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Created page with "{{Infobox NRHP | name = White-Pool House​ | image = White-Pool House in Odessa, TX Picture 1849.jpg​ | caption = The White-Pool House is the oldest structure still s..."
{{Infobox NRHP
| name = White-Pool House​
| image = White-Pool House in Odessa, TX Picture 1849.jpg​
| caption = The White-Pool House is the oldest structure still standing in [[Odessa, Texas|Odessa]], [[Texas]].​

| built = 1887​
| architect=Charles White​
| architecture = Victorian​
| added = January 08, 1980​

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'''The White-Pool House''' is a historic structure in [[Odessa, Texas|Odessa]], [[Texas]], included on the [[National Register of Historic Places]]. It was opened to the public in 1984, and retains many of its original furnishings and some rotating exhibits.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-3006406-white_pool_house_odessa-i|title=White-Pool House|publisher=travel.yahoo.com|accessdate=July 14, 2009}}</ref>​
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The two-story red-brick house, located at 112 East Murphy Street (east of the downtown Odessa area), was built in 1887 by Charles White and later purchased in 1923 by Oso Pool; it is the oldest surviving structure in the city.<ref name=wph>{{cite web|url=http://www.white-poolhouse.org/|title=White-Pool House|publisher=white-poolhouse.org|accessdate=July 14, 2009}}</ref>​

The rooms in the White-Pool House parallel two significant periods of [[history]]: (1) The 1880s during the pioneer era when it was built and occupied by the White family and (2) The 1930s during the [[oil]] boom when it was the home of the Pool family. In the back of the house are a [[windmill]], a [[barn]] and other farm buildings, and an outhouse of handmade blocks dating from the founding. In the barn is a display of permanent exhibits of horse-drawn equipment.<ref name=wph/>​
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The White-Pool House is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Guided tours for individuals or groups are available; there is no admission charge.<ref>Texas Department of Transportation, "White-Pool House," ''2008 State Travel Guide,'' p. 27.</ref>​
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==The White Era==​
Charles White and his wife, Lucy, former residents of [[Indiana]] and members of the [[Quaker]] denomination, arrived in Odessa in Ector County, accompanied by their two sons, Wilfred and Herbert.​
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Lucy had a perceived health need to live in a dry climate like that of West Texas, and Charles’ grain business in Indiana had failed in the economic stress of the decades following the [[American Civil War]]. The railroad was selling property in Ector County; thus, the Whites came to Odessa to begin their lives anew. Charles and Wilfred operated a general merchandise store at Third and North Grant streets. Charles also planted a pear and peach orchard with the windmill as the centerpiece of the [[irrigation]] system. He grew [[sorghum]], [[cotton]], and [[vegetable]]s.​
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White purchased a section of land near the railroad tracks for $870 and built the [[Queen Victoria|Victorian]]-style house. In 1890, Wilfred White was appointed as only the second postmaster of Odessa, and the next year voters elected him as county surveyor.​
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Charles White died on June 14, 1905.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.odessahistory.com/whitpool.htm|title="White-Pool House"|author= Glenn Justice|title=''Odessa, An Illustrated History''|publisher=odessahistory.com|accessdate=July 14, 2009}}</ref> After Charles’ death, Lucy and Herbert moved east to Mineral Wells in Palo Pinto County, Texas.​
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==The Pool Era==​
After Lucy and Herbert White moved away, Wilfred sold the house, which changed hands several times until it was purchased by Oso Pool in 1923.​
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Four years later, in 1927, [[petroleum]] was discovered in the Permian Basin, and the influx of people into Odessa created a housing shortage. Pool therefore turned the house into a five-unit [[apartment]] building, a decision which required adding bathrooms, closing in porches, and partitioning the rooms. Pool lived in the basement and rented out the upper rooms. Over the next half-century, ownership of the house was transferred between family members, and its condition deteriorated.​
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Finally, on June 12, 1978, Pool gave the house and six acres to Ector County for historical preservation. Restoration was undertaken between 1979 and 1984. In 1986, the White-Pool House Friends, a [[non-profit organization]], was formed for charitable and educational purposes to preserve the historical heritage of the house.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.white-poolhouse.org/history.html|title=White-Pool House|publisher=whitepoolhouse.org/history|accessdate=July 14, 2009}}</ref>​

==References==
{{reflist}}​
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==External links==​
* [http://www.whitepoolhouse.org/ White-Pool House Museum] - official site​
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{{DEFAULTSORT:White-Pool House}}​
[[Category:Texas]]
[[Category:Museums in Texas]]​
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places]]​
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