The Story of Avoca

The Browns purchased a three-story Denver home built by renowned architect William Lang, at 1340 Pennsylvania Avenue. Rumor and speculation claims that Molly and J.J. were snubbed by Denver society, especially the elite "Sacred Thirty-six," a collection of Denver’s most affluent aristocracy. Contrary to the allegory, Denver society pages were filled with anecdotes about the Browns, and it was not unfounded for the "Sacred Thirty-six" to have excluded distinguished families from their inner sanctum, Molly and J.J. were, however, listed on Denver’s social register, and as Molly’s notoriety for parties, politics and pretentious fashions became a public fascination, the social pages reported her every move.

After striking it from rags to riches, the Browns pined for the simple pleasures of country living, or longed to return to their roots so their children, Helen and Lawrence, could run and play with abandonment as a means to escape city life. Whatever the reason, Molly and J.J. purchased acreage on Bear Creek, approximately nine miles from their city home.

Majestic maple trees were used as property lines, and perhaps it was the beautiful foliage that commanded the Brown’s attention to the coveted country acreage. It is known that one attraction beckoned the Browns to the lovely land, and that was the rushing waters of Bear Creek. Welcoming water created a natural irrigation system through Pioneer Union Ditch that entered the farm on the northwest, and the Simonton Ditch that offered Bear Lake’s fresh water from the west. On the northwest corner of this soon-to-be fashionable farm was an artesian well, and south was a fresh spring that only slowed in the driest of winters. Molly Brown christened the property that cascaded with water "Avoca", after a poem written by her favorite Irish born poet, Sir Thomas Moore, appropriately entitled: The Meeting of the Waters.

The Meeting of the Waters

There is not in the wide world and valley so sweet
As the vale in whose bosom the bright waters meet
Oh! The last rays of feeling and life must depart,
Ere the bloom of that valley shall fade from my heart.

Yet was not that Nature had shed o’er the scene
Her purest of crystal and brightest of green;
‘Twas not for soft magic of streamlet or hill,
Oh! no, - it was something more exquisite still.

‘Twas that friends, the beloved of my bosom, were near,
Who made every dear scene of enchantment more dear,
And who felt how the best charms of nature improve,
When we see them reflected from looks that we love.

Sweet vale of Avoca! How calm could I rest!
In they bosom of shade, with the friends I love best.
Where the storms that we feel in the cold world should cease,
And our hearts, like thy waters, be mingled in peace.

 (click here for a printable copy)

The 400-acre property was purchased in parcels by the Nuevo-riche Browns. Molly and J.J. bought 200 acres in 1885, and a year later J.J. procured property that was the C.F. Reed farm, and a forty-acre tract to the east make Avoca’s acreage an impressive 400-acre estate.

Molly’s social climbing continued to irk the rich of Denver, and within the pompous social circles, Molly remained a figure to be acknowledged. The Brown’s purchase and plans for Avoca caused tongues to wag, and Mrs. Leonel Ross Anthony, better known under her pen name Polly Pry, bantered Molly through print after the Brown’s purchased and established Avoca. In retort to the haughty columnist, Molly penned the following about her beloved Avoca:

"After leaving the smelter smoke of Denver, traversing miles of uninteresting stretch of country, in reach the summit, ‘Behold. . . the Hand Made of the Lord’ and the sublime work of nature, a panoramic view of the most picturesque valley bursts upon me. . .to the right are quartered the bravest of the brave, the bone and sinew of our nation at Fort Logan, and on the other side the spirals of a seat of knowledge and wisdom, Loretto Heights. . . Sweet Vale of Avoca."
- Polly Pry, "Town Topics" September 12, 1903 (pg.9)

To date, an extant record naming the architect of Avoca’s Victorian foursquare home has not been found, but it is known that Browns spent two years building Avoca’s Victorian foursquare home. Terraced lawns, a fabulous water fountain, flowerbeds, elaborate driveway, and a fishing pond enticed family and friends to the welcoming grounds of Avoca, where Avoca Lodge stood in stately elegance. The National Historic Register describes the house as a two-story dipped brick construction with sandstone foundation, has lovely window lintels, eyebrow windows in the attic and from the outside presents an unpretentious yet striking resemblance to the Brown’s flamboyant abode at 1340 Pennsylvania Avenue. A full basement was built with a walkout on the south side. Before a fully functional kitchen was added to Avoca’s main floor a few years later, a curvature stairway with a convex wall from basement to dining room allowed cooks and servants a naturally formed brace to place their shoulders while carrying heavy laden trays food and drink to the Brown family on the upper floor.

