Architecture
1911 McKinney Post Office
Designed by architect J. H. Suttle, the 1911 McKinney Post Office is a characteristic and well-preserved example of an Italianate post office. The tile roof, ornamental columns, eaves and window configuration are common to the American post office after 1910. These elements and the three-bay arched recessed entry define the facade.
History
1927 Collin County Courthouse
Collin County was formed in 1846 and its only town, Buckner, was automatically selected as the county seat. To comply with state law, an election was held to relocate the county seat to the center of the county. Only eleven people participated due to inclement weather, and when the vote was tallied McKinney was established as the county seat in 1848.
History
Abston Cemetery
John Abston (1761-1856), a soldier in the American Revolution, was a native of Virginia. In the 1830s Abston and his family moved to Missouri. In 1853 he moved to Collin County, Texas, with the family of his son Jesse. Following Jesse's death that year, the family moved farther south in the county. John Abston and Jesse Abston's widow, Sarah, purchased land in this area in 1854.
History
Alla School
In 1866 Moses and Mary Jane Hubbard and their daughter Alla moved from Missouri to Collin County, where Hubbard was a successful doctor, farmer, and one of the largest landholders in the area. Concerned with the inadequacy of the local school, the Hubbards supplemented Alla's education at home and then sent her to Pritchett Institute in Glasgow, Missouri, where she earned a degree in literature…
History
Allen
Fertile land and plentiful water drew settlers to this area from as early as the 1840s. This part of Collin County was well populated by 1876 when the Houston and Texas Central Railroad built a water supply stop on Cottonwood Creek near this site.
History
Allen Cemetery
Located on land purchased from Mr. and Mrs. John W. Whisenant, this cemetery was formally established on April 5, 1884, by the International Order of Odd Fellows, local Lodge No. 249. Encompassing almost three acres of land, the cemetery has served the Allen community for over a century. The oldest legible grave marker here is that of Rebecca L. Hamilton (d.
Transport
Allen Station of the Texas Electric Railway
The Community of Allen, founded in the 1870s, experienced a surge of growth after the arrival of the Texas Traction Company in 1908. The town was a stop on the interurban line between Dallas and Sherman, serviced daily by hourly passenger cars from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Two daily freight deliveries brought mail, produce, and railway express packages.
History
Altoga Cemetery
This cemetery has served the Altoga area since 1881, including what was once the Johnson community to the south and the Ardath community to the west. The earliest recorded burials are those of three-year-old Ida Leomy Parker in July 1881 and Elizabeth Humbard Mantooth in November 1881. William Mantooth donated one and one-third acres of land for the cemetery in 1894.
Architecture
Aron-Harris House
Designed by Putnam Russell, an architect from New York, this house was constructed in 1889 for local merchant Morris Aron and his wife Henrietta. In 1897 the home was purchased by Plummer and Josie Harris and it remained in their family until 1951. The Queen Anne styling features intricate ornamentation and a corner turret with a bell-shaped roof.
History
Audie Murphy's Homecoming, June 15, 1945
With Allied victory in World War II Europe secured, Farmersville celebrated the return of the area's most famous citizen soldier. On his 18th birthday, Audie Murphy enlisted in the U.S. Army at the Greenville Post Office. In more than two years of combat, he fought in North Africa, Sicily, Italy and France and earned every Army citation for valor, including the Congressional Medal of Honor.
History
Baccus Cemetery
Henry Cook (1775-1862), a veteran of the War of 1812, settled here in 1845 as a member of the Peters Colony. His log house, located nearby, was a landmark on the Shawnee Trail. He first used this property as a family cemetery in 1847 for the burial of his son Daniel (b. 1831). His daughter Rachel Cook Baccus deeded the burial ground to his heirs in 1878.
History
Bain-Honaker House
Anna Melissa Hicks Bain (1834-1906), widow of John Alexander Bain, built this house in 1865 on 6.75 acres of land east of the town square of Farmersville. She reared five daughters here: Mary Clorinda, Martha, Catherine, Christina and Margaret. An astute businesswoman, Anna Bain divided her property into lots, built commercial buildings and sold some property to the Red River Railroad Company.
Architecture
Barnes-Largent House
This home was built about 1910 for Joe and Florence (Largent) Barnes on part of the land acquired by her father, prominent McKinney merchant W.B. Largent. Following the death of her husband in 1924, Florence sold the home to her brother, Dr. Ben Largent (1886-1936), and his wife, Leota.
