Oak & Adams House - 930 5TH ST

 Print Listing Historical Name - Oak & Adams House
Style - No Style, with Victorian elements
Built Year - 1883
State ID - 5WL2261

Description - This vernacular house is an irregular shaped, two story, brick structure with an asphalt shingle, intersecting gabled roof. It has a stone foundation and brick exterior. There is a concrete stone carved with “OAK” and “ADAMS” on the northwest corner of the house, facing the intersection of 5th Street and 10th Avenue. The entrance is on the west end of the north elevation. The entry has a hipped roof and has wide-board wood siding and is obviously not original. The house is vacant and boarded up, so there is no door and only a few second story windows. The window openings have stone decorative lintels and stone sills. There is also a painted green band of concrete (?) between the foundation and the brick. The one story brick porch has wood support posts with decorative brackets and molding. The porch is located on the west elevation of the south end of the house. It is shaded by a metal canopy. Windows have stone or concrete sills and decorative crown-shaped lintels, and there is a one story bay window on the west elevation. Windows are paired on the first and second stories of the east and west facing intersecting gabled portion of the house. The brick chimney is located in the middle of the house at the intersection of the gables. There is a one-story south wing where the porch is that is likely an addition put on soon after the house was completed.

Historical Background - William Ross, a local stone mason, built this house for himself in 1883. It is unknown how long he lived there, however, he was a part of the 5th Greeley Artesian Well Company which drilled on the south part of his lot in May and June of 1886. He purchased the property from Rufus G. Bouker in 1883 and Kate Ross Bolen (probably the daughter of William Ross) and Robert Bolen sold it to Henrietta L. Rothchild in 1891. William Ross was a widower from Scotland. Henrietta L. Warner (probably formerly Henrietta L. Rothchild) sold the property to George Lovell in 1892 who owned it until 1927, when his estate sold it to M.E. Hagan. The City Directories indicate that George Lovell died prior to 1913, and his wife Mrs. Delia M. Lovell lived there from at least 1898 until her death in 1926. Delia lived in the home until her death in November 1926 at the age of 100 years old. She was described as having a clear mind at her death, having been interviewed at her 100th birthday, where she “discussed many subjects of present day interest with keen intelligence.” (Greeley Tribune, Nov. 23, 1926) She was active in a number of organizations including the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Woman’s Relief Corps and was an organizer of the Eastern Star in Greeley. She rented rooms out to several people including Frederick H. Badger and his wife Fannie, her niece and adopted daughter, from approximately 1903-1918. Badger owned a produce business called F.H. Badger & Son. He later worked as manager at Monte Cristo Rubber Company. Frederick Badger was also a farmer, who worked to increase efficiency of commerce by eliminating the middleman between the farmer and the consumer. He was an organizer of Farmer’s Mercantile Company of Greeley, which shipped produce and was a partner in a produce-shipping firm in Timnath, Colorado. He raised cattle and sheep, served as director and superintendent of the New Cache la Poudre Irrigating Company and was a major player in organizing the Cache La Poudre Reservoir Company and served as its president. He was killed when his car was struck by a train in Lucerne. His wife Fannie lived with Delia Lovell at this home for twenty years and she died in 1930. J.E. Shotwell, a mechanic and his wife Emma Lulu also lived there with Mrs. Lovell in 1920. M.E. Hagan sold it to Flora Lewis a few months after purchasing it in 1927, who then sold it to Catherine I. Shaw. Catherine and her husband Earl lived in the house from 1930 until 1944, when they sold it to Walter and Mary Lewis. The Lewises likely used the house as a rental property, as they are not listed as the residents. They in turn sold it to James & Mildred Swearengin, who sold it to Edith Nelson in 1947. Edith owned and lived in the house for three years, when she sold it. The parcel was split when she sold it in 1950. Various other residents include Lester M. Rash, who worked at the Farr Company, the Peak Bean Corporation and the D & D Bean Corporation. Manuel Pettyjohn purchased the house in approximately 1968 and lived there with his family until his death and his wife Ruby continued to live there until 1996, when it was sold to the City of Greeley and Greeley Urban Renewal Authority.