701 705 Jefferson Ave Historic Survey

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Resource Number: 5BL 11294 Temporary Resource Number: 157508492001(701 Jefferson) Temporary Resource Number: 157508492001 (705 Jefferson) 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. This property at 701 Jefferson includes four structures. In particular, it contains two historic houses that face Jefferson and that have the addresses of 701 and 705. These were long owned by the Ferguson and Beveridge families of Louisville, for at least 75 years. Other houses associated with this family included 624 Pine (5BL956) and 720 Jefferson (5BL11296). For purposes of this report, "705 Jefferson" refers to the historic house located just north of 701 Jefferson. It faces Jefferson and has the number "705" on the front of the house. It should be noted that online Boulder County Assessor records may be erroneous in showing "705 Jefferson" to be a parcel that is to the west of 701 Jefferson and that is entirely on Pine, with no frontage on Jefferson. The available records show that the corner where the house at 701 Jefferson is located was developed very early in the history of Louisville and Jefferson Place. The online Boulder County property records show that by a deed that was recorded in 1881, Jefferson Place developer Charles Welch conveyed "Lot 1 et al" of Block 9 to J.H. Fishback. An early map of Louisville made by Samuel Freeze in 1881, which is believed to have been created in 1880-81, also has the name "Fishback" written in as being the presumed owner/occupant of this corner. In fact, James H. Fishback was a teamster who was listed in the 1880 federal census as living in Louisville with his wife, three children, and three boarders. By the following year, Fishback's property on this corner was transferred to Phyllis Eggleston, who then transferred it to William Graham by a deed that was recorded in 1884. A gap in the chain of ownership is apparent for the next several years, but according to a quit claim deed recorded in 1891, Aaron Moon and John Simpson conveyed this property to Thomas Beveridge and James Ferguson. It is believed that this marked the beginning of the long ownership of this parcel by the related Beveridge and Ferguson families, who were early Louisville pioneer families from Scotland. James and Jane Ferguson immigrated in about 1870, lived in Illinois, and came to Louisville in the 1880s. James Ferguson, who worked at coal mines in the Louisville area, died in Louisville in 1892 at the age of 57, and a heartfelt tribute to him by the Knights of Pythias appeared in the Boulder Camera at that time. Jane Ferguson, who was born in 1841, lived at 705 Jefferson. The 1900 census shows her living by herself, while the 1910 census shows that her daughter, Sarah Ferguson, was living with her. Jane's daughter, Janette (sometimes written as Jennett) Ferguson Beveridge lived next door at 701 Jefferson with her husband and their children. The 1904 Louisville directory also shows her to be in this location. Other Ferguson children who lived in the Louisville area were Sarah (Boles), Robert, Margaret (Robinson), Jennie (Hood), and Maxwell Ferguson (who lived with his family just a few houses away on Grant Ave.). Jane Ferguson died in 1911 at the age of 72. An undated item from an unidentified newspaper with information submitted by the Louisville Baptist Church at the time of her death (a copy of which is in the Louisville Historical Museum's obituary collection) stated that Jane Ferguson was better known as "Grandma Ferguson" and that the church building "was too small to accommodate the large crowd who gathered to pay respect to our departed sister." 705 Jefferson was also inhabited by Jane Ferguson's granddaughter, Jane Beveridge Todd, and her husband, Otto Todd. It was certainly occupied by Jane and Otto Todd after the death of Jane Ferguson in 1911, but probably also before her death, as the 1904 directory for Louisville states that the Todds were living at the time on Jefferson between Pine and Spruce. Jane "Janie" Beveridge was born in 1884 in Illinois as the oldest of the Beveridge 4