Hoverhome and Hover Farmstead

The Hoverhome and Hover Farmstead, at 1303-1309 Hover Rd. in Longmont, Colorado, are the remains of a historic farmstead. The current 4.3 acre site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.

A farmstead house built in 1893 is included, and also a Tudor Revival house, the "Hoverhome" or Hover Mansion, which was built in 1913–14. The latter was designed by Denver architects Robert S. Roeschlaub and Frank S. Roeschlaub. The site also includes agricultural buildings dating from c.1902 to c.1910, developed after Charles Hover purchased the property in 1902. These are among five more contributing buildings, seven contributing structures, and two contributing sites covered in the listing.

Charles Lewis Hover had the Hoverhome built in 1913-1914 for himself, his wife Katherine, and their adopted daughter Beatrice; their family is the only family to have lived in the home. It is a 1.5-story, 6,000 sqft, brick, east-facing building. The mansion has an irregular plan about 65x30 ft in dimension, and includes a porte-cochere. The mansion is trimmed by terra cotta.

The property includes a formal garden site developed by Katherine Hover and Beatrice Hover. Along the northern boundary was an irrigation ditch along which numerous irises grew, since abandoned and filled in, but in 1999 there were plans to re-establish the historic iris border. The eastern boundary had a "flourishing hedge" of Rosa 'Harison's Yellow' roses, a variety which was spread along the Oregon Trail and in scattered western homesteads in the late 1800s. The yellow rose hedge was removed in the 1980s when Hover Road was widened, but in 1999 it was being re-established along a chain link fence line.

The Hoverhome portion also includes a garden house/tool shed building and a garage building, and a stone grill. The farmhouse portion also includes a barn, a farm garage, and a mill/grain elevator. The contributing structures of the farmstead are:
 * a creamery, a 10x10 ft brick structure with a steep pyramidal roof,
 * a wood and coal shed, a 10x14 ft wood-frame structure with board and batten siding,
 * a chicken house with a cedar-shingled roof,
 * two round metal grain silos, relocated in 1996 from just north of the listed area so that they would not be demolished,
 * a stock watering trough, which is a concrete bowl in shape, relocated from west of the mill/elevator.

The mansion was designated a Longmont Designated Landmark in 1977 as "Hover Home".

When listed, the property was owned by the St. Vrain Historical Society, which had been aided by grants from Colorado's State Historical Fund, and it was operated as an events venue.

