1921 Goss St. - George and Mary Reeves

George Washington Reeves Jr, son of a minister, was born in Sturgeon, Missouri in 1876. He was one of seven children born to the Rev. George Washington Reeves Sr. and Mary F. Turner Reeves.

In 1900, he married Mary J. Morrison in Fayette, Missouri. Mary was sister to George, John and Lee Morrison. After the birth of their only child, Alice Cleora in 1902, they moved to Colorado, as did some of the other Morrisons. Their families were close friends and in 1908 they formed a band together. Elmer McVey, John McVey’s brother [you will hear about John later in the tour], was pianist, Lee Morrison played cello, his brother George Morrison played violin, and George Reeves played the traps, also known as drums. Over the years the members of the band changed. In the third photo above you are able to see that George Reeves was still playing traps, but Jack Morrison was on bass, his brother Lee was on flute, and George’s brother Joshua was on cello. They loved to entertain with family and friends and play at the Allen Chapel of the African Methodist Episcopal Church[Stop 22].

Although George loved playing music, he also had steady employment as a laborer , working a variety of odd jobs, which included helping out at John McVey’s billiard hall, working at a shoe shine parlor, and being a section-hand on the railroad. Mary worked as a domestic in addition to housing and feeding as many as six Black CU students, Their daughter Cleora was college-educated from the Kansas State Teachers College, but had to go South to teach. After World War II she returned to Boulder but could only find work as a cook in a sorority house.

The Reeves rented several different houses on Water Street [now Canyon Boulevard] and Goss Street , before buying their home at 1921 Goss in 1915. They lived at that home until their deaths—George in 1950 at the age of 74 along with Mary who died 10 years later. They are buried in the Columbia Cemetery.

Directions to Stop 11: Walk west on the north side of Goss Street. Stop 11 is a backlot house one may view between 1915 and 1903 Goss Street.