Starr Family Home State Historic Site is a 3.1 acre (13,000 m²) historical state park operated by the Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife in downtown Marshall, Texas. The park encompasses several structures used by the Starr Family; most notably the main house or Starr Home, Maplecroft, and the Rosemont Cottage.
The park portrays 150 years and four generations of one of the most influential political families in the periods of the Republic of Texas and early statehood. The family donated the park to the State of Texas in 1976 and in 1982 the park was enlarged to include all of the Starr family residences. The Starrs continued to live at the site until 1985; the park was opened to the public the following year.
James F. Starr, commissioned the construction of the main attraction of the park, Maplecroft. The original antebellum plantation, Rosemont, was partially demolished in the 1870s for the construction of Maplecroft. Maplecroft was constructed in the Italianate style of red heart pine. Craftsmen, such as shipwrights, and building materials were shipped from New Orleans to Marshall. The remaining portion of the original main house, Rosemont, was converted into a school house for the family's children ant later into a laundry.
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Last updated: 10-13-2005 23:04:13
