KING AND QUEEN OF ORANGE

The stunning W. H. Stark House, home to a splendid collection of 18th and 19th century furnishings and accessories, makes an impression at first glance. Located in the East Texas city of Orange, this three-story example of Queen Anne elegance and style, popular at the turn of the 19th century, was built by philanthropist William Henry Stark and his wife Mariam M. Lutcher Stark. At 14,000 square feet with stained glass windows and ornate woodwork of cypress and yellow pine, the 1894 Stark House defines opulence in an era when few Texans had electricity or indoor plumbing. Stark, who moved to Orange in 1870 at the age of 20 to work in the local sawmills, married the daughter of lumber tycoon Henry Jacob Lutcher, securing a financial future for himself and his family and taking over much of the Lutcher family business when his father-in-law passed away. The home is filled with the Stark’s collection of decorative artworks, gathered over years of global travel, including a bronze copy of Napoleon’s death mask, cast by a Parisian foundry in 1833 and believed to be one of few that survive today. A portion of the extensive decorative arts collection can also be explored online at the museum’s website.