825 Lee St Cabins History - Laserfiche WebLink

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Likewise, if one owned an extra outbuilding, cabin, or cottage, one could gain extra income by renting it out. A coal stove and chimney could be installed relatively easily, and the outhouse would typically be shared. The fact that the local mines closed in the summers also contributed to the prevalence of outbuildings. Many of Louisville's historic homes may have been very small, but one could easily add additional outbuildings to a property, particularly in the summertime when many miners worked to improve their houses and yards. Although the rental market was very active, there were not records kept of rentals. Most of the available information comes from census records, which noted for the census years from 1900- 1940 whether the head of a household owned or rented; Louisville directories that show extra people or even an extra family residing at a particular address; information that has been collected over the years from Louisville families; and historic photos and property records documenting the presence of small cabins. Many of Louisville's cabins and outbuildings are gone, but some historic houses in Louisville still have outbuildings that were once rented out to single people, couples, or families. One example is 1024 Grant, which is one of the twelve structures in Louisville that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. When it was selected for the Register in 1986, one of the considerations in its favor was that it still had associated outbuildings. One of these outbuildings was a cottage that was rented out. In another example, the small building behind the Mossoni House at 836 Main St. (now the location of Bittersweet) was rented out to families such as Boyd and Callie Forbis and their children, who lived there at the time of the 1930 census. The structure is now part of Por Wine House. When Emmitt and Laura Trott purchased Outlots 1 and 2 in the mid 1930s, it was likely with the intention that they could build cabins there and bring in rental income. The presence of the cabins were likely a draw for Marjorie Downer when she decided to buy the property from the Trotts in 1946, as she could benefit from the rental income and be able to keep an eye on the cabins from her own home on the property. In 1946, Laura Trott sold the property with the cabins to Glen and Lois Walters. In around 1947, the Trotts moved to Lafayette and had a secondhand/antique business there at a store (moved from its Pine St. location in Louisville) called Trott's Trading Post. Also in 1947, Glen and Lois Walters sold the property with the cabins to Mayfair Development Co. Downer Ownership, 1946-1994 In 1946, Marjorie Downer purchased a parcel of land from Mayfair Development Co. In about 1949, she built a house on the property in which she lived. She was able to oversee her rental cabins from her house on Lee Ave. 5