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Pearl Streets. Davidson then discovered the Niwot coal mine and, subsequently, formed the
<br />Davidson Coal and Iron Company (DCIC), which owned more than 7,000 acres of land next to
<br />his own 600-acre farm in east Boulder. In 1872, Davidson constructed a ditch (Davidson Ditch)
<br />that took water off South Boulder Creek and ran for 11 miles across what is now Davidson Mesa
<br />to what is now northern Louisville. The ditch played a vital role in developing coal mining and
<br />agriculture in Boulder County (Black 2017).
<br />Louis Nawatny, a German immigrant, was born in 1835. He was a mid -level manager for the UP
<br />when the first transcontinental railroad was constructed between 1863 and 1869 (Avenue L
<br />Architects 2013:4-2). Nawatny arrived in Boulder County by at least the mid-1870s and became
<br />a respected citizen and construction and labor manager. Welch became interested in opening a
<br />new coal mine in Boulder County and was drawn to Nawatny for his experience, reputation, and
<br />lack of association with DCIC. On July 25, 1877, Nawatny leased the exclusive right to mine
<br />coal on 160 acres of land owned by David Kerr, northeast of the present-day intersection of SH
<br />42 and 96th Street, for 15 years. In return, Nawatny gave Kerr a royalty of five cents per ton of
<br />coal. The next day, Nawatny assigned the lease to Welch for one dollar and, on August 26, 1877,
<br />Welch entered into a land contract to purchase 240 acres north of Kerr's farm for $4,800, or $20
<br />per acre. This was an inflated rate for the time. After Welch had both the lease and the adjacent
<br />240 acres, he filed both transactions with the Boulder County Clerk. Nawatny then constructed a
<br />two-story house on what was then U.S. government land, just west of the railroad tracks that ran
<br />past Kerr's property, on the present-day southwest corner of Front and Pine Streets in Louisville.
<br />On February 11, 1878, Welch replaced Nawatny and Kerr's 15-year lease with one between
<br />Welch and Kerr for 75 years. Welch initially appointed Nawatny superintendent of the new mine
<br />(called the Welch Mine) but soon hired a replacement manager who had more coal mining
<br />experience. Welch shifted Nawatny to developing the town of Louisville (Lindquist 2010).
<br />In 1878, Welch provided financial support for Nawatny to purchase land from the federal
<br />government. Nawatny filed a town plat, comprising 20 acres and 85 lots, on the land and named
<br />the town of Louisville after himself (Lindquist 2010:11). By May of that year, approximately 75
<br />people lived within the plat. Nawatny, or a representative, applied for a local post office on May
<br />7, 1878, listing Nawatny's wife, Kate, as postmaster (Avenue L Architects 2013:4-2; Lindquist
<br />2010:12).
<br />In 1880, approximately 450 people, including about 180 miners, lived in the town of Louisville,
<br />with 130 other people living on surrounding farms. Only 30 people, representing approximately
<br />six percent of the town's inhabitants, were born in the United States; most of the others were
<br />immigrants from western Europe (Avenue L Architects 2013:4-8). The Town of Louisville was
<br />incorporated on May 26, 1882, and citizens elected John H. Simpson, who sold dry goods, boots,
<br />shoes, groceries, hardware, produce, and building materials, as the first mayor (Lindquist 2010).
<br />George Giles was one of the town's earliest residents; as a carpenter, he built many of the town's
<br />early houses (Avenue L Architects 2013:4-17). Louisville was not founded by a coal mining or
<br />other company; rather, it grew organically as different investors platted different subdivisions,
<br />businesspeople opened diverse stores to meet demands, and people from Britain, Europe (e.g.,
<br />Austria and Germany and, later, Italy, France, and Eastern Europe), and the United States moved
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