An arson fire damaged the Odessa home where former President Bush and his family lived in during the late 1940s early Thursday, authorities said.
The home sits behind the Presidential Museum and Leadership Library in Odessa and was rented by George H.W. and Barbara Bush when they lived there. The house was moved from its original nearby location to the museum's campus in 2004, officials said.
Odessa Fire Marshal Detra White said it's not clear how the 3 a.m. fire was set. Museum administrator Lettie England said the damage, mostly to the attic and front-porch area of the green-shingled house, can be repaired.
"They didn't burn the house down," England said.
England said no motive for the blaze had been determined and there was no reason at this point to believe it was a political act. She said there were no notes or messages left at the scene.
The single-story, 800-square-foot house was restored and eight months of work on it was completed in December 2004. According to the museum's Web site, the Bushes, including the younger President Bush, lived in the home from September 1948 until April 1949.
The then 2-year-old Bush lived in the two-bedroom home while his father was then a trainee for an oil company.
The Bushes had come to Texas from the Northeast after World War II to get into the oil business.
England vowed to restore the house again because of its historical significance.
"When you realize that two presidents and a first lady who is also the mother of a president and two governors all lived in this house at one time, it's important," she said.
