2004 Goss St. - Caleb and Reona Allen

Caleb A. Allen was born in December 1876 in Atlanta Georgia, and by 1880 when he was four, his family had moved to Denver. His first marriage in 1908 was to Emma Bailey, which did not last more than five years. In 1915, Caleb married Reona Morrison, sister of the famed musician and bandleader George Morrison. George was the best man at their wedding, and George’s wife was Reona’s maid of honor. In 1921 the couple moved to Boulder and lived here at 2004 Goss Street.

This house was their home for the rest of their lives. The front of the house is virtually unaltered from how it was when they lived here. Their front porch welcomed their family and friends over the years. Although they owned the house outright, they sold it to Reona’s brother George Morrison in 1950. With no children of their own, they kept the house in the family.

Caleb was a janitor at the Mercantile Bank and Trust on Pearl and Broadway for many years , and Reona kept home. Both were proud and active members of Boulder’s Second Baptist Church. [Stop 16] For many years. Reona was president of the Queen Alice Mission of the church, named for her mother. In 1959 Caleb was honored for 50 years of membership and service to the Masonic Centennial Lodge #4, shown in the above newspaper clipping photo, the third photo above. That same year, Reona preceded him in death. Caleb died in 1963 and both are buried in Boulder’s Columbia Cemetery. Caleb’s brother-in-law, George Morrison was a pall bearer.

Directions to Stop 7: Cross 20th Street to the southwest corner of 20th and Goss streets. Stop 7 does not have a historic building photo as its second photo.