Copies of the deeds have been obtained from the Pueblo County Clerk & Recorder's Office. These documents have been converted into .pdf files. Since the copies of the deeds that we have are photographs, it was not easily practical to convert and merge the images into one .pdf document. We have decided to convert each image into a separate file. It is important to state that the legal description for 1007 Lake Avenue is Lots 41 & 42, Block 5, of the Lakewood Subdivision, City of Pueblo, County of Pueblo, State of Colorado. Normally, the legal description is not important, but when dealing with deeds, it is the only way to identify the property.
A series of purchases occurred prior to the house being built. Prior to 1898, the Lakewood subdivision was vacant land, but was quickly being built upon. The owners were the Lakewood Land Company. On July 5, 1898, the Lakewood Land Company sold Lots 48 & 49 to Etta D. Dickerson.
Warranty Deed
Grantor: Lakewood Land Co.
Grantee: Etta D. Dickerson
No. 89114, Book 190, Page 323
Instrument Date: 7/5/1898, Record Date: 7/9/1898
Page 323
Page 324, Part 1
Page 324, Part 2
Page 324, Part 3
Page 325
Historians, on page 325 (above), do you recognize the name of the President of the Lakewood Land Company? Click here to find out who it was.
Etta Dickerson owned the lots for less than a year. At this time, we know nothing about Etta Dickerson.
Warranty Deed
Grantor: Etta D. Dickerson
Grantee: J. Euclid Miles
No. 97319, Book 203, Page 30
Instrument Date: 3/17/1900, Record Date: 3/24/1900
Page 30, Part 1
Page 30, Part 2
On April 2, 1900, shortly after J. Euclid bought the land, he took out a loan secured with a Deed of Trust from Mrs. India Stewart, for the total amount of $1,488.00. The house was built shortly thereafter. The exact date of its completion is not yet known.
Deed of Trust (Indenture), Part 1
Deed of Trust (Indenture), Part 2
After J. Euclid's death on October 18, 1924, ownership of the house transferred to his current wife, Katherine. It did not become official until after Katherine filed J. Euclid's Last Will and Testament with the court of the State of Colorado. The will was written on August 19, 1924, just months before J. Euclid passed away. Katherine did not submit his Will until June 15, 1925. Not all pages of the Will are included. We just added the pages to show that the property was listed in the Will. Note the names of J. Euclid's sisters and nephew that are listed. You will see these names again. Also note the generous gift to the City of Santa Monica for the building of a performing arts center. There is an article in the section about the Miles family that elaborates on this.
Last Will and Testament
Record No. 371421, Book 620, Page 407
Last Will and Testament, Part 1
Last Will and Testament, Part 2
Last Will and Testament, Part 3
Last Will and Testament, Part 4
Last Will and Testament, Part 5
Just a year and a half after J.Euclid died, Katherine herself passed away on March 9, 1926. Katherine wrote in her Last Will and Testament that all money and property not designated to a specified individual or entity would go to her sister, Anna Gray. The following is an excerpt from Katherine's Will:
"All of the balance of my estate undisposed of shall go to my sister, Anna Gray, should she survive me, but should she not survive me, then to her daughter, Margaret Gray."
However, Carrie Thompson, Francis Channing, and Utica Wells Beecham (J. Euclid's heirs) thought otherwise. They believed that since J. Euclid used his inheritance from Lady Cook to purchase properties in Colorado, that they were entitled to the property. Upon Katherine's passing and execution of her Will, they took the matter to Pueblo County Probate Court. On September 6, 1928, Judge Frank G. Mirick ordered that the three should have been awarded the houses in Katherine's Will. Below are the key pages of that Court Order.
