William Henry Stark

Duane's take

Here's my telling of the official marker for William Henry Stark, right out of Orange County, Texas. Now settle in, because this one's a story about a man who showed up in a town and just kept going. William Henry Stark was born in San Augustine County in 1851, and he didn't stay put long.

He lived in Burkeville, then Newton, and by 1870 he had landed in Orange. He was a young man in a timber country, and he did what a young man in timber country does. He went to work in the sawmills.

Not just one mill, mind you. Every phase of the lumber industry, the marker says, and you get the sense Stark paid attention to all of it. Then came 1881, and here's where the story picks up speed.

Stark married Miriam Melissa Lutcher, born in 1859, the daughter of one Henry Jacob Lutcher, who happened to be a partner in the Lutcher and Moore Lumber Company. Now, Stark joined his father-in-law's firm, and because of his knowledge of milling operations, he was soon placed in charge of two mills over in Louisiana. Two mills.

That's how you learn something, and that's how you prove it. Success in lumber led Stark outward, into iron and coal production, real estate, ranching. The man had progressive ideas, too, real ones.

He pushed for deep water ports on the Sabine River. He championed an irrigation system that provided stimulus for the region's rice industry. Orange grew because of it.

He served as a regent for the University of Texas from 1911 to 1915, and that office didn't leave the family either. His son Lutcher Stark held it later, and went on to become chairman of the University Board. William Henry Stark died in 1936, the same year as Miriam.

He had arrived in Orange in 1870 with nothing but his willingness to learn every corner of a sawmill. What he left behind was a city's steady growth, its industrial strength, and its community pride. Not a bad ledger for one man's life.

What the marker says

A native of San Augustine County, William Henry Stark (1851-1936) lived in Burkeville and Newton before moving to Orange in 1870. Here he worked in the early area sawmills and became acquainted with every phase of the lumber industry. In 1881 Stark married Miriam Melissa Lutcher (1859-1936), the daughter of Henry Jacob Lutcher, a partner in the Lutcher and Moore Lumber Company. Stark joined his father-in-law's firm and, because of his knowledge of milling operations, was soon placed in charge of two mills in Louisiana. Stark's success in the lumber industry led him to invest in other businesses, including iron and coal production, real estate, and ranching. His progressive ideas, including deep water ports on the Sabine River and an irrigation system that provided stimulus for the region's rice industry, led to increased growth for the city of Orange. Stark also served as a regent for the University of Texas, 1911-15, an office later held by his son Lutcher Stark, who became chairman of the University Board. The many contributions W. H. Stark made to Orange are reflected in the city's steady growth, industrial strength, and community pride.