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Resource Number: 5BL961.6
<br />Temporary Resource Number: NIA Architectural Inventory Form
<br />(Page 3 of 5)
<br />V. HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONS
<br />31. Original use(s): Commerce and Trade / Department Store
<br />32. Intermediate use(s): Commerce and Trade / Specialty Store
<br />33. Current use(s): Commerce and Trade / Specialty Store
<br />34. Site type(s): Commercial Building
<br />35. Historical Background
<br />This building was constructed in 1905 on land owned by Dr. Charles F. Wolfer. Originally known as the State Mercantile
<br />Company, this was a dry goods store, and a subsidiary of the National Fuel Company. By 1916, the business had been taken
<br />over by Louisville brothers James A. and Frank N. Carveth, and their partner, George A. Dalby. Known as "Carveth Bros. and
<br />Dalby, General Merchandise", this business existed here until the 1950s, spanning two generations of the Carveth and Dalby
<br />families. In the 1960s, the business evolved into Dalby's Supermarket. Joseph F. Dalby, a former city councilman, was the
<br />proprietor. Both the Carveth and Dalby families had come to Louisville prior to the turn of the twentieth century, and initially
<br />had been engaged in carpentry and mining. In 1904, prior to starting their business, Frank Carveth was working as a miner,
<br />while James was employed as the bookkeeper at the Matchless Mine. George Dalby, meanwhile, was involved with the Miners
<br />Trading Company, located a block to the south.
<br />After Dalby's Supermarket closed in the late 1960s, this building was occupied by the Mill End Carpet Company. Within a
<br />year or two, Mill End gave way to Sears Carpet World, which managed to exist here until only 1974. The building then faced
<br />an uncertain future, until it was perhaps saved by the loss of another building. On September 1, 1974, the Steinbaugh Lumber
<br />Company building, located a block to the east on Front Street, burned to the ground in a disastrous arson fire. Rather than
<br />closing the business, its owner Glenn Steinbaugh, decided to persevere by relocating it here to the old State Mercantile
<br />Building at the northwest corner of Main and Spruce Streets. Steinbaugh Hardware then operated in this location until 1997
<br />when it was finally forced to close its doors, driven out of business by Eagle Hardware and Home Depot warehouse stores which
<br />had opened nearby. Glenn's son, Tom Steinbaugh, was the business's last owner. (Starting out as a blacksmith shop,
<br />Steinbaugh's Hardware Company had been in business in Louisville since the 1880s. For more information on Steinbaugh's
<br />Hardware, and the Steinbaugh family, please see the Architectural Inventory Form for 945 Front Street (5BL951).)
<br />36. Sources of Information
<br />(Boulder County) "Real Estate Appraisal Card - Urban Master", on file at the Boulder Carnegie Library.
<br />Conarroe, Carolyn. The Louisville Story, Louisville: Louisville Times Inc., 1978.
<br />"Hardware Store to Undergo Renovation." Boulder Daily Camera, September 1997, n.p. [article taken from clipping file at the
<br />Louisville Public Library.]
<br />Mehls, Steven F., and Mehls, Carol Drake. "Colorado Historical Society, Historic Building Inventory Record", (801 Main Street),
<br />July 28, 1985. On file at the Colorado Historical Society, Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, Denver, CO.
<br />Polk's Boulder County Directory [generally published annually], Denver, Kansas City, and Salt Lake City: R.L. Polk and
<br />Company Publishers.
<br />Polk's Longmont City Directory, [generally published annually], Denver, Kansas City, and Salt Lake City: R.L. Polk and
<br />Company, Publishers, 1966 - 1997.
<br />Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, dated August 1893, November 1900, and August 1908.
<br />"Steinbaugh Hardware Closing." Louisville Times, March 27, 1997, p. 1.
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