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Bridget Bacon Louisville Historical Museum Department of Library & Museum Services City of Louisville, Colorado August 2021 Cityof Louisville COLORADO • SINCE 187E 614 Grant Avenue History Legal Description: All of Lot 6 and north %2 of Lot 7, Block 12, Pleasant Hill Addition Year of Construction: circa 1905 Summary: With previous owners and residents of this property having been drawn to coal mining work in Louisville from Slovakia, Italy, Mexico, France, and England, this house represents a spectrum of Louisville history and residents. History of Pleasant Hill Addition The subdivision in which this house is located, Pleasant Hill Addition, was platted in 1894. The subdivision was developed in the name of Orrin Welch, the half-brother of Charles C. Welch. Charles Welch was the person most responsible for the establishment of Louisville in 1878 after he established the first coal mine in what would become Louisville in 1877. Orrin Welch is not known to have ever lived in Colorado, and it is Charles C. Welch who is thought to have been the de facto developer. Kasenga Ownership, 1905-1908; Date of Construction On January 19, 1905, developer Orrin Welch, through Charles C. Welch, conveyed ownership of the lots at 614 Grant to George "Kaceange," which is a variation of the spelling of the name Kasenga. George Kasenga (born 1878) came from Uloza, Slovakia in the late 1890s. In 1903 in Pueblo, he married Mary Hibler (born about 1884). She had come from Slovakia in about 1901 or 1902. Evidence suggests that she was the sister of Gasper Hibler, who owned the house at 612 Grant (next door to 614 Grant) from 1905 to 1937. Although evidence could not be found that would verify that Gasper Hibler and his family in fact ever lived at 612 Grant, it does appear that the lots at 612 Grant and 614 Grant were purchased in coordination by these related families. In 1904 or 1905, the Kasengas moved from Pueblo to Louisville. 1