Link House
a.k.a. Link-Bunton House
925 N. Link St., Palestine, TXThe Dr. Edwin W. Link House is a beautiful and well-preserved example of the Queen Anne style residences popular with wealthy Texans during the final decade of the nineteenth century. Built on a grand scale of the finest available materials, the turreted mansion exemplifies the architectural exuberance of the late Victorian era with asymmetrical plan and massing of formal elements and the unrestrained use of eclectic detail. The extensive art glass windows, oak and cherry doors mantles and trim are particularly noteworthy; the intricate parquet floors are among the finest remaining examples of their kind in the state. Designed and constructed by a prolific regional carpenter-builder, the original plans are extant and the house remains a well preserved showpiece of the elaborate framing and finish work of a generation of highly skilled and capable craftsmen.
The house was built for Dr. Edwin W. Link, the son of the pioneer East Texas physician Dr. H. H. Link on the family's pioneer homestead which has been continuously occupied since the early 1850's and contains several generations of the families residences. Edwin Link practiced medicine with his father and brother in Palestine and was a well
regarded civic and social leader in the community. The Link family contributed other architectural fabric still standing in Palestine; in addition to their homes they commissioned several commercial buildings including a clinic and pharmacy. The Link house and grounds are a dominant element in a turn of the century neighborhood with many other well preserved examples of nineteenth century architecture.
The lavish use of materials and the ambitious scale of the house demonstrate success and standing of Dr. Edwin Link in Palestine where only a generation earlier his father had treated the regions pioneer settlers under the most primitive conditions. The house has been occupied since 1963 by the Carl Bunton family who have endeavored to preserve the continuity of the house as one of the finer examples of the Queen Anne style in the state.
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.