1409 Courtesy Rd History - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

The 1909 Drumm's Wall Map of Louisville shows that what is now Courtesy Rd. (or Highway 42) was called East Street at that time. The neighborhood in which 1409 Courtesy Rd. is located is known as Little Italy. The 1909 Drumm's Map shows about twenty homes in the area of Little Italy, and about the same number of homes continued to make up the neighborhood for several decades to follow. The particularly high concentration of Italians in Little Italy and the separation of the neighborhood from the rest of the town due to the railroad tracks led to the formation of a close neighborhood and to cultural practices that endured for decades, such as winemaking by many residents using grapes that were delivered directly into the neighborhood by truck. The Caledonia Mine was located in the area between Little Italy and Miners Field on the west side of Highway 42 and was opened in 1890, the same year in which the Caledonia Place Addition was platted. The mine closed in 1899. In 1911, Henry Waneka conveyed the house to his wife, Caroline. In the 1916 and 1918 residential directories for Louisville, the Henry and Caroline Waneka family were listed as residents of 902 East Street, which would have been the original address of 1409 Courtesy, under Louisville's old address system. In 1920, Caroline Waneka, age 42, was living at 1409 Courtesy Rd. with her younger son, George, age 15. George worked as a farm laborer while "Lena" Waneka worked in the home as a dressmaker. Two renters of the house were also listed: Ila Clark, age 19, and her baby son, Francis Clark. Henry Waneka's whereabouts at this time could not be determined. In 1921, Caroline Waneka sold the house at 1409 Courtesy to Anna Cornelius. Cornelius Ownership, 1921-1936 Anna Cornelius purchased 1409 Courtesy in 1921. Anna Cornelius, whose maiden name has not been found, was married to Ira Cornelius. Anna was born in about 1881 and her background was German. Ira was born in Kansas in 1879. The Cornelius family came to this part of Colorado from Ohio and Kansas in the late 1800s. Federal census records for 1930 show that they were living at 1409 Courtesy Rd. The family consisted of Ira, age 51; Anna, age 48; and their son Harold, age 23. An obituary on file at the Louisville Historical Museum shows that another child, Ronald, died in 1924 at age 11 due to being thrown from a horse in Lafayette. In about 1936, the Cornelius family moved to a house on Lincoln Ave. in Louisville. Ira Cornelius was a mason and plasterer, as his father, Chris Cornelius, had been. Son Harold (1907-1968) also became a plasterer. In fact, according to later resident and owner Edward Domenico, the initials "H.C." appear on the walls of the basement at 1409 Courtesy, perhaps indicating that this was the work of Harold Cornelius.