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Louisville Historical Museum Department of Library & Museum Services City of Louisville, Colorado April 2015 La City0r Louisville COLORADO • SINCE 1878 613 Grant Avenue History Legal Description: Lots 6 & 7, Block 11, Pleasant Hill Addition Year of Construction: 1903 Summary: The Mudrock (formerly "Mudrak" and "Mudrack") family from Slovakia owned this property and were residents of the house starting in 1903. The family's ownership extended until 1981. The parcel to the north, 625 Grant (Lots 4 & 5, Block 11), was also part of their property, with some Mudrock family members also residing in a house there starting at a later date. Development of the Pleasant Hill Addition; Date of Construction The subdivision in which this house is located, Pleasant Hill Addition, was platted in 1894. It was developed by Orrin Welch, the half-brother of Charles C. Welch, the man who started the Welch Mine and played a prominent role in the founding of Louisville. The 1948 Boulder County Assessor card for this property and the Boulder County Assessor's Office website both give 1903 as the date of construction of this house. Boulder County is sometimes in error with respect to the date of construction of Louisville buildings, so other evidence is looked to. In this case, the fact that the year given is so specific (unlike many other estimated dates given for Louisville houses such as "1900" or "1910"), along with the fact that the original family was living in the house at the time of the 1948 assessment and could have given the correct information, suggests that this date is correct. In addition, it is known that the Mudrock family arrived in Louisville in 1903. A deed of trust (like a mortgage) for the Mudrock property was recorded with Boulder County in 1904, and this would have followed the warranty deed. However, the warranty deed whereby John Mudrak purchased the parcels at 613 and 625 Grant from Orrin Welch was not recorded until 1905, though its effective date would have had to precede the deed of trust chronologically. No records were found that would contradict the 1903 date of construction. For these reasons, the date of construction is assumed to be 1903. The house appears on the 1909 Drumm's Wall Map of Louisville (which showed main buildings, not secondary buildings or outbuildings on a parcel), though the house is shown as straddling lots 5 and 6 instead of being situated solely on lots 4 and 5. An excerpt of this map is shown below. Assuming that the map is accurate as to the location of the house, t is possible that the house was shifted slightly to 1