Moonshine at the Seasons
Texas lawmen bust a still near Jefferson in 1930 The moonshine still as you drive into The Seasons was built around 1925 in the Jefferson area. With the beginning of prohibition in January 1920 the illegal manufacture and sale of alcohol was banned everywhere. The Jefferson moonshine business began quickly and the “shine” makers continued into the late 1970’s. Numerous city leaders preferred…
Louisiana Governor Borrows our Bushes for his Inauguration
On a cold day in January 2016, our landscape team was planning a trip to Bracy’s Nursery in Amite City, Louisiana to pick up our carefully selected Savannah Holly bushes that were to be added to the landscape at the House of the Seasons in Jefferson, Texas. The bill was paid and a confirmation call to the owner of the nursery was made that morning to confirm all was set for pick up that…
Tragedy at the House of the Seasons
In 1898, a tragedy occurred at the House of the Seasons. James King and his wife, Minnie, had acquired several lots and a home on Friou Street behind the House of the Seasons in 1896. Two years later their two-year-old son fell into a cistern located next to the arbor and, tragically, drowned. Soon afterwards, a 300-pound concrete slab was put on top of the cistern’s opening, where it remained…
Artist Restores House’s Historic Murals
Art Conservationist Stashka Star, of Dallas, completed the restoration of intricate murals at the House of the Seasons, a historic home and museum in Jefferson, Texas, in 2003. Renowned for her restoration of Art Deco murals at Dallas’ Fair Park, Star was hired in 1996 by Richard Collins to restore a sculpture at the entrance to the former Women’s Museum honoring his mother, Calvert Collins, the…
A Soul Known Only To God
Here Lie the Remains During the last week of August 2015, human skull fragments were found behind the House of the Seasons, specifically in the soil around an ornamental shrub which had just been installed by Roy Koopman’s work crew (J D’s Plant Farm and Landscaping, Marshall, Texas). Over the next several days, examination of the soil in the root ball area of the planting unearthed many more…
Ben H. Epperson, Builder of the House of the Seasons
By Ralph A. Wooster “One of the ablest politicians in Texas,” wrote the editor of the Dallas Herald in April, 1874, in describing the chairman of the judiciary committee of the Texas House of Representatives, Ben H. Epperson of Jefferson.1 Lame in one leg as a result of an accident and forced to support himself with a cane while walking, Epperson had nevertheless played an active role in…
House of the Seasons featured on Rick Rowe’s Where in the Ark-La-Tex
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House of the Season’s Furniture
The House of the Seasons is proud to announce it has loaned several pieces of furniture to the Bullock History Museum in Austin, TX through 2018. The furniture, which will be part of the museum’s exhibit on Texas plantation furniture, comes from the Wyalucing plantation home in Marshall, Texas. The House of the Seasons acquired the furniture from the Dorothy Morris estate. Morris had previously…
Panoramic view of the Cupola
A new, unique view! This panoramic photo was taken by master carpenter Sam Ayer, from the roof of the cupola at the House of the Seasons. He was doing some repair work and snapped this picture. The red clay rocks are part of a new driveway in nearby property we just acquired.
Here We Grow Again!
The House of the Seasons is now booking tours of its new greenhouse and garden area! Jefferson, TX (April 8, 2015) Construction crews battled rain, sleet, snow, and frigid temperatures all winter long, but spring has officially sprung at the House of the Seasons in Jefferson with completion of a major portion of an outdoor expansion project. Plants native to East Texas are now growing…