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Resource Number: 5BL7977
<br />Temporary Resource Number: 157508436004
<br />extant. Lewis Wilson married May Wells of Missouri in about 1893 and they raised seven children in this home. Their
<br />son Arlo Wilson became Chief of Police in Louisville.
<br />Lewis Wilson worked at several coal mines in the Louisville area, including as foreman of the Rex #2 Mine, and was
<br />superintendent of the Acme Mine located nearby at Hutchinson & Roosevelt. According to Lewis Wilson's obituary in
<br />The Louisville Times, "He put in lots of time drilling and prospecting for coal veins around this area and in southern
<br />Colorado and was superintendent of several mines."
<br />Lewis Wilson conveyed Lots 8 and 9 to his wife, May Wilson, in 1904 by quit claim deed.
<br />The Census records show that the Wilson family may have lived on at least part of this property even earlier than
<br />1904. The 1900 federal census shows them listed between the family that lived at 601 La Farge at that time (the
<br />Wilcox/Wilcoxson family) and the family that lived at 633 La Farge at that time (the Stecker family). The 1900 census
<br />also shows that May Wilson's mother, Libbie Wells, was living with the family.
<br />Boulder County gives 1898 as the year of construction for this house. However, the house appears to have been
<br />constructed between the time of the 1900 Sanborn map and the time of the 1908 Sanborn map. (It is also shown in
<br />the correct location on the 1909 Drumm's Wall Map of Louisville.) Due to the fact that the house is shown on the
<br />1908 Sanborn map as sitting on both Lot 8 and Lot 9, it would appear that the house was not constructed earlier than
<br />1904, when it is believed that Lewis Wilson acquired the two lots from different owners. Thus, it would appear to have
<br />been constructed between 1904 and 1908.
<br />Directories show that Lewis and May lived at this house throughout the first half of the 1900s. Lewis' name was
<br />sometimes given as "Louis" in these directories, and May's name was sometimes given as "Mae." In 1904, they are
<br />listed as living on La Farge. For the directories of 1918, 1921, 1923, 1926, 1928, 1930, 1932, 1935, and 1936, the
<br />address is given as 121 La Farge. In 1939, which started to give addresses using a new address system that had
<br />been adopted, the address is given as 616 La Farge. 616 La Farge continued to be used to the present day, with the
<br />exception of 1943, when the address of 622 La Farge was used. (The 1943 directory has been found to list a number
<br />of slightly deviant address numbers.)
<br />May Wilson is believed to have died between 1946 and 1949, and soon after that, a Wilson daughter, Libbie Uhrich,
<br />came to live in the house with her children so that she could take care of her father, Lewis. Libbie is listed in
<br />directories as residing at this address in 1951, 1952-53, and 1953.
<br />Following the deaths of Lewis and May Wilson, their grandson, Ralph Wilson, came to own the house at 616 La
<br />Farge beginning in 1957. Ralph and his wife, Beatrice Maxwell Wilson, made it their home, as shown by Louisville
<br />directories of 1958, 1960, and 1966. Ralph Wilson's occupation could not be determined. Beatrice worked as an
<br />administrative assistant at the University of Colorado, according to her obituary.
<br />Following the death of Ralph Wilson in 1969, and that of Beatrice Wilson in 1983, the house became the property of
<br />their son, Michael, in 1984. It was conveyed out of the Wilson family in 2005.
<br />Sources of information
<br />Boulder County "Real Estate Appraisal Card — Urban Master," on file at the Carnegie Branch Library for Local History
<br />in Boulder, Colorado.
<br />Boulder County Clerk & Recorder's Office and Assessor's Office public records, accessed through
<br />http://recorder.bouldercounty.org.
<br />Directories of Louisville residents and businesses on file at the Louisville Historical Museum.
<br />Census records and other records accessed through www.ancestry.com .
<br />Drumm's Wall Map of Louisville, Colorado, 1909
<br />Sanborn Insurance Maps for Louisville, Colorado, 1893, 1900, and 1908
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