Grant–Humphreys Mansion in

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

, was built in 1902, in the Neoclassical style of architecture by Boal and Harnois, for

James Benton Grant James Benton Grant (January 2, 1848 – November 1, 1911) was an American mining magnate, mining engineer, Confederate Army soldier who served as the third Governor of Colorado from 1883 to 1885. Early life, American Civil War, and education G ...

following his one term as the third

Governor of Colorado The governor of Colorado is the head of government of the U.S. state of Colorado. The governor (United States), governor is the head of the Executive (government), executive branch of Government of Colorado, Colorado's state government and is cha ...

(1883–1885). The house has been home to two families.

Grant history

Grant is best known for his role in the ore smelting industry, the first in

Leadville Leadville ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Statutory city, statutory city that is the county seat, the most populous community, and the only List of municipalities in Colorado, incorporated municipality in Lake County, Colorado, Lak ...

, and then in Denver, where the Grant Smelting Company, located two miles northeast of downtown Denver, boasted the tallest furnace stack in the country and the third-largest in the world. Mr. Grant's wife, former Mary Goodell Grant, was prominent in Denver society. She was a member of the

Daughters of the American Revolution The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (often abbreviated as DAR or NSDAR) is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a patriot of the American Revolutionary War. A non-p ...

and helped to found a home for destitute children. Following her husband's death in 1911, she continued to live in the house six more years, selling it in 1917 to Albert E. Humphreys.

Humphreys history

A.E. Humphreys is remembered as "The

Wildcatter A wildcatter is an individual who drills wildcat wells, which are exploration oil wells drilled in areas not known to be oil fields. Notable wildcatters include Glenn McCarthy, Thomas Baker Slick Sr., Mike Benedum, Joe Trees, Clem S. Clark ...

Deluxe" and the "King of the Wildcatters" for his successful discovery of oil in

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

and

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. He was also well known for his philanthropic activities, which were shared by his wife, Alice. The couple came to Denver in 1898 with their two sons Ira and Albert E. Jr. Ira married Lucille Pattison, and they lived with the senior Humphreys in the house until the deaths of his parents. Ira was the mechanical genius of the family, while A.E. Jr. enjoyed the managerial side of the family oil business. Both young men were fascinated with airplanes and opened Denver's first commercial airport in 1918 at 26th Avenue and Oneida Street in North Park Hill, ten years prior to the Denver Municipal Airport that was eventually to become

Stapleton International Airport Stapleton International Airport was a major airport in the western United States, and the primary airport of Denver, Colorado. It opened on October 17, 1929, and was replaced by the current Denver International Airport in 1995. It was a hub f ...

. In 1919, Ira Boyd "Bumps" Humphreys formed the Curtiss-Humphreys Airplane Company. In 1941, Ira invented the Humphreys Spiral Concentrator, which was used extensively in the mining industry for the separation of minerals and heavy metals in low grade ores. And, in 1969, Ira and Albert were both inducted into the

Colorado Aviation Hall of Fame The Colorado Aviation Hall of Fame was established by the Colorado Aviation Historical Society (CAHS) in Denver, Colorado, US, on November 11, 1969, for the State of Colorado. The original and first ten Colorado aviation pioneers were inducted ...

, which is located in the

Colorado Aviation Historical Society The Colorado Aviation Historical Society (CAHS) is located at the Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum Old Lowry AFB Campus, Denver, CO and was founded in 1966. The Society acquires, restores, preserves and provides for public display, air ...

's Heritage Hall at the

Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum The Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum (WOTR) is located on the former Lowry Air Force Base in Denver, Colorado, United States. The museum preserves the history of Lowry AFB's operations from 1938 to 1994 in its collections, archives, an ...

, Denver, Colorado.

Curatorship

The

Colorado Historical Society History Colorado is a historical society that was established in 1879 as the State Historical Society of Colorado, also known as the Colorado Historical Society. History Colorado is a 501(c)(3) organization and an agency of the State of Colorado ...

took possession of the mansion, a bequest of the late Ira Boyd Humphreys, in 1976. The walls were originally covered in

damask Damask (; ) is a woven, Reversible garment, reversible patterned Textile, fabric. Damasks are woven by periodically reversing the action of the warp and weft threads. The pattern is most commonly created with a warp-faced satin weave and the gro ...

which fell into disrepair and has since been removed.

References

External links

Grant–Humphreys Mansion
History Colorado
Mining-Related Properties in the Colorado State Register of Historic Properties
Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, Colorado Historical Society, December 1, 2006

Denver Public Library blog entry about the Omaha & Grant Smelter smokestack demolition {{DEFAULTSORT:Grant-Humphreys Mansion Houses completed in 1902 Houses in Denver National Register of Historic Places in Denver History Colorado Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Colorado Neoclassical architecture in Colorado Governor of Colorado