900 Main Historic Structure Assessment

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DAA JDESIGN ARCH ITECTURE+INTER IORS 2.0 HISTORY AND USE The following report was written by Gigi Yang of the Louisville Historical Museum. 900 Main History Legal Description: W 73 FT LOT 7 BLK 1 LOUISVILL 0 T Year of Construction: 1947 v�Summary: The history of 900 Main contributes to our understanding of Louisville's early business growth and `— development and the use of property ownership for economic security, especially for women. The businesses identified at this location are representative of changes in Louisville's population, social trends, commercial district, and sustainable re -use of historic structures. History of site prior to current building: This property is part of the original plat of Louisville registered by Louis Nawatny in 1878. It was sold by Nawatny in 1880 to John Little for $100. The early history of this property is documented in three sections as John Little immediately divided and sold the Northwest quarter, the Southwest quarter, and East half as individual lots. While the Northwest and East lots appear to be undeveloped in 1880, the sale of the Southwest lot to Joseph Derfler notes, "quarter of lot 7 block 1 and House and all improvements on % of lot." Initial owners of the lots reflect Louisville's early immigrant demographics and family names including Joseph Derfler and John Stoiber both from Austria, Victor Helburg from Germany, and John Little and John Carlton both from England; whose families all arrived in the US and moved to Louisville in the 1870s and 1880s. By 1910, members of the Carlton family owned all three partial lots. John Carleton (1838-1913) purchased the East lot in 1880 and the Northwest lot in 1890. Jane Carlton (1849-1942) purchased the Southwest lot in 1910. After John Carleton's death in 1913, his daughter Jane Ann Clark (1869- 1938) sold the Northwest and East lots to Jane Carlton in 1923, making her owner of the complete Lot 7 Block 1. The Carlton family has one of the earliest histories in Louisville beginning with brothers Thomas (b.1824) and John Carlton/Carleton emigrating from Trimby, Cumberland, England with their families in 1879. The Carltons were part of the initial wave of skilled coal miners from England, Wales, and Ireland that helped establish coal mining methods in Louisville. Thomas Carlton became the first president of the Acme Mine that was in operation in Louisville from 1888-1928. His son, David Carlton, was president of the Louisville Coal Mining company established in 1889. David Carlton married Jane Trimble Carlton in Cumberland, England in 1868. Shortly after arriving in Louisville, David Carlton died in 1892, leaving his widow, Jane, with six daughters. MRS, GANG TREMBLE. CAR1 T01 Of rA-i--UAE. Cnle., wh. dird Pry day to Ora Tan", Cur.. rh1l. Undated photo of Jane Carlton fromt the Bicentennial rW11as Mr dauslbr Mw }fanny D 1— MM Caruen n,w b". , edition of the Louisville Times, 1978. r•4id—1 aS G.M Hue and l.outr Olk% c.l.., for 900 MAIN PAGE - 5