Name:  J.W. Turrell House

Address:  201-203 Bowen St.

Landmark Designation: 1986

Construction Date: 1880's

Architectural Style: Vernacular Wood Frame

The Turrell House originally faced Terry Street when built. Mr. Turrell was owner of the first drug store in Longmont. He and his wife, Mary Tiffany, settled in "Old Burlington" in 1866, traveling via stagecoach from Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Mr. Turrell's first drugstore was established in Burlington in the fall of 1866. He also ran a store in Cheyenne for a short time but soon returned to Burlington. When Longmont was founded in 1871, he moved there and opened, with Rienzi Streeter, the firm of Streeter and Turrell on the east side of Main Street. The store carried drugs, meat and groceries. It burned down in the fire of 1879, and, at that time, Streeter retired. Turrell stocked drugs and jewelry in the new store with bicycles as a sideline.

Mary Turrell was a talented singer and active in the cultural life of the community. She was a charter member of the Mutual Improvement Club and the Longs Peak D.A.R.

The history of the Turrell House does not end with the Turrell family nor with its original Terry Street address. It has been moved from its original location twice. Serving as parsonage for the Bethlehem Evangelical Lutheran Church, the house was moved to 812 Terry Street. Over the years the property changed hands, and when Thomas O. Murphy III and Mary Jo Murphy purchased the house it was moved to its current location and replatted as Murphy Subdivision.

Reference
HPC 1986-1