Court Order
Record No. 433899, Book 705, Page 293
Page 293, Part 1
Page 293, Part 2
Page 293, Part 3
Page 294, Part 1
Page 294, Part 2
Page 294, Part 3
Page 296, Part 1
Page 296, Part 2
Page 296, Part 3
The death and the suit in probate court coincided with the date that the Ranus family moved out. Like the Bergs, the Ranus family probably believed that they would be asked to leave pending the sale of the property. Upon winning ownership of the house, Carrie Thompson, Francis Channing, and Utica Wells Beecham decided to sell the house. There was no reason for them to maintain control of the house as each lived on the Atlantic coast, Carrie was a widow living in New York, and Francis and Utica were residing in the United Kingdom.
Very little has been found regarding Carrie Thompson, Francis Channing, and Utica Wells Beecham because while they owned the house, none lived here. However, three articles were found on Lady Beecham.
Article 1
Article 2
Article 3
Carrie Thompson, Francis Channing, and Utica Wells Beecham had ownership of the house for over a year. It is safe to say that the house was on the market for nearly the entire time. The Associates Realty Company finally bought the house on December 11, 1929, barely six weeks after the Stock Market Crash. It is unknown what the amount of the sale was as the Warranty Deed stated that the amount of sale was "one dollar and other valuable considerations."
Warranty Deed
Record No. 437511, Book 699, Page 99
Instrument Date: 12/11/1929, Record Date: 2/1/1929
Grantor: Thompson, Carrie Z. et. al.
Grantee: The Associates Realty Company
Page 99, Part 1
Page 99, Part 2
Associates kept ownership of the house for over ten years. During that entire time it was a rental house, and throughout the early part of the Great Depression it was more of a boarding house, with numerous families and individuals crossing the threshold. The revolving door of rentership changed in 1932 when a young family of five moved in. James Kendrick and his family would end up living in the house for a very long time. The continued to rent the house from 1932 until mid-1939. It is not known why it was seven years of renting before the Kendricks bought house. Perhaps it was because Associates finally decided to sell the house, and the Kendricks did not want to move out. It could be because that the Kendricks made an offer that Associates could not refuse.
Warranty Deed
Record No. 613016, Book 873, Page 97
Instrument Date: 7/25/1939, Record Date: 8/2/1939
Grantor: Associates Realty Co.
Grantee: James & Rachael Kendrick
Page 97, Part 1
Page 97, Part 2
Once again, it is unknown what the amount of the sale was as the Warranty Deed stated that the amount of sale was "one dollar and other valuable considerations." For the time in 35 years, the house was occupied by a owner, a family of five that loved the house. The Kendrick children moved out as they became adults, but it would take death for Rachael Kendrick to leave, over 30 years later.
Warranty Deed
Record No. 305435, Book 1578, Page 407
Instrument Date: 8/26/1965, Reception No.: 305435
Grantor: Braun, Olwen A. (administratrix), Kendrick, Rachael P.
Grantee: Mark & Samantha Mendenhall
Page 407
For the first time, there is evidence of what the house sold for. Olwen Kendrick, being her parent's Administratrix, sold the house to the Mendenhalls for $11,000.00. This was a bargain, as the adjusted amount for 2006 inflationary dollars would have been $70,000.00. We paid a lot more than that for the house in 2006. Going back further in time, the $1,488.00 that J. Euclid Miles paid to have the house built in 1900 would equate to $36,000.00 in 20061.
The Pueblo County Assessor's Office maintains records electronically for sales since 1986. The most recent Assessor's Card is available, and shows the ownership since the Mendenhalls bought the house in 1965. The Mendenhalls maintained ownership until 1986, when Mark & Samantha were no longer to keep up with the house. They sold the house to the Ryan family, who let the house fall into foreclosure. H.U.D. took the house over, and quickly sold it to David & Cassandra Sierra. It is believed that this couple did a majority of the recent renovations to the house. After four years of ownership, they sold the house in 1996 to Roger & Kathryn Cain. This family lived in the house until they sold it to us in 2006. We plan on being in the house for a very long time. Our goal is to exceed the 33 years that the Kendricks lived in the house. This will take us to the year 2039. With luck, we will still be able to climb the stairs.
1. These estimates were found using westegg.com.
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