Historic Homes Feature: 618 W. Mountain Ave. - The Crose-Scott-Dickey-House

c.1907
618 W Mountain Ave.
The Crose-Scott-Dickey House
Owners: Bill & Kathleen Whitley
Style: Craftsman

618 W Mountain Ave. was built by Assistant District Attorney Newton Crose in 1906-07, for his new wife, Louisa (Mettie) Avery, youngest daughter of Franklin and Sarah Avery. Mettie was active in social and educational groups such as the Kanatenah, which in February of 1910 held their monthly meeting in the house. In 1914, Newton was shot and killed by the mentally unstable husband of a client, and Mettie moved back in with her parents at 328 W Mountain Ave.

In 1917, Mettie rented the house to Dr. A.R. Scott and his wife, recently relocated from Berthoud. They purchased it the following year when Mettie finally decided to sell, and Dr Scott built an automobile garage in the back yard in the same year. Unfortunately, Dr Scott had some medical issues, and in 1920, died during corrective surgery in Denver, leaving his widow to raise their young daughter. Mrs. Scott then had the unfinished attic turned into a rental unit, for a regular income. It was advertised in the Weekly Courier in September of 1922 as “4 nicely furnished rooms with Kitchenette in strictly modern home to ladies - 618 W Mountain. Phone 1487.” During the academic year 1926-27, the entire house was rented to Kappa Delta Sorority, and Minnie was listed in the city directory as living on Elizabeth St. In 1936, the upstairs apartment was rented to Arthur T. Schneider, a clerk for the Federal Resettlement Administration - a “New Deal” program which operated between April 1935 and December 1936, relocating struggling urban and rural families to communities planned by the federal government.

By 1937, Mrs Scott had decided that she preferred a smaller house, and exchanged it for one at 800 W Mountain, owned by the Dickey family. Dr. Lawrence Dickey and his wife, Dr. Olive Dickey, moved into 618 with their two children. After moving in, the Dickeys had two more children, and in 1948, were responsible for enlarging and attaching the existing garage. The Doctors Dickey were active in the Masons and instrumental in helping establish the Fort Colins Country Club. They travelled extensively, and were wellknown for their collection of Orientalia, acquired on their trips to the Far East. They lived here until 1960. In 1960, R.G. purchased the house for $10 “and other considerations.” In 2008, he sold it to a developer who intended to demolish it and build a new structure. The developer subsequently sold it to the current owners in 2012.

Bill Whitley