De Beque House
Photograph -- Color photograph
Identifier:
2021.20.1Description
Photo of the De Beque house. The following stories comes from the grandson, Armand E. de Beque, and can be found in the accession record.Built by one of the town's founders and donor's grandfather, Wallace A.E. de Beque and has been occupied by the de Beque family until 1998. His son, Armand was born there on July 4, 1912. It was also the first house in town to have running water.
Dr. de Beque was the first doctor for the town, with the house serving as the office. He was also was a doctor for the railroad in that area and the railroad piped water from their red wooden water tank at the depot over to the house. It was included as part of his pay.
Senator Lawrence C. Phipps was friends with Dr. De Beque and stayed at the house. Ed Taylor, congressman from Glenwood Springs also stayed there.
Dr. de Beque was the only republican in the town. On an election day, a democrat fired a shot at the front door. The door with the bullet still lodged in the hole would be apart of the house for years to come.
The wood-frame house has remained mostly unchanged since de Beque’s death in 1930 and is the last surviving property that demonstrates his contributions to the community. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.
De Beque’s growing family led him to enlarge his house twice over the next decade. In 1918 he expanded the house by twelve feet to the rear, allowing him to add a new kitchen and dining room. Four years later, he added another ten feet to the rear of the house. During these years he saw patients at home and also made some house calls.
Content Date:
1889Rights:
copyright not evaluatedRelated people
Armand De Beque [1912 - 1998] (Author)Wallace A.E. de Beque [1841 - 1930] (references)