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Resource Number: 5BL919 <br />Temporary Resource Number: 157508425003 <br />Louis (also referred to as "Alois") and Josephine (also referred to as "Josepha") Gutfelder came to the United States <br />in 1880. The 1880 federal census appears to show the two of them and one child living in Nederland under the name <br />"Godfeldter." By 1885, according to the Colorado State census, they were living in Louisville and they had been <br />joined by Louis/Alois' father, also named Alois (1819-1895). <br />Louis was born in 1849 and Josephine in 1858. They were Austrian by birth. Louis acquired this property from <br />Charles Welch in 1891, according to the online Boulder County property records. <br />Louis Gutfelder worked as a coal miner in the Louisville area, as did his sons. The Manuscript Collections for the <br />archives of the University of Colorado at Boulder Libraries lists among its holdings a United Mine Workers badge <br />from 1898 that belonged to Alois Gutfelder of Louisville, Colorado. <br />The Gutfelder children who survived to adulthood were Annie, Louis Jr., Frank, Tony, Katherine, Theresa, and <br />Bertha. The family is listed in directories as living in Louisville in the 1890s when families (as opposed to just <br />businesses) were first listed in the directories. <br />The Sanborn maps for 1893, 1900, and 1908 show that the first buildings on this parcel were actually along Spruce, <br />and 728 La Farge had not yet been constructed. The 1904 Louisville directory shows members of the "Goodfellow" <br />family living at "Lafarge & Spruce," which could be the location of 800 Spruce (5BL925), owned by Louis Gutfelder as <br />part of this property. Louis Gutfelder sold the parcel at 800/804 Spruce in 1934. <br />Boulder County gives 1930 as the date of construction for 728 La Farge. The report on this property from the 2000 <br />historical survey states: "Boulder County Assessor records list 1930 as this house's date of construction. The house's <br />American Foursquare style is more indicative of houses built in the 1910s ..." <br />The 1909 Drumm's Wall Map of Louisville shows that although the house doesn't appear on the Sanborn maps of <br />1893, 1900, or 1908, it does appear on the 1909 map as a square building in the approximately correct location on <br />the relevant lots. This also explains the house's architectural style more strongly being connected with the 1910s era <br />as opposed to 1930. <br />The usage of an older address for 728 La Farge also indicates that this house predates 1930. In the 1916 directory, <br />the Gutfelder family is listed as living at 231 La Farge. This is the same address as what is listed for the Gutfelder <br />family in directories from the 1920s and 1930s, suggesting that they were living in the same house the entire time <br />and that the house was not first built in 1930. <br />The 1910 directory lists the family as living on "Spruce," but the residents across the street at 729 La Farge <br />(5BL7981), listed immediately next to the Gutfelder family, are also listed as living on "Spruce." The 1920 and 1930 <br />census records both list the Gutfelder family as living on La Farge. <br />With respect to the Gutfelder children, some information is known. The 1911 directory lists son Frank Gutfelder as <br />city clerk. Son Louis Jr. is listed in the 1932 and 1936 directories as being a city councilman (who by then was living <br />with his family on Lincoln). Anna Gutfelder married into the Hocheder family of the Louisville area, while Teresa <br />married into the Kuenstler family. Bertha Gutfelder did not marry. <br />Josephine Gutfelder died in 1926. Daughter Bertha (1896-1970) continued to live in the house with her father and <br />with her brother Frank for several years. Louis Gutfelder died in 1937. The 1943 directory shows that Bertha <br />continued to live in the house, but apparently also rented out part of it, as Desire and Sarah Coet and Robert Coet <br />(likely Desire's brother) are listed as also residing in the house that year. It can be speculated that as a two story <br />house, it perhaps was divided into upstairs and downstairs apartments. Desire Coet (1895-1969) had come to <br />Louisville from Illinois with other members of the French Coet family and worked as a constable in Louisville. <br />Bertha Gutfelder sold 728 La Farge in 1947 to Alex and Naomi Merciez. Alex was the brother of Edith Merciez <br />Chiolino who lived across the street at 729 La Farge (5BL7981). The Merciez family, while originally French, came to <br />Louisville from Kansas. <br />Alex Merciez worked as a coal miner for 49 years and retired in 1959. He was a veteran of World War I and a <br />member of the American Legion in Louisville and the Louisville Rod and Gun Club. Alex and Naomi's children were <br />Alex Jr. and Richard. The 1956 directory lists Naomi Merciez as a cook at the Hacienda Restaurant, which was <br />3 <br />