French Territorial Army and he served from 1879 to 1886. His hometown was Bethune in the Pas de Calais province in northwestern France. Louisa Helart was his wife; this is just one of several connections between the LeComte and Helart families, which were also closely related to the Warembourg family of Louisville. In 1920, August LeComte sold the house to Monroe Hicks. The house would be associated with the Hicks family for many decades to come. Monroe Hicks (1882-1952) married Beatrice Thirlaway (1887-1983) of the English Thirlaway family of Louisville in 1904. Beatrice was also related to John and Emma Barker who lived nearby at 801 Pine Street (5BL8023) in Jefferson Place. Their only child, John Hicks (1905-1998), married Bessie Truitt (1904-2000) in 1930. 3