Miriam Lutcher Stark
Miriam Lutcher Stark
Miriam Melissa Lutcher Stark was born on January 23, 1859, in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, to Henry Jacob Lutcher and his wife, Frances Ann Robinson Lutcher.
Her father was a lumber tycoon who co-founded the Lutcher & Moore Lumber Company after moving to Orange, Texas, with his family in 1877. On December 22, 1881, Miriam married William Henry Stark. They had two children – Frances Ann, who died as a young child, and Henry Jacob (H.J.) Lutcher Stark, who went on to become a prominent businessman and philanthropist in the Orange, Texas community.
Miriam was a lifelong member of the First Presbyterian Church in Orange, Texas, and she was active in Pi Beta Phi. She became a passionate collector of art, books, and decorative objects. In 1926 she donated a significant portion of her collection to the University of Texas – the university attended by both her husband and son and for which both men later served as members on the Board of Regents. At the time of her death in 1936, the university retained only the rare books, which can be found today in the Miriam Lutcher Stark Library in the University of Texas Tower, Harry Ransom Center. The collection includes works by Byron, a page from the Book of Leviticus from a Gutenberg Bible (circa before August 1, 1456), a first issue of the King James Bible dated 1611, and a Breeches Bible dated 1588.
Her enthusiasm for reading also prompted her to establish the Stark Reading Contest in Orange, Texas, schools in 1904. The contest continues today in schools throughout the entire Orange, Texas, area.
Miriam Melissa Lutcher Stark died on November 27, 1936, shortly after the death of her husband. She was buried in the family mausoleum in Evergreen Cemetery, Orange, Texas.