303 Main Street

Known as "Dad Long's Store," this building was built in approximately 1888 and is a tall one-story brick building with a rectangular plan designed in the late 19th and early 20th century Commercial style. The recessed entry, large display windows and decorative brick corbels were typical of commercial architecture of the day and are seen in many of Carbondale’s Main Street buildings. The iron rosettes on the east wall indicate where steel rods were inserted to hold high walls in place and keep them from buckling. The building front is contiguous to the sidewalk and the east side is open to the adjacent side street. The west side shared a party wall with the previous building, but the modern building next door is now higher. The addition of the awning, possible storefront window replacement and the paint on the brick wall has had a minimal impact on the integrity and the building generally retains its original form.

This property passed through many of the same hands as other properties in the original townsite:

·       The Carbondale Town and Land Company sold the original lots to Henry (Harry) R. Smith and Clayton Gannett in 1887

·       Smith subsequently bought out Gannett (a carpenter by trade) in 1888

·       In 1901 Smith sold the property to Florence A. Loch

·       Florence Loch in turn sold to W. H. Long in 1908 and he operated Dad Long’s Store out of the building from 1908 to 1924.  Dad Long’s Store was advertised in an early Potato Day program, “The best...for the least. Dry good, clothing, groceries, and shoes.” The back room was a social center in the old days for potato farmers and cowboys, who sat around the potbellied stove, purchased crackers from the cracker barrel and helped themselves to a complimentary slice of cheese.  Long served as Mayor of Carbondale from 1918 to 1920. Long was also associated with the building next door at 311 Main -- which was torn down in 2006/2007 -- and the house off the rear of this building at 65 North 3rd St.

·       Dad Long’s Store was later taken over by Albert Witchey in 1924 and ran a brisk business selling Walk Over Shoes, Munsing Underwear, and other standard brands of clothing. Witchey also served as mayor of Carbondale from 1938 to 1946. In later years, the building housed a law office and various retail businesses.

·       Judge J. E. DeVilbiss and his wife Peggy bought the property in the early 1970s.

·       DeVilbiss sold the property to Dale Eubank, the current owner, in 1988.

This building is significant for its position in the commercial development of Carbondale. The building served as a retail and social gathering place for the community for many years.  Dad Long’s Store provided a wide variety of goods to the community of ranchers and miners and their families in the early part of the 20th century. The building is a good example of the 19th century commercial style with its corbelled cornice, simple rectangular plan form, and large storefront windows. Its masonry construction indicates a long-term commitment to the community on the part of the builders. This building is one of several buildings on Main Street that represent this style of architecture.

Town of Carbondale Downtown Survey Project, 2006, Reid Architect's, Inc., Manuscript on file, History Colorado, Denver, Colorado.

Carbondalegov.org

Carbondale Historical Society