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Camfield House; Alpha Phi Sorority -
814 19TH ST
 Print Listing
Historical Name -
Camfield House
Style -
Foursquare with Craftsman style elements
Built Year -
1912
State ID -
5WL3747
Description -
This American Foursquare residence is a roughly rectangular, two story, brick structure with an asphalt shingle, hipped roof. Roof features include dormers, exposed rafter ends and wide overhanging eaves. The main façade has an entrance with two wood frame sidelights. The one-story, full-width porch has square posts and a central pediment matching the front gabled dormer. It has a brick wall surrounding the porch, which wraps partially around the side of the house.
Historical Background -
Lottie and Daniel Camfield purchased this property in February 1907 and hired Roeschlaub & Son of Denver to design the house in 1911 and 1912. Daniel lived in the house until his death in November 1914. Daniel A. Camfield was a very significant citizen of Greeley, having involved himself in irrigation and downtown Greeley commerce and being known as an “Empire Builder.”
He arrived in Greeley in 1881, when he was eighteen years of age, coming from Providence, Rhode Island. When he was old enough, he began purchasing land, eventually holding nearly 50,000 acres. He was actively involved in the development of irrigation in the area, including the Platte Valley from Greeley to Nebraska. The June 12, 1909 Greeley Tribune gave him the title of “Empire Builder” and said his work had created “the largest body of irrigated land in the country... at an average cost of $24.23 per acre, this work of private reclamation takes on the aspect of the most marvelous victory recorded in the peaceful conquest of the great West.” His obituary described his involvement in irrigation development. “The irrigation enterprises with which he has been connected, and in which he has been the moving spirit, would probably amount to from $10,000,000 to $15,000,000. They covered not only parts of Colorado, but Wyoming, Utah and New Mexico as well.” The obituary further indicates that he was involved in other interests besides irrigation, such as remodeling and adding to the Oasis Hotel and renaming it the Camfield Hotel, building the Camfield Court Building, helping organize the City National Bank and being a part owner of the Tribune-Republican Publishing Company.
He married Lottie Atkinson in 1887 and they had several children. He founded the town of Camfield in 1907, which was located directly east of Ault, and which existed until 1943. He died at age fifty-one in 1914, while on an extended trip to New York. A tribute to him in the November 10, 1914 Greeley Tribune states, “Primarily, D.A. Camfield was a builder, one of the greatest in Colorado’s history. In this respect his name deserves to rank with that of Moffat, Evans, Tabor, Stratton, Walsh and others. In the history of northern Colorado development he stands alone, the only other men who at all approached him as builder of irrigation enterprises were B.H. Eaton and B.D. Sandborn, both of whom have gone before. In the City of Greeley the only other man that ever approached him as a city builder was S.D. Hunter.”
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