825 Lee St Trott-Downer Cabins 2017__Updated 2021

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Louisville's mining history extends to the culture that grew around the mining economy. People didn't have much, lived in small structures in tight -knit neighborhoods, often rented rather than owned, and made do (and were inventive with) with the resources available to them. This was already the case in Louisville, but it was particularly true during the Depression years when the cabins were built. To many, these two cabins represent a counterpoint to a later time when residents are fortunate to be enjoying a more comfortable lifestyle. In 2016, the Louisville Historical Museum included images of these two cabins in both public presentations that were given on "Tiny Houses With a History" about the prevalence and history of small houses in Louisville. According to the 2000 Architectural Survey Forms, Cabin #1 (to the south) is 198 square feet and Cabin #2 (to the north) is 216 square feet. Development of East Louisville Addition The history of the East Louisville Addition originated with Charles C. Welch, a prominent businessman and figure in Colorado history who started the first coal mine in Louisville and was the primary person behind the establishment of Louisville as a town. His wife, R. Jeannette Welch, transferred the land to brothers William J. Lee and George A. Lee, who platted the area in 1906, thereby creating the East Louisville Addition. The subdivision is located on the opposite side of the railroad tracks from the commercial core of Old Town Louisville and most of the rest of the town. Houses in the East Louisville neighborhood are characterized by their close proximity to Miners Field, a historic ball field dating back to the late 1800s, and to their close proximity to the railroad. Not only is the main railroad line nearby, but a railroad spur cut through from northwest to southeast. The cabins at 825 Lee are close to Miners Field and were notably close to the railroad spur, which is now gone, and to Miners Field, located just northeast of the cabins. This neighborhood historically had a high number of immigrant residents. Earliest Ownership of Lots, to 1930s In 1908, after having platted East Louisville in 1906, the Lee brothers sold Outlots 1 and 2 (on which the cabins were later constructed) to August Seeger. Property records indicate that August and Mina Seeger sold the lots to William Jopling in around the same year. William Jopling had been born in England in 1849 and he passed away by 1918. There is no evidence that he ever lived in a structure on the lots; the 1910 census records show that he was living in Old Town Louisville on the west side of the railroad tracks, not the east side where these lots are located. However, the 1909 Drumm's Wall Map of Louisville does show a structure existing on Outlot 2, seen here. Nothing else is known about that building. The area in which the cabins are located is circled. 2