The property was deemed significant for its agricultural association, for its association with Charles Hover, and for the architecture of the Hoverhome and of the farmstead buildings. <!--- "The contributing buildings, structures, and sites located within the boundaries of the Hoverhome and Hover Farmstead historic district meet Criterion A and Criterion B for their association with the broad patterns of local agricultural history and the role played in that history by Charles Lewis Hover. The property is also significant under Criterion C for its ability to illustrate the type of construction and spatial relationships associated with an early 20th century farmstead and for Hoverhome, an excellent local example of an architect designed Tudor Revival style residence. The district, now increasingly surrounded by residential and commercial development, provides a graphic illustration of the changes that have come to Front Range Colorado communities where the economic base is rapidly shifting to high technology, and residential development is rapidly consuming once-productive farmland." Criterion A - Agriculture: Hoverhome and the adjacent Hover Farmstead comprise a district which is historically significant in the context of interpreting both the rapidly disappearing agricultural heritage of Longmont and the St. Vrain Valley and the agriculture related prosperity that characterized the economy of the area during the first decades of the 20th century. Hoverhome and the Hover Farmstead are highly recognizable local landmarks which together represent the area's agricultural heritage. When the Chicago-Colorado Colony founded the new town of Longmont in the Colorado Territory in 1871, their promotional material declared, "Agriculture.. .is destined always to be its dominant interest." That was certainly still the case thirty-one years later when successful Denver pharmacist Charles Lewis Hover purchased a 160 acre farm on a dusty country lane west of the small town for $11,200. Hover, born in Wisconsin in 1867 and trained as a pharmacist, had come to Denver in 1888 to join his brother William in what became a prosperous wholesale pharmaceutical business. A quiet, reserved man, Hover disliked the pressure and pace of business and the demands of city life. In 1902, he and his wife, Katherine Stewart Avey, purchased the farm intending to retire to a quieter, rural life. By that time, the farm had been owned by a succession of early settlers and was known as the Williamson Place. It was not particularly productive. Hover set about immediately to improve the land using what he termed "a scientific method." An innovative and expensive drainage system was installed in low areas to remove alkali deposits. A third of the farm was planted in alfalfa to increase soil nutrients and to provide feed for Hover's sheep and dairy cows, which he called "his fertilizer factory." Patent fertilizers were also applied, and a carefully monitored system of crop rotation was instituted. During his first decade on the farm Hover personally managed all the farm operations with the aid of a foreman who lived in the 1893 farmhouse. Existing buildings were improved, others were replaced with new construction, and the most modern equipment and machinery were purchased for the operation. Results were so dramatic that a circa 1912 Rocky Mountain News article was headlined: "Prairie Farm is Paradise in 10 Years: C.L. Hover, Former Druggist of Denver, Buys Alkali Waste and In Few Years Transforms It Into Modern Farm of Great Value." Although specific dates for the improvement and construction of the farm related buildings and structures cannot be documented, they are believed to date from the first decade that Charles Hover owned the farm. Their substantial construction, innovative features, and newspaper reports, indicating that Hover had made major improvements to the farmstead, tend to support this conclusion. When Charles and Katherine Hover first moved to the farm, they lived in a no longer extant cottage they constructed in an orchard to the north of the existing farmhouse. Because the cottage had no electricity and only one fireplace for heat, they often boarded in town during the colder winter months. By 1912, they received the welcome news that a city water line would pass across part of the farm and an electric line would follow, enabling them to begin the construction of their long-planned country home. When completed, the increasing prosperity associated with the agricultural development of the area was partially reflected in the mansion-like appearance of Hoverhome. "Criterion B - Charles Lewis Hover: Charles Lewis Hover was a successful businessman, community leader, and innovative farmer who was a state and national leader in agricultural organizations. By 1912, as the farm prospered and Hover turned his attention to the construction of Hoverhome, he turned the day to day operations over to tenants who farmed the land." Nevertheless, Hover remained intensely interested in agricultural matters and soil conservation, and his influence reached far beyond the borders of his farm. President of both the Boulder County Farm Bureau and the Colorado Farm Bureau, he also worked tirelessly for the Boulder County Fair Board and the Colorado Wheat Congress. Hover shared his considerable expertise with other area farmers through speeches, written articles, and by example. He tested various rust-resistant strains of wheat that were planted on other area farms; developed a formula for the optimum use of acreage for beets which many local farmers raised for the local sugar factory; and even planted a huge, orderly grove of catalpa trees to demonstrate what solid, straight fenceposts they could make. His statewide reputation in agricultural circles as noted by one newspaper, ("When Mr. Hover arises in the councils of the State Farm Bureau, his words command attention.") led to his consideration as a candidate for U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, a nomination he declined for health and other reasons. Hover also played a role in the area's developing agriculture related