Janet's Book Nook

One of the things that I have always wanted in my home was a study/library. They were so popular in the old houses and now you rarely see home libraries anymore. Imagine how much easier it would be if we kept every book we read and put them in our library. I guess the invention of paperback books may have had something to do with that. Perhaps people are too busy to read these days. There is nothing more beautiful to me than a leather and wood trimmed library. When you add to this my love of old houses in general and many weekends you will find me checking out the historic homes in my area.

I was doing some research on old homes today and I found a website for one in Orange, Texas that I would just love to make the trip to see. The name of the house is named the W.H. Stark House and the website is www.whstarkhouse.org. This is a historic Victorian home and it was built in 1894 by W.H. Stark and his family until 1936. The house is truly extraordinary. Here is a picture of the library:

I love that it actually looks like a library that a family would have used. It doesn’t look like one of the public libraries with books stacked wall to wall and floor to ceiling. It just has their beloved books neatly stacked on the shelves. The beautiful furnishings and comfortable fireplace make this home library complete. This library was originally home to over 10,000 rare books. Most of these were donated to the University of Texas when Mr. Stark’s wife passed away in 1936. This was a family that loved books and understood the importance of fine books. 

The lady of the house was Miriam Lutcher Stark and she was an avid reader and book collector. She was proud to own many rare pieces of literature including a page from a 1456 Bible. She established the Stark Reading Contest in Orange, Texas, schools in 1904. The contest continues today in schools throughout the entire Orange, Texas, area. 

One of the things that I found amazing about this old house was that it was hit pretty hard by Hurricane Rita in 2005 and there was a good bit of damage. The foundation did not let this be the end and they repaired the home and even upgraded parts of the electrical systems while they were closed. The rest of the house is equally beautiful and it would be well worth the trip to see. It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and designated as a RecordedTexas Historic Landmark by the Texas Historical Commission. They have tours from 10 am to 3 pm Tuesday through Saturday.