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724 Jefferson Ave Historic Survey
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724 Jefferson Ave Historic Survey
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Last modified
1/18/2024 2:28:04 PM
Creation date
11/21/2018 9:48:12 AM
Metadata
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Template:
CITYWIDE
Doc Type
Historical Records
Subdivision Name
Jefferson Place
Property Address Number
724
Property Address Street Name
Jefferson
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Resource Number: 5BL 11298 <br />Temporary Resource Number: 157508426009 <br />V. HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONS <br />31. Original use(s): Domestic, Single Dwelling <br />32. Intermediate use(s): N/A <br />33. Current use(s): Domestic, Single Dwelling <br />34. Site type(s): Urban residence <br />35. Historical background: <br />This building is part of Jefferson Place, the first residential subdivision in Louisville. <br />This property at 724 Jefferson was owned for about 90 years by members of the Schmelzer (also known as the <br />"Smelzer") family. The family consisted of the parents and their four children who grew to adulthood, never married, <br />and lived in this house. The last child of the family died in 1997 at the age of 96. <br />This parcel consists of two lots in Block 6: Lot 17 and Lot 18. Property records indicate that Charles Welch, the <br />developer of Jefferson Place, sold Lot 17 to Edward Schmelzer no later than 1893 and sold Lot 18 to him no later <br />than 1895. The 1909 Drumm's Wall Map of Louisville shows that the house at that time was in its entirety located on <br />Lot 17. <br />Edward Schmelzer Sr. was born in 1863 and Susanna Schmelzer was born in 1866, both in the Tyrol region of <br />Austria. Edward came to the US in 1886 or 1887, according to information on census records. Susanna came to the <br />US in 1892 or 1893. There is some indication that they married after Susanna's arrival in the US. They were both in <br />Louisville by 1893-4. Edward worked as a coal miner in Louisville. He died in 1944 and Susanna died in 1945. <br />The County gives 1900 as an estimated date of construction for this house, but it was likely constructed earlier. <br />Boulder County has sometimes been found to be in error with respect to historic buildings in Louisville. In this case, <br />there is some indication that the house was constructed prior to 1900, as Edward Schmelzer owned the lot that <br />would have the house built on it by 1893 and owned both lots by 1895; he had a wife and children who lived with him <br />in Louisville starting in 1893-94; and he did not own any other property in Louisville. <br />The property in question is outside of the boundaries of the Sanborn Maps that were done for Louisville in 1893, <br />1900, and 1908 (they focused on the downtown business district and La Farge Avenue only). <br />The house at 724 Jefferson does appear on the 1909 Drumm's Wall Map of Louisville and on the Methodist Church <br />Map of Louisville that was made in circa 1923-25. <br />Assessor cards completed by the County in 1948 and 1956 indicate that at some point during the period between <br />those years, the house was moved back on the property and remodeled. A comparison of the layout of the house <br />from before and after this move and remodeling indicates that the layout of the house was mostly unchanged. <br />However, something that has changed is that the original house was located on Lot 17 (as indicated on the 1909 <br />Drumm's Wall Map), and now the house appears to be situated on both lots. It is not known whether this occurred as <br />a result of expansion of the house southward towards Lot 18, or as a result of the house being moved on the <br />property. <br />The children of Susanna and Edward Schmelzer Sr. were Gertrude (1893-1922); Theresia (1894-1981); Louis (1897- <br />1957); and Edward Jr. (1901-1997). Gertrude died of tuberculosis at the age of only 26. Louis and Edward Jr. worked <br />as coal miners. In addition, Louis was the manager of "Johnnie's Place," a billiards hall on Main Street, in the 1930s <br />and in 1940. Edward did construction work in the 1950s. Family members were active in the St. Louis Catholic <br />Church. Son Edward "Peggy" Schmelzer is remembered for giving memorable nicknames to his friends and <br />acquaintances; many of them stuck. <br />Census records for 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 all place the family in this location at 724 Jefferson. <br />From 1945 to 1957, this was the home of Louis, Theresia, and Edward Jr.; from 1957 to 1981, it was the home of just <br />Theresia and Edward Jr.; and from 1981 until the mid 1980s, it is believed to have been the home of just Edward Jr. <br />None of the four children married, and the entire family of six is buried together in Boulder's Green Mountain <br />Cemetery. <br />3 <br />
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