1219 Courtesy Rd History - Laserfiche WebLink

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Henry H.F. Wigton Development, 1957-1961 In 1957, the Town of Louisville granted a deed to Henry Ford Harding Wigton (1922-2005) for industrial use and development of the original Caledonia Place lot. The terms of the contract required Wigton to develop the property within one year; allow the Town to re -purchase the property if the land was abandoned or unused; or allow Wigton to purchase the land for $1,000 after development. Henry Wigton was born in 1922 in Pueblo, Colorado and attended Texas Tech University in 1940 to study chemical engineering. As a young man, he also worked at the Aluminum Co in Arkansas and enlisted in the military in 1942 during World War II. By 1948, he was appointed as an instructor in chemical engineering at the University of Colorado, Boulder. In 1958, Wigton was a member of the Industrial Development Committee for the State Chamber of Commerce. According to several Louisville Times articles from 1958-1961, he visited with members of the Louisville Town Board to discuss a Chamber of Commerce program designed to assist small communities with bringing in industries to promote growth and employment. At that time, Wigton was planning on developing the property on Courtesy Rd. for manufacturing chemicals to be sold in Denver, although the nature and purpose of the chemicals is not stated. The company name was Wigton Developmental Laboratory. Wigton built the current building located at 1219 Courtesy Rd. in 1958. Current building owner, Mike Deborski provided anecdotal evidence that the building blocks were laid by brothers Frank and Albert Delpizzo, "They said they were paid 10 cents a block and had to supply the hod. Over the decades, I've heard a handful of folks state that our building's first use was for research as a sub -contractor for Rocky Flats." In 1959, the parcel was re -platted to "Lot 6, Block A, Industrial Area." In 1961, however, the Town of Louisville declared that Wigton had not met the terms of the contract and had abandoned the property. Wigton maintained he had a prospective buyer and paid $1,000 to claim the deed. Louisville Board Members returned the check and reclaimed the property. By 1962, Wigton and his family had moved to California where he had a long and successful career as a chemical engineer and inventor. He still retained some portion of the property which he later subdivided and sold in 1972. Henry Wigton