The
Fairlawn
317
N. 1st Street
By 1886,
W.T. Carpenter’s name was highly respected in Grand Junction. He was the owner
of the Mesa County Bank, and was the third largest taxpayer in Mesa County. He
was elected as City Trustee, and Treasurer for the reorganized Board of Trade,
the precursor to the Chamber of Commerce. Everything Carpenter touched,
business-wise, was successful.
Such an illustrious man needed an
illustrious home. Until the Fairlawn was built, W.T., his wife, Etta, and
daughter, Susa, lived on the second floor of the Mesa County Bank on Main
Street. In 1886, on the SW corner of First Street and White Avenue, the most
elegant house built at that time in Grand Junction was erected. The Fairlawn had
two spacious stories, sat on an entire city block, had an abundance of fruit and
shade trees, and displayed lush and expansive lawns. The showplace cost $10,000.
Within two years of inhabiting their
new home, W.T. Carpenter purchased the Book Cliff and Grand Valley mines, and
soon built the Little Book Cliff Railroad to bring coal to the city. The
railroad’s depot was three blocks away from the Fairlawn. W.T.’s continued
enthusiasm for boosting Grand Junction as a city and building up its businesses
brought lavish praise.
Unfortunately, his golden touch
tarnished when hard times hit in 1893. For four years he struggled to keep his
bank, mines, and railroad afloat, but on May 10, 1897, a secretly bankrupt
Carpenter departed Grand Junction for the rich fields of the Alaskan Gold Rush.
The Star newspaper reported Mrs. Etta Carpenter would join her daughter,
Susa, in Washington D.C. after her furnishings were disposed of, and until Mr.
Carpenter had decided on his permanent future location. He would never return to
Grand Junction.
The Carpenters’ beautiful Fairlawn
was leased to E.P. Chester & Company of the Rio Grand Eating House. He
immediately renovated the home, which included the installation of electric
lights, and renamed it Fairlawn Hotel. Chester serviced the transient population
at his restaurant, located near the Rio Grande Depot, and after his guests ate,
offered free trolley rides to the Fairlawn for a luxurious night’s repose.
In 1899, the Fairlawn Hotel was
restored to Etta Carpenter. She chose to make the Fairlawn Hotel the most
exclusive in town.
“In the history of
Grand Junction, this house must take a leading place as it is our best hotel.
The rooms are comfortable and well furnished, the service is excellent, the
table would suit the most fastidious and no requisite of a first-class
establishment is lacking.”
Grand Junction Weekly News 6-3-1899
The news article went on to praise
its “ideal mental rest,” “physical recreations,” “home-like
atmosphere,” and “ample grounds” for the benefit of the tourist. There
were even sample rooms offered to traveling salesmen, located on Main Street.
Life at Fairlawn wasn’t always so
serene. In September of 1899, one month after the beloved family pet—a
parrot—died, the establishment was robbed. Valuable silver articles were taken
before the cook was aroused and woke up Mrs. Carpenter. The two captured one of
the crooks in the pantry, but he pleaded that he was just trying to get
something to eat. Disbelieving, they marched him into the hall and called to the
male boarders to come to their assistance. One roomer took the time to shine his
shoes and adjust his necktie before making an appearance. Susa Carpenter went
about the neighborhood and gathered firearms, though it was said nary a one was
in any condition to harm a soul. The captured thief, named Lin, was taken to the
city jail without incident, but the silver thief was never found.
Shortly after that, Etta turned over
the management of the Fairlawn Hotel to Mrs. Propper of Lake City. This
arrangement didn’t last long. Etta took over again, but lived at the Guy
Bedwell home on Colorado Avenue while she managed the hotel. In 1903, Etta filed
for divorce from W.T. and sold the Fairlawn for $15,000 to Mr. W.G. Gaines, who
wanted to take the block Fairlawn was on and turn it into the “Knob Hill” of
Grand Junction by building high-class homes. This never took place.
For several years, the Fairlawn
bounced from one owner to the other, until August 26, 1908 when the Fairlawn
Sanitarium was opened. There was a movement all over America to get healthy.
Grand Junction promoters had praised the health resort qualities of the Grand
Valley’s dry desert air for years. It had long been thought that the climate
was superior to any other section of Colorado. Many tubercular and asthmatic
sufferers had come to Grand Junction from the East and, for whatever reason,
lived many more years. Sanitariums in Boulder and Colorado Springs had already
been successfully established, and the citizens of Grand Junction thought their
valley could offer even better health advantages.
In
1908, they were happy to welcome the Fairlawn Sanitarium, established by Dr. and
Mrs. F.A. Washburn. The sanitarium advertised the “Battle Creek Line of
Treatment."
.
Figure
1 The
Fairlawn after Sanitarium renovation, courtesy Gaynell Johnson
Today, Battle Creek, Michigan is the
home of Kellogg’s cereals, but many don’t know those cereals were created
for the benefit of the Battle Creek Sanitarium’s guests. Established in 1876,
“the San,” as it was affectionately known, was most influential in spreading
the good news that a healthy life could be had for all Americans. Dr. John
Harvey Kellogg and his brother, W.K. Kellogg, explored various treatments
including diet reform, Swedish treatments, and frequent enemas. The doctor
encouraged low-fat, low-protein diets with an emphasis on fiber-rich foods and
nuts. His dining room daily served these healthy cereals to its 400,000 guests.
Figure
2 Battle
Creek Michigan "San" dining room ca 1902, courtesy Willard Library,
Battle Creek MI
"The new
sanitarium…will be opened September 1. The institution is equipped with the
modern apparatus for the treatment of diseases and for the surgical operations,
including a static (machine) and X-Ray, vibrassarge (sic), Galvanic Faradic
electric light bath, well equipped laboratory, a neat operating room...”
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel 8-26-1908
Figure
3 Battle
Creek Michigan “San” Swedish massage room ca. 1900, courtesy Willard
Library, Battle Creek MI
Dr. Washburn died three and a half
months after the sanitarium opened, leaving the running of it to his wife. Over
the years Mrs. Washburn was listed in the city directories as “matron,”
“M.D.,” or “proprietor.” The institution remained in existence until
about 1914, when 317 N. 1st Street emerged as the Fairlawn Apartments in 1926
and remained so until about 1957. At that time, Gay Johnson bought the block,
razed the run-down, old landmark and put up his modern service station and
restaurant.
Perhaps no one block in Grand Junction has had such an incredible history!
Figure 4
2006 Mesa County GIS image of
the
Fairlawn block (lower center) by First and Grand
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