Reconnaissance Level Historic Architecture Survey Report, City of Louisville, Colorado

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From introduction: "As with many communities along the Front Range of Colorado, the first non-Native American settlers in Louisville came seeking a fortune in gold following the rich deposits found by the Captain Thomas Aikin party in 1858. Fortunes were made, but usually by selling supplies to Argonauts as opposed to pulling gold from the ground. Once frustrated miners turned their attention from gold, many stayed in Colorado due to the fine agricultural possibilities and, particularly in Louisville, coal mining. The City of Louisville was conceived in the discovery of underground coal seams coupled with railroad tracks built in 1878, which provided the crucial link necessary to get the coal to market. As with many Colorado towns that took form in the context of nearby mining operations, Louisville was built to serve the needs of the miners and their families. This is why, despite its proximity to the stunning view of the flatirons and snowcapped mountaintops, Louisville was built in a gully-the same gully as the first coal mine for which it existed (Louisville Historian #74, 2). One characteristic that sets Louisville apart from other mining communities is its architectural diversity. This is due to the minimal influence that the mine owners had in creating worker housing, which grew as demand necessitated and was built by individual workers or builders. Mining defined the initial boom period of Louisville for nearly fifty years and will be covered in this document in the period beginning in 1858 and closing in the 1910s as labor strikes halted production." Funding for this project was provided in part through a 2012 Historic Preservation Fund grant to the City of Louisville (project number CO-12-022) administered by the Colorado State Historic Preservation Office (grant number 08-12-41912) and the State, Tribal, and Local Plans and Grants Division, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Louisville, Colorado is a Certified Local Government.

Reconnaissance Level Historic Architecture Survey Report, City of Louisville, Colorado

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