The Blues, the Cowans, the Kuhlmans, and the Flatiron Building

As I research the home on Cactus Street, I'm beginning to suspect there's more to the history of the home than just the Baird family living there. This article is mainly a list of notes and references that connect the family of George W. Blue, a plasterer, to the Cowan family that had the home built across the street, and then a suspected link to Fred M. Kuhlman, and then finally to the beautiful Flatiron Building in downtown Fort Worth.

George W. Blue bought the lot on Cactus Street in 1901-1902, moving there from 1313 College [1]. It is undetermined if this lot was empty or not when he bought it, but by the time the Fort Worth City Directory of 1901 was published, he was running a plastering business with Marvin Edgar Penewell (Blue & Penewell) out of the home at 1015 Cactus. By time of the City Directory of 1902-1903, he is listed alone as a plasterer - no longer associated with Mr. Penewell. George W. Blue had a daughter named Mabel Lee Blue.

At the same time, Andrew Cowan, a stonemason and brickmason had a house built across the street in 1901 [2]. Andrew had a son by the same name, Andrew [3]. Son, Andrew Cowan and Mabel Blue must have met because they lived across the street from each other. In the book, "A Goodly Heritage: The Cowan Family":

The Blue family lived across the street on Washington from the Cowans. The young lady of that family would notice each evening that Andrew would come home from work, dress all up, hitch up the horse and buggy and go off to call on the girls. One evening as he passed she said to him, "Why don't you ever take me for a ride?" He gave her one look turned around, went home and called her on the telephone and asked if he could take her for a ride...it was Mama and to her knowledge no other girl ever got a buggy ride with Andrew but Mabel Blue. (Her granddaughter, Andra Lee, just can't believe htat grandmother was so forward).

Andrew and Mabel married in 1907 [4]. By 1910 they had two children and lived on College [5].

This creates a definite link between the two homes at the corner of Cactus and Washington, and then there's more. That would be the Kuhlman half of the Cowan-Kuhlman House.

Fred M. Kuhlman was a "a contractor who specialized in road paving, fireproofing and reinforced concrete construction" [2] and resided in the Cowan-Kuhlman House starting in 1919 or 1920 [6], for a yet (to me) undetermined number of years. The historical survey goes on to say that "The firm of Kuhlman & Blue had its offices downtown in the Flatiron Building."

Further research in the 1909-1910 Fort Worth City Directory shows that the firm of Kuhlman & Blue was comprised of both Frederick M. Kuhlman and George W. Blue. It moved into the Flatiron Building in 1911 [7], and then was possibly disbanded by 1916 [8].

The Blue family sold the Cactus home in 1906, before Mabel married Andrew in 1907 and before George Blue and Fred Kuhlman started Kuhlman & Blue. Fred Kuhlman finally moved into the Cowan-Kuhlman House in 1919 or 1920 [9].

[1] Census 1900, Fort Wort, Ward 8, District 107 (listed incorrectly as "George Blew"), on College Ave., beginning on line 64
[2] Fort Worth Historical Survey, Cowan-Kuhlman House
[3] Census 1900, Fort Worth, Ward 7, District 106, entry for family of Andrew Cowan on May St., beginning on line 81.
[4] "Goodly Heritage: The Cowan Family" by Verna Hovey Cowan, p 174
[5] Census 1910, Fort Worth, Ward 8, District 134, entry for Andrew Cowan on College Ave., beginning on line 91.
[6] Fort Worth City Directory 1920
[7] Fort Worth City Directory 1911
[8] Fort Worth City Directory 1916, Kuhlman & Blue is no longer listed.
[9] Fort Worth City Directory 1920 (the city directory for 1919 was not available)