Upton Treat Smith House - 403 Cantril Street
By Annette Gray
111 years ago saw the completion of Civil War veteran Upton Treat Smith’s house at 403 Cantril Street, Castle Rock. However, Treat, as he was known, had been a Douglas County resident since 1869.
Smith was born in Monroe, Maine in 1843 and he enlisted in the Union Army when he was 17. He served in the 6th Maine Infantry from 1861 to 1864, where he participated in several battles of the Civil War, including Antietam, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg. Following his discharge, Treat attended a business college in New York.
While working in New York City, Smith met a man who owned some mines in Colorado and decided to accompany him on an inspection trip. They traveled by train to Cheyenne and then took a stage to Central City, where they arrived in March 1869. Although Smith spent several months prospecting, he soon realized he was not going to strike it rich and left the mountains.
Smith used his military service to homestead 160 acres on West Plum Creek and, with the help of his brother, constructed what he called a “three-room cottage.” He then decided it was time to get married. However, his “girl with the calico dress” was back East and he didn’t have the money to make the trip. Fortunately, the Douglas County Commissioners hired Smith to escort a mentally ill man back to his mother in Boston. After delivery, Smith went on to Monroe, where he married Elizabeth “Lizzie” Sarah Grout on November 8, 1872. They immediately returned to Douglas County.
Treat and Lizzie raised four children on the ranch: Hattie, Edwin, Guy and Roger. The family called the ranch a dairy ranch and Treat claimed to have made and sold butter to every grocery store in Denver. In addition to ranching, Treat served in a variety of official roles in Douglas County. Elected county treasurer in 1897, he served as treasurer for seven years. By 1900, Treat and Lizzie had made the decision to move to Castle Rock. It would have been easier for him to carry out his duties as treasurer in town. In addition, the move allowed the two youngest sons, who were 13 and 11 years old, to attend school in town.
The Castle Rock Journal reported on the construction of the Upton Treat Smith House in 1900. After his decision to move, Treat purchased three lots on Cantril Street in March. Work on the house began immediately, and in August, his sons Guy and Roger were finishing work in the interior. Treat and Lizzie had probably moved into their new home by December of 1900. Constructed of Castle Rock rhyolite, the 1½ story house featured a steep-pitched gable roof, tall narrow double-hung windows and a porch with decorative brackets. Local craftsmen constructed a stone fence and a carriage shed that adjoined the barn in the rear.
Following his years as treasurer, Treat became active in banking. He was a president of the First National Bank of Douglas County and the privately-owned People’s Bank in Castle Rock, as well as a director of the State Bank of Castle Rock. The family was very close and the small home was the site of “many happy homecomings.” It would have been crowded during the times when Hattie and her six children would come to stay for weeks at a time. Treat had lived in the house for twenty-five years when he died on July 7, 1925. Lizzie continued to live in their home until her death ten years later on April 7, 1935.
The Upton Treat Smith House became a Castle Rock landmark in 1994.
