Koelsch History
1958
2024
The Koelsch Communities story began in 1958. Discover the major milestones and events that have shaped who we are today.
1876
Frank Kern, a German immigrant arrives in America to farm land in Great Bend, Kansas.
1911
Frank offered a fellow immigrant, Emil Emmett Koelsch, room and board in exchange for work.
1919
Emil fell in love with and married Frank’s youngest daughter, Elizabeth.
1938
Emmett Koelsch, Emil’s second-born, decided to leave the farm at age 17 to head for Longview, Wa.
1940
Emmett Koelsch met, fell in love with, and married and Alice McCormick.
1943
Soon, after their marriage, Emmett was called into the service for World War II.
1946
After coming home from the war, Emmett and Alice’s family grew to 5 children.
1958
After 21 years as a manager with Reynolds Metals, Emmett and Alice scraped together what they could and bought and opened the old Monticello Hall Nursing Home.
1959
Over the course of time, Emmett and Alice’s partnership and business grew, and they expanded across Washington state.
1985
And when it came time to plan for their retirement, the couple sold all of the nursing homes to their 5 children.
1988
Aaron begins his own path in Koelsch by building the Sterling Inn in Southern California. Judy, Aaron’s wife, begins designing beautiful, classic interiors for Koelsch Communities.
1996
Aaron Koelsch solidifies the family properties into Koelsch Communities by incorporating the Koelsch Home Office and giving the communities further unified leadership and direction.
2006
Koelsch Communities expands into new regions, serving seniors in the Mountain States, Southwest, South, Central and Midwestern regions of the United States.
2021
