The Steamboat Pilot & Today

Steamboat Springs — Longtime locals have it right.

The downtown Steamboat Springs house at 544 Oak St., used by the Pregnancy Resource Center and known as the Good Shepherd House, is not the former residence of the late Dr. Frederick E. Willett, a man who came to Steamboat Springs in 1912 and became known as “the country doctor” while practicing medicine in Routt County for 56 years.

A March 13 article in the Steamboat Today incorrectly identified the house at 544 Oak St. as the Willett House.

According to Yampa Valley native and local historian Jim Stanko, Willett’s former house actually is at 443 Oak St. and would not be impacted by the proposed expansion of Holy Name Catholic Church. Stanko should know the history of the house — his family used to own it.

“Dr. Willett was my great-uncle, and I spent a lot of my childhood in that house,” Stanko wrote in a recent letter to the Steamboat Pilot & Today. “In addition, the Willett House is really the Morning House. It was originally owned by Judge Charles Morning, and all the real old-timers referred to the house as the Morning House.

“For the Pilot’s information and for the information of all those that think they know the history of Steamboat, Judge Morning was the last county judge on the bench when the courthouse was in Hahn’s Peak (Village), and the first county judge to serve on the bench in Steamboat Springs. Judge Morning was very prominent in Steamboat community affairs and well known throughout the state.

“My uncle, Dr. Willett, boarded with the Mornings when he came to Steamboat Springs,” Stanko continued. “He did not own the house until he purchased it from the Morning estate in the mid-1950s. He owned the house until his death, and then my mother, Natalie Stanko, owned the house until she sold it to the Dismuke family.”

Other longtime locals, including Paddy Farrell of Oak Creek, agreed with Stanko’s take, which also was acknowledged by His­toric Routt County Executive Director Todd Hagenbuch.

The issue arose when the Rev. Ernest Bayer of Holy Name offered three homes on church property to anyone able to move them. Moving the homes would make room for the church’s proposed multimillion-dollar expansion.

Those homes are at 214 Sixth St., 220 Sixth St. and 544 Oak St.

Bayer said there “has been some interest” in moving the homes. Church officials have submitted preliminary plans to the city and will meet next week to discuss building matters including the future of the homes.

“We’re not making any definite plans, we’re just looking at our options,” Bayer said. “We want to move forward in a way that is agreeable to everyone, if we can.”

Historic preservation advocate and former Steamboat Springs City Councilwoman Arianthe Stettner said the house at 544 Oak St. has historic significance because of its detail work and period architecture — no matter who owned it.

“Thank goodness we have people like Jim Stanko … to keep us honest,” Stettner said, citing Stanko’s 1979 authorship of a historic guide to Routt County. “The rest of us who thought we knew can stand corrected.”

— To reach Mike Lawrence, call 871-4233

or e-mail mlawrence@steamboatpilot.com