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Gigi Yang <br />Louisville Historical Museum <br />Department of Library & Museum Services <br />City of Louisville, Colorado <br />November 2023 <br />LL COtyof Louisville <br />1155 Pine St. <br />Legal description: TR 696 8-1S-69 (SEC T R TR PT SEC 8 T1S R69W) <br />Year of Construction: circa 1920-25 (see discussion below) <br />Summary: The history of this house is notable for its unusual location inside the "wye" formed by three <br />sets of railroad tracks and the influence of William Lee on the development of east Louisville. <br />Additionally, ownership by the Desailly family and later the Duran family represent the experiences of <br />French and Hispanic residents, both important and sometimes marginalized communities in Louisville. <br />Neighborhood Context; Development of Neighborhood by William Lee <br />To provide context to the area in which 1155 Pine is located, several houses on the north side of Pine <br />just east of the railroad tracks are in an area in downtown Louisville that was never added to the town <br />as a normal subdivision with lots and blocks. The original reason for this likely goes back to the location <br />of coal mines in the Louisville area and the placement of railroad spurs that left the main tracks to reach <br />these coalmines. The buildings along this stretch of Pine located between the railroad tracks and <br />Highway 42 were historically in an area created by the intersection of three sets of railroad tracks. <br />According to an autobiography entitled From Happy Valley to the Mountaintop (Daniel Publishing, 2002) <br />written by Lee Evans, who was the grandson of William and Ruby Lee, this triangle of land was located <br />within the "wye" of the three sets of connected tracks. According to Lee Evans, the wye was used for <br />turning trains. The north -south railroad line on the left is the main line that still exists. The other two are <br />spurs that served coalmines and are no longer present. <br />Because this area of Pine Street was not platted, the legal descriptions of these properties are not <br />expressed in blocks and lots. Also, the addresses of these properties under Louisville's previous address <br />system appear to have not followed a pattern, making it difficult to use old Louisville directories to <br />identify what families may have lived at 1155 Pine prior to 1940. <br />Charles C. Welch started the first coal mine (the Welch Mine on Empire Road) in the area in 1877. Welch <br />and his family members purchased property in and around original downtown Louisville in anticipation <br />of an influx of workers at the new coalmines. Welch family members owned the Jefferson Place <br />Addition, the Pleasant Hill Subdivision, and a number of downtown lots. Charles Welch's wife, Rebecca <br />10 <br />