1021 LaFarge Ave History - Laserfiche WebLink

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card. The website gives 1920 as the date of construction of this house, but there does not appear to be a basis for that date since the Assessor card is silent. Boulder County has sometimes been found to be in error with respect to the date of construction of Louisville buildings, so other evidence is looked to. In this case, the information from the Di Francia family that E.J. Di Francia had built these three houses for three of his daughters could not be true if the house was constructed in 1920, as he died in 1918. Also, he had already purchased Lots 5-8, on which the three houses were built, by 1905. Most significantly, the footprint of the house at 1021 La Farge is shown, along with those of the houses at 1013 La Farge and 1045 La Farge, on the 1909 Drumm's Wall Map of Louisville. Looking at the dates given by the County for the construction of the other two similar houses on each side of 1021 La Farge, the County gives 1906 as the construction date of 1013 La Farge and 1935 as the construction date of 1029 La Farge. For the same reasons given for why 1920 is not a realistic construction date for 1021 La Farge, 1935 does not seem to be an accurate date of construction for 1029 La Farge. However, "1906" is a plausible construction date for not only 1013 La Farge, but also 1021 and 1029 La Farge, particularly since Di Francia had purchased all of these lots in 1905. For these reasons, and in the absence of other information, the estimated date of construction is presumed to be "circa 1906." It is worth noting that in 1906, there were already six daughters in the family and the oldest Di Francia daughter was already 13 years old. It is possibly that the 1920 construction date given by the County for 1021 La Farge refers to the date of an addition or remodel, which is what the County Assessor would have been concerned with in terms of ascertaining the correct tax assessment. It is also possible that the 1920 construction date represents the average between the actual or estimated construction date and a remodel/addition date, a system that county assessor offices in Colorado are believed to have at times followed. Winifred Davis Ownership, 1927-1963 In 1927, Winifred Davis (1882-1963) purchased 1021 La Farge from Maria Di Francia for herself and her husband, Stephen "Steve" Davis. (It was not unusual for a married woman in Louisville to take title to property instead of her husband, and family stories suggest that it was due to the risk that her husband would be killed in a mine accident.) They were both from the county of Glamorganshire, Wales and came to the U.S. in 1903. The 1910 federal census shows them to be living in Louisville (but apparently renting a different home) by that time. He worked as a coal miner. Directories indicate that by 1916, they were living at either 1013 or 1021 La Farge. The 1920 census records also suggest, due to the proximity on the page of their names and 4