Real estate appraisal card. 318 E. 2nd Street, lots 18-19, block 24, in Salida, Colorado.
This house was built between 1888 and 1890. Sanborn maps for 1890 and 1893, indicate that an occupant of this house engaged in dressmaking. The 1894 State Business Directory listed only two women engaged in dressmaking in Salida, although there may have been others who did not advertise. This home was occupied by James Gallagher by 1903-04 and he was also listed in the 1905-06 city directory. He worked as a foreman for the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad. Julia Gallagher, a student, also lived here in 1903. Also living here in 1903 were Arthur and Sanford A. Roberts. Arthur was a driver and Sanford worked in real estate. Along with James Gallagher, Frank G. Dew and Ralph H. Rice lived at this address. The latter two men were dispatchers for D&RG.
By 1910, Edward and Margaret Owen lived at this house. They were both born in Wales in 1854 and emigrated to the U.S. in 1871. Edward was employed as a machinist for D&RG. The Owens had four sons living with them, all of whom were born in the U.S.: Edward H. (b.1883), O. William (b.1885), Alfred I. (b.1885), and John R. (b.1898). Edward H. was a dentist, O. William was a jeweler at a jewelry store, and Alfred I. was a machinist for D&RG. By 1920, Edward and Margaret Owen lived at a different house in Salida along with their sons William and John. William continued working as a jeweler and Edward continued to work as a machinist. Margaret Owen died on December 21, 1933. Edward Owen died in March 1934 at the age of 81, after a long illness. He had lived in Salida for forty-eight years and was one of the oldest members of the Order of Odd Fellows, the Workers of the World, and the Masonic Orders in Pueblo and Salida.
In 1920, George W. and Alice A. Norris began living here along with their son Drew E., a brakeman for D&RGW. In 1920, Ohioan Edwin A. Evans (b.1859), a conductor for D&RGW, also lived here as a lodger. George Norris was born in New York in 1866 and worked as a salesman. Alice was born in Stratton Baskerville, England on June 29, 1868, immigrating to the U.S. in 1882. Their son Drew was born in 1894 in Colorado. George and Alice Norris operated a hotel together in Villa Grove, Colorado for many years before moving to Salida where they managed a restaurant for years. George Norris died in August 1926 at the age of 59, after a long illness. Alice continued to live at this address after her husband died, until her own death in May 1951. She had been a resident of Salida for 65 years. Her son Drew, World War I veteran, preceded her in death, dying in October 1942. He had operated a plumbing shop for many years in Salida.
History Colorado's Architectural Inventory Forms have more information and are available at the Salida Library.
