Zane Grey Museum Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Significant dates

Zane Grey House
U.S. National Register of Historic Places

East elevation and north profile, 2008
Location in Pennsylvania Show map of Pennsylvania Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Location	Lackawaxen Township, Pike County, Pennsylvania
Built	1905
Architect	Romer C. Grey
NRHP reference No.	83002283 (original) 11000231 (increase)
Added to NRHP	May 6, 1983
Boundary increase	April 29, 2011

The Zane Grey Museum is a cool place in Lackawaxen Township, Pennsylvania. It used to be the home of a famous author named Zane Grey. Now, it's a museum run by the National Park Service.

This special house sits right by the Delaware River. It's even listed on the National Register of Historic Places, which means it's an important historical site. Inside the museum, you can see lots of photos, art, books, and furniture that belonged to Zane Grey and his family.

Zane Grey himself helped design the house. It was built in two parts. The first part was finished in 1905 by his brother, Romer Carl "Reddy" Grey. Seven years later, a neighbor built the second part. This new section was a special writing studio and library. Zane Grey needed more space after his book Riders of the Purple Sage became a huge hit!

In 1918, Zane Grey and his wife moved to California. He wanted to work on movie scripts there. But Lackawaxen and this house always remained one of his favorite places. The house became a protected historic site in 1983.

Exploring the Zane Grey House
- How the House Was Built
- What's Inside the House
Zane Grey's Life and the House's History
- The Museum Today
Gallery
See also

Exploring the Zane Grey House

The Zane Grey House is located along Scenic Drive. This road runs next to the Delaware River. Just north of the house, the Delaware River meets the Lackawaxen River. This makes the water in front of the house a bit choppier.

The museum sits on a grassy hill that gently slopes towards the river. From the front of the house, you can see beautiful, undeveloped woods across the river in Minisink Ford. There's a small parking lot, a museum sign, and a historical marker outside. The house is also near other old buildings, like the former D&H Canal Co. Office, which is now a bed and breakfast.

How the House Was Built

The house has two floors and is made of wood with clapboard siding. It sits on a strong bluestone foundation. The house has an L-shape.

The older part of the house, built in 1905, has a square roof that slopes down on all sides (called a hipped roof). It has two large windows that stick out from the roof, called dormer windows. The newer part, built in 1912, has a rectangular hipped roof that is less steep. Both roofs are covered with special diamond-shaped white shingles. Each part of the house also has a brick chimney.

There's a long porch that wraps around the front and side of the house. It has a flat roof and columns. This porch actually combines two older porches. One of the original porch roofs was damaged in a flood back in 1955. The windows on the second floor have awnings to block the sun.

What's Inside the House

The inside of the house shows that it was built in two different sections. The older part has a square layout, and the newer part is rectangular. Many of the original walls and decorations are still there!

Near the original front door, you'll find a brick fireplace. It's decorated with cool terra cotta designs. There's also a T-shaped staircase with its original fancy railing and posts.

The main entrance to the newer part of the house leads into a large living area. This room also has a brick fireplace. Behind it is the library, which has many original details. One cool feature is a painted frieze (a decorative band) that shows kachina dolls. These dolls reflect Zane Grey's interest in the Southwest. Today, these rooms and Zane Grey's upstairs studio are where most of the museum exhibits are.

Zane Grey's Life and the House's History

Zane Grey was born in Zanesville, Ohio. He started out as a dentist in New York City in 1896, but he didn't really like it. He loved playing semi-professional baseball and began writing stories and novels. At first, his writing wasn't very successful. But by 1905, he decided to become a full-time writer.

He and his family started building the first part of the house (the southern wing) after he visited the area on a fishing trip. They soon moved in.

Zane Grey kept writing westerns. He even took two long trips to the Southwest to research his stories. He used to work in a small building near the house, but that building isn't there anymore. His trips helped him write Heritage of the Desert in 1911 and Riders of the Purple Sage in 1912. Riders of the Purple Sage became his most popular book!

With the money from Riders of the Purple Sage, Zane Grey designed the study wing of the house. A neighbor named Gottlieb Kuhn built it in 1912.

Zane Grey continued writing novels in this house for six more years. Then, the new movie industry called to him. He and his wife moved to Altadena, California. He became very successful as a film producer and bought a large estate there. He lived in California until he passed away in 1939. However, he always kept the Lackawaxen house for his visits back East. Both he and his wife are buried in Union Cemetery, not far from the house.

The Museum Today

In 1945, Zane Grey's wife sold the house to a friend. This friend ran it as an inn for 25 years. In 1955, the house was damaged by a serious flood, which even tore off the roof of the front porch.

In 1973, the house was turned into the museum you see today. The National Park Service bought the museum in 1989.

In June 2006, another flood hit the area. The basement of the house was filled with 6 to 8 feet of water! Luckily, the Park Service was able to save all the museum's collections. But they had to work hard to dry out the space before the museum could reopen.