1109 Pine

We are buying a house in Boulder in a couple of weeks. It's no ordinary house by several measures. First, it's 110 years old. Second, it hasn't been sold in 100 years, passing down several generations and staying within the family until now. Third, the seller will in all likelihood be leaving behind some of the historical contents of the house. It is an unusual situation to buy a house and immediately become a steward of its storied past. And it has a past. This is what we have learned.

In 1901, Montford Whiteley and his wife, Mena, built the house. Whiteley was mayor of Boulder from 1899-1905. Born in Georgia in 1859, Whiteley was a member of the first class to enter the University of Colorado when it opened. In 1911, Whitelely sold the house to Mr. and Mrs. Kirby. The Kirbys had three daughters and when they passed away, the three daughters inherited the home. One of the daughters married and bought the other sisters' shares of the house. They produced one daughter, Elizabeth. Elizabeth married, but did not have any children. She died in 1995 and in the same year, her husband died as well. The sole heir was her husband's son from a previous marriage, James Bonn. In 1995, upon inheriting the house, Mr. Bonn moved from San Diego with his new bride to Boulder. In 2008, she filed for divorce. He was forced to put the house on the market in July, 2009. There were no buyers.

February, 2011. We visit the house. We are charmed by the pristine pine floors, the in tact wood work, the brass hardware throughout the house, the 1880s billiards table in the basement, the eight foot paneled doors. We are underwhelmed by the non-working boiler, the old plumbing and outdated wiring, the unremarkable kitchen, the one full bathroom.

It is always a leap of faith to buy a house. You have to somehow sense that you can live there, sleep there, grow there. You have to use your imagination and create stories of your life there before you get a chance to act your part. We saw many house. Dozens of houses. This one spoke to us. We will plunge in with some renovation before we move in. Stay tuned.