DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I aim to do it justice. Now, if you're passing through Colorado County, Texas, you might find yourself wondering what kind of man builds an opera house in cattle country. Well, pull up closer to the fire, because the answer is R.
E. Stafford — born 1834, died 1890 — millionaire cattleman, and apparently a man who believed beef and beauty were not mutually exclusive. In 1886, he put up the Stafford Opera House, and he didn't do it halfway.
Not even close. He brought in N. J.
Clayton as architect — the same man who designed many an opulent Texas building — and Clayton delivered something that must have made more than a few cowboys blink twice and check if they'd ridden into the wrong town. The interior seated one thousand people. One thousand.
Gas-burning chandeliers hung overhead, casting that warm flickering glow across an elaborate hand-painted curtain that dressed the stage like something out of a dream. And what walked out from behind that curtain on opening night? Only the famous Lillian Russell herself, in a production called "As in a Looking Glass." That is a statement of arrival, friends.
But it didn't stop there. Houdini played that stage. Houdini.
Other prominent entertainers came through as well, and on performance days, the demand was such that special trains ran in from distant towns just to fill those thousand seats. A cattleman built it, a celebrated architect shaped it, and the most dazzling names of the era graced its stage. That, right there, is the Old Stafford Opera House.
What the marker says
Built 1886 by R. E. Stafford, 1834-1890, millionaire cattleman. Stately interior (which seated 1,000) had gas-burning chandeliers and an elaborate hand-painted curtain. Architect was N. J. Clayton, who designed many opulent Texas buildings. Opening performance, "As in a Looking Glass," starred famous Lillian Russell. Magician Houdini also played here, as did other prominent entertainers. On performance days, special trains ran from distant towns.