1242 Clarkson, along with two neighboring homes (1236 and 1248 Clarkson), was constructed in 1905 by the Pence Building and Investment Company. Kingsley Pence, the founder and president of the Pence company, moved to Denver by 1894. He initially worked in insurance and investments in Denver, but by 1901 had turned his efforts to real estate. At the time of the construction of 1242 Clarkson, the Pence Building and Investment Company was active in the Denver market, building and selling "fine modern homes on easy payments" throughout the city. Kingsley Pence was active in the Denver community, serving as chairman of the committee that induced Denver to establish the Denver Mountain Parks system. Pence Park, at the top of Bear Creek Canyon, is named after Kingsley Pence.
The home was purchased by Otis and Juliette Haskell in 1906. Haskell worked as a commission merchant for his own firm, Haskell & Waters. According to his 1919 obituary, Otis Haskell was on the executive board of the 1883 National Mining and Industrial Exposition, held in Denver. Otis and his wife Juliette lived at 1242 Clarkson until Otis’s death.
