Set in the center window of the reception room at North Star House is an glass wreath that beautifully catches the light. Decorative and full of color, its importance goes far beyond its appearance. The piece is a memorial to Agnes Foote, the youngest daughter of Arthur De Wint Foote and Mary Hallock Foote, and one of the more personal pieces of Foote family history now preserved at North Star House.
Who Was Agnes Foote?
Agnes Foote was the youngest child of Arthur De Wint Foote and Mary Hallock Foote.
By the time the Foote family came to Grass Valley, Arthur had already spent years working as a civil and mining engineer throughout the American West. At the North Star Mine, his engineering work would become an important part of the mine's development and success. Mary was an accomplished author and illustrator whose writing and artwork documented both family life and the changing American West.
The Footes moved to the North Star property in 1895, initially living in the much smaller North Star Cottage.
Agnes was still a teenager when she became seriously ill.
She died on May 12, 1904, at just 18 years old, following complications from appendicitis.
Her death came at a pivotal moment in the family's history at North Star. That same year, James D. Hague commissioned the newly licensed architect Julia Morgan to design what would become North Star House.
Agnes would never live in the house.
A Memorial That Became Part of the House
Following Agnes's death, a stained glass memorial was created for the Foote family. The surviving historical information about the piece does not conclusively identify its maker, so there is still more to learn about exactly where it was produced and who designed it.
What is known is that the memorial became closely connected with the family's home at North Star.
For decades, it hung in the middle window of the living room, the room now generally known as the reception room.
North Star House was completed in 1905 as both a family residence and a place where the Footes could receive guests associated with the North Star Mine. Julia Morgan designed an approximately 11,000-square-foot home with large gathering spaces, extensive woodwork and windows connecting the interior to the surrounding landscape.
While the House represented a new chapter for the Foote family, the stained glass carried the memory of the daughter who had died just before it was built.
The Stained Glass Returns to North Star House
Like many objects associated with North Star House, the stained glass did not simply remain untouched in the building for the next century.
After the Foote era ended, North Star House went through decades of change. The property was eventually abandoned and heavily vandalized before preservation efforts began. The restoration of North Star House has involved not only repairing the building itself, but also locating photographs, documents, furnishings and family objects that help reconstruct its history.
In September 2023, Foote family great-granddaughter Annie Brillhart gifted the stained glass memorial to North Star House.
Along with the glass came family photographs and a sketch made by a young Mary Hallock Foote, adding several pieces of the family's story back to the historic property at once.
The stained glass had survived, but not without damage. A crack runs through its center, making professional conservation an important part of preserving the piece for the future.
Rather than diminishing it, that visible evidence of age is also part of the object's history. The glass has traveled through generations of the Foote family and back to the house where it once hung.
A Personal Side of North Star House History
It is easy to tell the history of North Star House through major names and accomplishments.
There is Julia Morgan, who was commissioned to design the House in 1904 shortly after becoming California's first licensed female architect. There is Arthur De Wint Foote and his work at the North Star Mine. There is Mary Hallock Foote and the extensive body of writing and illustration she produced during her lifetime.
But a family home also preserves quieter stories.
The stained glass memorial to Agnes is one of them.
It tells us something about the people who lived here that architectural plans and mining records cannot. Before North Star House became a historic landmark, restoration project, gathering place or event venue, it was a home shaped by ordinary family experiences, including profound loss.
Today, Agnes's stained glass is once again part of the interior of North Star House.
Visitors walking through the reception room do not have to search very hard to find it. Look toward the windows and the piece stands apart immediately.
Knowing its story makes it difficult to see simply as decoration.
See the Stained Glass at North Star House
The Agnes Foote stained glass is one of many details visitors can discover while exploring North Star House in Grass Valley.
Our docent-led historic tours share the stories of the Foote family, Julia Morgan's architecture, the North Star Mine and the ongoing work to preserve the estate. Tours are currently offered on the second and fourth Thursday of each month from 1:00 to 3:00 PM.
Learn more about historic tours of North Star House and take some time during your visit to look closely at the reception room window.
Sometimes one object can tell a remarkably large part of a family's story.
North Star House
Published October 6, 2026
