Historic Starr Family Home: Hidden Gem of East Texas

I passed by it every day on the school bus when I attended the junior high school: A large, stately home in green and white with a huge, fenced yard. When I saw the blooming azaleas, it meant we were about to make the turn to the parking lot. I never noticed the small, unobtrusive sign; you've got to understand, many of the houses in Marshall were built between 1860 and 1930, and many of them have signs of one kind or another by the front walk proclaiming when they were built. At the time, our "modern" house had been built in 1943.

It wasn't until I was nearly finished with high school that I had occasion to set foot on the grounds of the Starr Family Home. It was mid-December, and a candelight tour for the annual "Wonderland of LIghts" festival was going on. My choir director had asked for volunteers to go sing outdoors at some of the houses while the tour was going on. Luck of the draw gave me the Starr Home, and for reasons I can't remember I was the only one to show that evening. I stood singing by a park bench while my fingers and toes started to feel a little frosty - standing still, even in mild Texas winter, cold can get to you pretty quickly. After about 45 minutes or so, a lady came rushing over and asked if, since I was the only one, I would like to come sing in the parlour instead, where they finished the tour and served light refreshments.

I stepped through the doors, and suddenly I felt as though I should be wearing a bustle and corset. The furniture, the walls, the floors - beautiful examples of Victorian craftsmanship and elegant taste. I stood by a gorgeous piano and sang until they finished giving tours for the night, and on breaks wandered a little through the house. Later, I did peruse a booklet that told me the current house was built in 1870, that there were other buildings on the grounds, and a little of the family's history. The dry facts and brief travel descriptions I have found, though, don't do justice to the home. I don't know whether going on a tour in the day would have the same effect, but that night sticks in my memory as the closest thing I might find to time travel.

I did move away, attend college, get married, and so on - but now I'm back in Marshall, and the other day I drove by the grand old lady with my son. December's not far away, and I think I might just take a candelight stroll this year to see the rest of Maplecroft. Maybe I'll even pay a little more attention to the history this time, but if I get lost in the atmosphere, I can always visit in the spring and see the azaleas blooming.

The Starr Family Home is listed on the Texas Parks & Wildlife Web site. (http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/starr_family)