732 Jefferson Ave Historic Survey

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Resource Number: 5BL 11300 Temporary Resource Number: 157508427002 35. Historical background: This building is part of Jefferson Place, the first residential subdivision in Louisville. This property at 732 Jefferson was associated for 97 years with the Winkler family, the same Winkler family who owned and resided at 737 La Farge (5BL7982) in Jefferson Place. The two properties were almost across the alley from one another (the alley between Jefferson and La Farge). Another branch of the Winkler family owned and lived at 721 La Farge (5BL7982). The first owner of the property, after Jefferson Place developer Charles Welch, was Frank Senechal, who acquired it in 1894. Frank Senechal (1859-1943) and Josephine Senechal (1863-1945) were born in France. They came to the US in the late 1880s. Their daughter, Josephine, was born in 1895. At the time of the 1900 census, they were living on Baseline Rd. near Lafayette, Colorado and Frank was working as a coal miner. It is not known whether they lived in this house or when, as the early directories for Louisville did not indicate residences. However, Frank "Seneshal" is listed as being a resident of Louisville in the 1898 directory. The County gives 1900 as an estimated date of construction for this house, but it may have been constructed earlier. Boulder County has sometimes been found to be in error with respect to historic buildings in Louisville. In this case, no particular evidence was found that would shed light on its date of construction. The property in question is outside of the boundaries of the Sanborn Maps that were done for Louisville in 1893, 1900, and 1908 (they focused on the downtown business district and La Farge Avenue only). The house at 732 Jefferson does appear in the correct location on the 1909 Drumm's Wall Map of Louisville and on the Methodist Church Map of Louisville that was made in circa 1923-25. By a deed recorded in 1903, Frank and Josephine Senechal transferred the property to Mary Winkler. Mary Winkler had been married to Joseph Winkler until he passed away in 1902, and their family lived at 737 La Farge very close by (beginning in 1895). Mary (Marie) Winkler had the maiden name of Gredler, which was another German speaking Louisville family that had come from Austria. Joseph and Mary Winkler emigrated from Austria (Joseph and Mary came in 1881) and lived in Illinois before coming to Louisville. Joseph (born 1853) and Mary Winkler (born 1863) had five children: Emma (Emily), Louise (Lucy), Frank, Albert, and Herman. In 1904, the widowed Mary Winkler married John B. Stretz of Louisville's German Stretz family. He was also a coal miner. He came to live with Mary and her children at 737 La Farge. Of the five Winkler children, Emma and Louise married and lived elsewhere; Albert and Herman continued to live at 737 La Farge; and Frank J. Winkler became the owner and resident of this house, 732 Jefferson. Frank J. Winkler was born in Illinois in 1890. At the time of the 1920 census, he was living with his parents and brothers at 737 La Farge and working as a coal miner. By the 1930s, he had apparently stopped being a miner, even when coal mines were still open in the area, and he became a carpenter. For the period before the early 1920s, no person could be found to have definitely lived at 732 Jefferson. Mary Winkler Stretz, the owner, may have used it as a rental or for family members. In 1920, however, Frank J. Winkler married Bernice Manchester of Boulder, and directories show that by 1923, they were living at 732 Jefferson, which was still owned by Frank's mother. Bernice Manchester Winkler had been born in Michigan in 1893. Her sister, Doris Manchester, married Harry Jenkins of Louisville and they lived one block away at 721 Grant Avenue (5BL946). Frank and Bernice Winkler had two sons, Bernard (1922-1999) and Wendell (1925-2003). The 1930 census shows the family living at 732 Jefferson. Meanwhile, the owner of 732 Jefferson, Mary Winkler Stretz, died in 1928. The property at 732 Jefferson was eventually conveyed to Frank Winkler by his siblings (all heirs to Mary's property). 3