industry and the economic prosperity it brought to Longmont during the first quarter of the twentieth century. In 1902, when the Hovers moved to the area, virtually all of the local industry was agriculture related. There were flour mills and a highly successful local cannery which processed peas, beans, pumpkin and other locally grown produce. In 1903, a group of Longmont investors opened the Longmont Sugar Factory (later sold to the Great Western Sugar Company) which ushered in a period of increasing prosperity that extended beyond the farms to the town's merchants and businessmen. In 1920, when local cannery owner John Howard Empson retired, Charles Hover was one of several local investors who purchased the cannery. Hover served as president of the canning operation, a mainstay of the local economy, until 1927 when it was sold to the Kuner Pickle Company. Hover continued to live at Hoverhome, where he maintained an office and continued to monitor operation of the farm, until his death in 1958. Family members continued to live there until 1983. When Hover's daughter Beatrice died in 1991, she bequeathed many of the original furnishings and fixtures to the St. Vrain Historical Society so that they could be preserved in the home. Included in the bequest was Hover's extensive library. Hoverhome: Hoverhome, built in 1913-1914, is an excellent, and rare, local example of the Tudor Revival style. The spacious residence was designed by the distinguished Denver architectural firm of Roeschlaub & Son. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, members of the firm were responsible for designing many of the finest commercial, residential, religious, and academic buildings along the Front Range of Colorado. Several are listed in the National Register. Hoverhome exhibits the innovative design, attention to detail, and use of quality materials associated with their work. Master architect, Robert S. Roeschlaub (1843-1923), founder of the firm had designed the Denver home of Charles' brother, William A. Hover. His 1889 plans for the Hover Wholesale Drug Warehouse were cited as "the flagship of Roeschlaub's buildings in lower downtown Denver." Although Robert Roeschlaub officially retired in 1912, it is likely that he was personally involved in the design of Hoverhome because of his long association with the Hover family. Members of the family lived in the residence until 1983. The property has been well maintained, and both interior and exterior architectural details remain virtually as drawn by the architects. On the exterior, Hoverhome exhibits the asymmetrical massing, steeply pitched rooflines, grouped windows, and flattened pointed arches associated with the Tudor Revival style. As defined by McAlester & McAlester, the walls of brick, extending to form parapeted gables and the extensive use of "quoin-like" trim reflect the Jacobethan detailing often found in such "architect-designed landmarks" that "closely copied English models." Windows are placed to create a sense of light and space and much of the interior detailing further reflects the Arts & Crafts/Craftsman style as evidenced by the oak flooring, decorative woodwork, beamed ceilings, and extensive built-in cabinetry. Moreover, the attention to detail obvious in the architectural plans was emulated by the craftsmanship of the builders who took almost a year and a half to faithfully translate the plans into the reality of Hoverhome. "Hover Farmstead: The buildings and structures on the Hover Farmstead site, believed to have been constructed by 1912, reflect the spatial layout, use of materials, and methods of construction associated with a successful early 20th century Colorado farmstead. As a group they represent good local examples of their types and are well able to convey their historic uses." Although constructed in 1893, the vernacular wood frame farmhouse functioned as an integral part of the complex of farm related buildings and structures developed after the farm was purchased by the Hovers in 1902. Smaller buildings and structures such as the creamery, wood/coal shed, and chicken house contribute to telling the story of farm life. The larger and more complex farm buildings such as the barn and combination mill/grain elevator further illustrate the variety of activities related to early 20th century agricultural enterprises. Recent restoration projects completed as part of a master plan for maintaining the Hover Farmstead have closely followed the Secretary of Interior's Standards. In particular, the barn, a 1997 reconstruction meets the requirements of Criteria Consideration E. In 1995, when the original barn burned during the planning phase of the restoration projects, it was decided that because the barn could be viewed as the centerpiece of the complex of agricultural buildings that it should be reconstructed. The reconstructed barn is the result of pre-existing documentation and the quite detailed documentation gathered immediately after the fire. Any future interpretation of the Hover Farmstead will acknowledge that the barn is a reconstruction. Historical Background: In addition to his association with agricultural development of the St. Vrain Valley, Hover was a civic and community leader of note. He was president of the Chamber of Commerce, an officer of the Red Cross, President of the local Council of Defense and Draft Board during World War I, a charter member of the Rotary, and treasurer of St. Stephen's Episcopal Church for 22 years. His wife, Katherine, was also an ardent supporter of the church, and the family hosted annual Sylvan Suppers on the grounds of Hoverhome as fundraisers for St. Stephen's. Charles Hover once said, "It's a good thing to work for oneself, but it is a glorious thing to work for the public good." His willingness and ability to put those words into action make him a significant figure in the context of the social and civic development of Longmont. Daughter Beatrice, who never married or had any children, took to heart her parents' example of community service, translating books for the blind into braille and serving as a long-time girl scout leader. >