509 LaFarge Ave History - Laserfiche WebLink

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Information on Ancestry.com indicates that Mary Phillips (c. 1850-1929) was originally Mary Vidia, born in Slovakia. Her husband, Martin Phillips (1844-1917), also from Slovakia, worked at the Industrial Mine in Superior. His original surname was "Filip." They came to the US in the 1890s with their children. At the time of the 1910 census, Mary Phillips was living alone in a house on William Street that was presumably the house that was later moved to 509 La Farge. She was listed as the owner of the house, and available property records do not indicate that she was the owner of other property at the time. She was also listed as being divorced. The following photo of Mary Vidia appears in an Ancestry.com family tree: Boulder County's online records give 1910 as the house's date of construction. The County Assessor card from 1948 does not include anything written for the date of construction, but simply states that the house is "%2 old house % new all in good repairs now." However, the County has sometimes been found to be in error with respect to the date of construction of houses in the area, so other evidence is looked to. In this case, Mary Phillips purchased what is assumed to be an empty lot by a deed recorded in 1902 and appeared in the 1910 census as a likely resident of the house that would later be moved to 509 La Farge. Specific evidence that she was living in a house at this location before 1910 could not be found. Also, no maps of Superior that might show the existence of the house by a certain date could be located. In the absence of other evidence, the estimated date is "circa 1910," with the recognition that the County may have been estimating the date and that the house could have been constructed earlier. 2