“No intoxicating liquors” Clemency McIlvoy declared in her will. That was a condition of her gift to the city. We are standing in front of the McIlvoy House. It is a place steeped in Arvada’s history.
The McIlvoy House stands as a testament to a remarkable woman. Clemency McIlvoy was civic-minded. She and her husband were prominent in Arvada. In 1919, Clemency donated her home to the city. She lived there until her death in 1922.
After her death, various city organizations used the house. Over the years, they made alterations to the interior and some to the exterior. In the 1990s, the City of Arvada started a large urban renewal project. It aimed to revitalize the historic core of the city.
The Collaborative Inc. was hired. They prepared the Historic Structure Report for the McIlvoy House. The house is important to the revitalization. A grant from the State Historical Fund funded the report.
The report included a materials assessment and site evaluation. It also had recommendations for preservation and use of the house. Today the house stores historical records collected by the Arvada Historical Society. The Arvada Historical Society was founded in 1972. Lois Lindstrom was its first president.
The Society’s mission is to collect and preserve historic objects. It also disseminates information about Arvada’s history. The McIlvoy House serves as the Society’s headquarters. You’ll find their archives and a small museum here. The Arvada Historical Society is a volunteer-run organization. It relies on memberships and donations for funding.
The Society owns the historic Arvada Flour Mills. It also owns the Belgin Cemetery. The McIlvoy House is located at 7307 Grandview Avenue. The City of Arvada incorporated in 1904. But Arvada was platted and named decades earlier.
The formal notice of the new town was posted on December 1, 1870. At that time the population was 100. The city has allowed low-alcohol beer at the McIlvoy Park pavilion. This has occurred by permit only for ages. It goes against Clemency’s wishes. Her 1919 will had a provision against “intoxicating liquors.”
Clemency died in 1921 at age 86. She was born in French Lick, Indiana, in 1834. Clemency Davis and her husband Dennis McIlvoy came to Colorado in 1859. They were Gold Rush hopefuls. Clemency accompanied her husband into the Rockies to search for gold.
Her obituary said she dared the Indians with him. She went with him to the Gregory mine in Black Hawk. The couple’s search for gold led them to Montana. But it was ultimately “futile.” Dennis and Clemency settled in what is now Arvada in 1859. Clemency rarely left her home. She visited Denver “only once in that time.” At the end of her life, she was somewhat of a recluse.
The McIlvoy deed says if booze is consumed on the property it reverts back to the owners. The city has rented out the McIlvoy Park pavilion for beer permits since 2004. Even though Clemency didn’t want alcohol on her property, she smoked a pipe and a cigar.
The McIlvoy House is more than just a building. It represents Arvada’s past. It embodies the spirit of Clemency McIlvoy. Her generosity continues to shape Arvada today.