Property History

Prospect Valley Hospitality, Inc. (PVH)

The 120-year-old Prospect Valley property has had a unique and colorful history. Additionally, it has contributed to the history of Wheat Ridge, Colorado. Prior to being used as a missionary housing property and ministry, the chronicle included: a tavern in the cottage and a stagecoach stop in the main house. The Wheat Ridge Historical society had an old photo in the archives that neither confirmed nor disproved either claim.

The Memories

Founder Kimary Marchese purchased the property in 2001. The previous owner was Susan Craig Bongers. It had been run for decades by her parents Jack and Elsie Craig as Prospect Valley Grocery, a general store of sorts. The locals called it “Jack & Elsie’s Place”. Wheat Ridge natives fondly tell stories of running across the street from the (now long-gone) Prospect Valley Elementary School building. Upon arrival, they delightfully chose from 100 kinds of penny candy. An old newspaper clipping solidifies that the Craigs were pillars in the community. Anyone now left who knew them, has fond memories of Jack and Elsie.

Thought to be a Tavern

Originally, they thought being a tavern was farfetched because this was a dry county for many years. However, a 2002 conversation with Helen Beliel (age 86 at the time), revealed that her parents bought the property just 3 days before her wedding. At that time in 1936, the cottage on the west end was “Sis’s Tavern”. It was heated by a coal stove and had no plumbing. They were using the double-seated outhouse that is still outback. The stagecoach part of the history is yet to be confirmed. But the suspicion is that it was indeed the last stop on the Lookout Mountain stagecoach line as reported by local lore.

The Out Buildings

There are several outbuildings, including two structures that were most likely originally chicken coops. Susan Craig Bongers indicated that by the time her parents and she arrived, they were used as a tool shed and coal storage. One is now used for gardening tools and the other has been converted to a garden prayer chapel. Don’t forget the original double-seated outhouse! The outbuildings were originally down by the river behind the property, called Lena Gulch, since the farming days. They were later moved by the City when it took part of the property for the Lena Gulch Reclamation project.

Hair Salon and Gas Station

Apparently, Elsie did a little hairdressing out of the store. In addition to being the local shopkeep, Jack was a Lutheran Sunday School Teacher. The site did a brief stint as a combination store and gas station, but the tanks were pulled up and removed by Texaco ages ago.

Susan was a young child when her parents moved here. She had married, moved to Loveland, and had children of her own before her parents passed away and she inherited the property. She rented out the storefront to a series of miscellaneous businesses that have included: a vegetable stand, a yarn shop, a baseball trading card shop, and lastly an Antique Store.

Former Storefront

The former storefront is connected to the main house living room. For the first 10 years, PVH used it as a dining room/meeting room. Once the storefront-turned-dining-room was even used for a week-long seminar training volunteers who flew in from other states to learn to dig and maintain water wells in 3rd-world countries. This former storefront, an extension to the main house, has had no commercial use since the property purchase in 2001.

See also About the Founder and Renovation Photos.