T. L. James House

This colonial home was built by Colonel Thomas Cunningham Standifer, a Civil War Hero, who had a general merchandise store at Old Trenton. He purchased the entire Block #6 from Robert E. Russ for $450.00 cash on January 3, 1884 and built the house the same year that Ruston was incorporated and a year after the East-West railroad was built. The present front including the columns was added by Mr. T. L. James in 1926.

The house is built with square nails, and the trim is white pine from Michigan. The downstairs ceilings are 13ft high. There was originally a lightered (pitch pine) picket fence around the block.

The home remained in Col. Standifer's family until the death of Mrs J. D. Barksdale (Olive Standifer) in 1913, when it was purchased by Mr. G. A. Adams who already had brought the north half of the lot from the Standifer heirs.

Mr. T. L. James, then living in Dubach, purchased the home in 1921, moving here with his wife and six children in the summer of 1921. The Property now belongs to the T. L. James & Company, Inc. Mr T. L. James died in 1944 and Mrs. T. L. James died in 1964. The house is now maintained for use by the company.

As far as the home itself, the T. L. James House is locally significant in that it is the finest example of the Colonial Revival style in the city of Ruston. It is the only one which features a colossal pedimented portico. This marks it as the apogee of the Colonial Revival style in the city. The house has a handsome distintive neo-Georgian articulation which links it with the high style tendencies of the day in large cities.

The information for this site was taken from a pamphlet entitled "Centennial Historical Tour" Ruston, Louisiana, 4/14/1983. A copy of this pamplet was provided by the Division of Historic Preservation, Louisiana. Without their assistance this page would not have been possible. If you have any other information about this home please email me: David A Lewis.

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