Two standard parlors grace the main floor of the house, and the front parlor has an impressive fireplace that Molly replicated from the home on Pennsylvania Avenue. The tile hearth and frame are exquisite, with a majestic oak mantle and mirror.

Outbuildings included a car shed that housed the family electric automobile known as a Fritchlie. The August 1903 edition of The Denver Times presents a picture of the friends dining with friends and a statement indicating that the Brown motor would be motoring to Avoca Lodge. A truck shed, and a windmill with backup gasoline motor also adorned the Avoca property. Two glazed tile silos were built on the property, and a cabin and tenant house for the hired help were built. A board and batten horse stable was constructed to house J.J. and Molly’s beloved Thoroughbreds.

J.J., the ever-enterprising entrepreneur, launched a chicken operation in 1904, with assistance of poultry specialist William Newton of Kansas. Brown and Newton created solidly built chicken houses constructed of brick, a fowl infirmary complete with custom-built incubators, and exercise yard, J.J.’s chicken operation included a large fowl bathhouse where the pampered birds bathed daily. Perhaps visionary before his time, J.J. strived to raise his birds by standards accepted to day as "natural." He fed a pristine diet to the favored flock from recipes found in a distinguished cookbook comprised of culinary recipes reserved for pure fed poultry.

Avoca was definitely a working farm, and the January 1899 edition of Kings and Queens on the Range reported the affluent Browns were raising timothy hay on 40-acres and sweet and aromatic alfalfa hay on 60 acres. Wheat, fruit trees and an experimental crop of sugar beets completed the labor of love bestowed on the Avoca land, but perhaps the dairy operation was as impressive as any endeavor undertaken by the Browns.

Dairy Barn ©Molly Brown Summer House

An exotic two-story dipped brick construction with sandstone foundation brick dairy barn was built directly to the south of Avoca Lodge. Molly ensured that a bounty of fresh milk, butter, buttermilk, smeerkase (cheese), chicks and fresh fruit were sent daily by train to Brown’s Pennsylvania address when the family went to their Denver home. Perhaps the second floor of the dairy barn was a favored place for Molly, as it was graced with an expansive hardwood floor, suitable for the expansive parties Molly threw that are rumored to have lasted three-days with all night dancing. It’s been said that guests of the Browns would arrive by train at Sheridan Junction, then enjoy a hayride to Avoca on a wagon sent to the train by the Molly and J.J.

The Denver Times often reported social events at Avoca as "highlights of the season." An August 5, 1898 addition states "Mrs. J.J. Brown is giving a series of luncheons in the country. No invitation received by any one of her friends is more eagerly anticipated than an invitation from this charming entertainer." The always fashion conscientious Molly was probably proud when her frock made fashion news, and The Denver Times reported on April 18, 1899 that Molly wore a "Paris creation of white brocaded satin rose point lace, accented with a collar of pearls." Folklore has it that Molly didn’t follow fashion trend. It was pointed out to Molly that it was improper to wear diamonds in the days, and rumor has it she replied, "I didn’t think so either, until I had some."

One can only speculate that the Browns found a short-lived time of togetherness and tranquility at Avoca. Young Helen and Lawrence Brown romped with friends, played with their ponies and had hours of fun exploring Avoca’s property pulled by their pony in a pony cart. Certainly The Meeting of the Waters final stanzas, "Where the storms that we feel in this cold world should cease, And our hearts, like thy waters, be mingled in peace," were found in fruition by each family member. . .but the dreams faded and died.

The Titanic capsized on April 14, 1912, but the Brown marriage had hit their own iceberg several years before. J.J. Brown started selling chunks of Avoca land in 1905, and the records are not intact who took ownership, until Louise C. Donley’s name is listed on the deed as owner in 1906. The land continued to be divided, but Ms. Donley managed the dairy operation and lived in Avoca Lodge well into the 1920’s. Tenant farmers toiled the rich Avoca farmland, until a family, unsinkable by their own rights, purchased the property in 1930. Robert V. Fehlmann bought what was left of Avoca acreage and Avoca lodge, and the Fehlmann family has cared for Avoca for three generations. The Fehlmann women have surmounted against astounding odds to keep the home in excellent repair, and the folklore alive. . .and one can only guess that Molly Brown is smiling and approves how the Fehlmann’s have labored, loved and kept her image very much alive at Avoca.

All photos of Molly and JJ Brown on this page copyright Colorado Historical Society, used with permission. Additional photos and graphics, copyright Molly Brown Summer House