Laserfiche WebLink
Under the "Historical background" section, the 1985 inventory record stated: "This was one of <br />several houses owned by the National Fuel Company and later sold." This statement appears to <br />suggest that there were other properties within Louisville itself that the National Fuel Company <br />owned. However, it is believed that the company didn't own any other land parcels in Louisville. <br />It is more likely that the inventory record was referring to the fact that the company owned <br />houses at a mine location such as the Monarch Mine #2 outside of Louisville that the company <br />later sold to people who moved them into town. <br />The "Historical background" section of the inventory record also noted that "[i]t is not typical <br />miner's housing since it is a two story Dutch Colonial Revival. It may have been the home of <br />someone of supervisory level." <br />The statement of significance states: "This is the only surveyed Dutch Colonial Revival structure <br />in Louisville. It has integrity of location and some structural integrity, despite an addition in <br />back and a porch addition." <br />The house was referred to as the "Koeppler House" in the 1985 survey, but a search of the <br />property records indicates that Joseph Koeppler owned the property for only two months in <br />1936. <br />John Unger Ownership, 1904-1907; Discussion of Date of Construction <br />Orrin Welch, the Pleasant Hill Addition developer, sold Lots 3, 4, and 5 in Block 7 to John Unger <br />in 1904 for $120. (The property would later be divided, resulting in 728 Grant and 732 Grant. <br />This occurred in the early 1950s.) <br />Boulder County gives 1904 as the date of construction for this house, both on the 1948 County <br />Assessor card and on the current website. The 1985 inventory record for 728 Grant also relied <br />on this date from the County. Boulder County has been found to be in error with respect to the <br />date of construction of some Louisville buildings, so other evidence is looked to. In this case, no <br />evidence indicating a different construction date was located. The house is shown in the correct <br />location on the 1909 Drumm's Wall Map at the Louisville Historical Museum. <br />The significance of the ownership by John Unger (who was born in 1865 in Austria) is that <br />Unger was a "carpenter & bldr," as stated in the 1906 directory for Louisville. He is known to <br />have built or added onto other houses in Louisville, and he could well have been the builder of <br />the house. The County's date of 1904 as the construction year seems consistent with this <br />information. The deed executed when Unger sold the property in 1907 states that the purchase <br />price was $1,775. <br />Harry Van Mater and the National Fuel Company Ownership, 1907-1936 <br />Next, Unger sold this house and property in 1907 to Harry Van Mater (1860-1932), a coal <br />operator who was the longtime President of the National Fuel Company. He then transferred <br />ownership to the National Fuel Company itself in 1912. <br />2 <br />