History
Beverly-Harris House
Warren Tully Beverly (1857-1903) was a native of Collin County, attending Spring Creek School and Plano Institute. He studied law in the office of Joseph W. Baines, grandfather of Lyndon Baines Johnson. Beverly served as county attorney and later as judge of the 59th district court. In 1886 he built this Victorian house for his family. In 1903 it was sold to Louisa Kirkpatrick Harris.
History
Blue Ridge
Located in northeast Collin County and positioned between Desert and Pilot Grove Creeks, Blue Ridge was named for its hilltop location and the blue-flowering grass in the area. From a distance, the grass looked like a blue haze. Pioneers began to settle this area in the 1830s.
History
Bradley Cemetery
Edward Bradley, his wife Nancy, and their family came to this area from Kentucky in the 1840s as members of the Peters Colony. They built a log home on a branch of Wilson's Creek in the southwest part of present McKinney. A hillside near the Bradley home became the site of a family graveyard. The original cemetery covered about an acre of land.
History
Brinlee Cemetery
In 1824, Hiram Brinlee (1807-1885) and his brother George traveled with the Collin McKinney family from Kentucky to Texas. On that wagon train was Elizabeth McKinney (1813-1889), niece and ward of Collin McKinney, who later signed the Texas Declaration of Independence. Hiram and Elizabeth married in 1832 and moved in 1834 to Pecan Point in present-day Bowie County.
History
Brown Cottage
One of the oldest homes of Wylie, the 1889 Brown Cottage was the first home in Wylie of businessman William Thomas Brown and Martha (Mattie) J. (Housewright) Brown. The Browns moved to Wylie shortly after its establishment in 1886 to help build the community. Brown was one of Wylie's first developers with the Brown & Burns Addition Subdivision, filed for record in 1887.
History
Buckner Cemetery
The land surrounding this historic cemetery was part of a grant obtained by John McGarrah, a member of the Peters Colony who arrived in this area in 1843. McGarrah founded a trading post near this site, and soon the Fort Buckner settlement was established. It would later become the first county seat of Collin County. David William O'Brien (1808-1885) came to Collin County with his family in 1857.
Architecture
Burton House
Completed in 1910, this house was built for prominent business and civic leaders Newton A. Burton (d.1955) and Laura (Wallace) Burton (d.1964). Designed by J.E. Cooper (d.1936), the one-story eclectic structure features elements of the bungalow, classical revival, and American foursquare styles.
History
Central National Road of the Republic of Texas
During its brief existence, the Congress of the Republic of Texas made significant efforts to plan for the inevitable increase in settlement. One of those efforts was the establishment of the Central National Road, designed to connect the Red River to existing military roads along the Trinity River and points farther west, thus opening much of northeast Texas to both settlement and commerce.
History
Chambersville
Elisha and Margaret (Peggy) Ann Mannon Chambers immigrated to Texas in 1847 with their seven children. Elisha took up two headrights in Collin and Dallas Counties, donating a piece of his homestead for the creation of a cemetery and a school in present-day Chambersville. This land was originally called "Chambers" in honor of Elisha and Peggy's donation.
History
Charles C. Stibbens
(May 14, 1810-March 31, 1879) A native of Maryland, Charles C. Stibbens came to Texas about 1835. He served in the Army during the Texas Revolution, participating in the Battle of San Jacinto. He settled in Anderson county soon after the war and worked as a farmer and shoemaker. Following the death of his first wife, Julie Ann Frost Slaughter, he was married in 1849 to Elizabeth Creekman.
Architecture
Charles P. and Sallie G. Heard Home
This residence was constructed by local merchant and cotton broker Charles P. Heard (d. 1937) and his wife Sallie (Galbreath) (d. 1949), McKinney philanthropists. Designed by architect John Martin, it was completed in 1893. The exterior features details of the Queen Anne and Eastlake styles in the design of the porch and the use of intricate woodwork.
History
Coffman Cemetery
This cemetery, which dates to the mid-19th century, is on land donated by early settler John Coffman (1804-1880). His son, George W. Coffman (1840-1913), owned and operated a homestead one mile west of this site. The oldest marked grave dates to 1876. Descendants of many of the families represented in the graveyard still reside in this part of Collin County.
Elsewhere in Texas
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