713 Spruce St Historic Survey (Demolished)

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Resource Number: 5BL 11319 Temporary Resource Number: 157508414007 Charles W. and Mary Jane Taylor had three children, two of whom, Willie and Alice, were born before the Taylors sold 713 Spruce. In subsequent years, the family lived at 1101 Jefferson in Louisville. The County gives 1905 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 1893, Charles W. Taylor conveyed the property to his wife, Mary Jane, and she granted McAllister Lumber& Supply Co. a deed of trust on the property. This suggests the construction of a building on the property with lumber supplied by McAllister, which took a security interest in the house. In addition, the 1904 directory for Louisville lists Charles W. and Mary Jane Taylor as living on "Spruce btw. Jefferson & Lafarge," which is an accurate description of the location of 713 Spruce. (It is not clear from the information in the 1900 census whether Charles and Mary Jane Taylor were actually living at this residence at that time, although they were living in Louisville.) Based on these pieces of evidence, it can be concluded that the original house at 713 Spruce was likely constructed in the 1890s and not as late as 1905. 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 713 Spruce does appear on the Methodist Church Map of Louisville that was made in circa 1923-25. However, it is not possible to tell if it is in the correct location on the 1909 Drumm's Wall Map of Louisville because of map lettering that covers that area of the map. In 1905, the parcel was expanded by the addition of a half lot to the west. This was the east half of Lot 20 and it was conveyed to the Taylors by the owner of the parcel at the northeast corner of Jefferson and Spruce, William Austin, who had a store there. The same day, Charles W. and Mary J. Taylor sold 713 Spruce to Henry F. Schreiter. He owned it for one year, until 1906. The next owner was Joseph Lepenske, who owned 713 Spruce until 1917. This may have been the Joseph Lepenske who was born in 1873 or 1874 and who in 1918 was living in Frederick, Colorado. In 1917, Giuseppe Molinari purchased 713 Spruce. He owned it for five years. The 1918 directory for Louisville shows him to be living at this location at that time, as do the 1920 census records. He was born in Italy in 1878 and was a coal miner. He came to the US in circa 1890. One area mine at which he is known to have worked was the Brooks Mine. He and his wife, Mary, had four children while living in this house in 1920: John, age 10; Robert, age 5; Katherine, age 3; and Anthony, age 2. By the time of the 1930 census, they had moved to California. Mary was his second wife and appears to have been the biological mother of the three youngest children. She was born in Colorado of Italian parents. In 1922, 713 Spruce was purchased by the owner and resident of the property to the east, Martha Eberharter, who lived at 801 La Farge (5BL852). The Eberharter family had a store at 805 La Farge. More information about the Eberharter family is available in the inventory forms for 801 La Farge and 805 La Farge. 4