McKinney, Texas: Unique by Nature

Have you been to McKinney?  I’d always heard that I needed to visit their historic downtown. Oddly enough, my hairdresser had her shop in downtown McKinney so I would go there twice a year and yet I never stopped and looked around. So when it was time for another field trip, I picked McKinney. Here’s what I learned.

McKinney was founded in 1846 on land donated by William Davis. It wasn’t the first county seat for Collin County. That honor belonged to a small town called Buckner which was about three miles away. In 1848, a vote was taken to move the county seat to McKinney and the motion passed.

The first store was the Lovejoy grocery, which moved from Buckner to McKinney. The “shack” that was the store was physically moved to McKinney by its owner John Lemuel Lovejoy. He was the first settler and bought several other lots in McKinney. As a reverend, he also started the First Methodist Church. He eventually sold his land and moved to Denton.

There have been four courthouses in McKinney starting with a rough pine lumber building that was built in 1848. The second courthouse was built in 1856. It was replaced in 1874 with this courthouse and was the tallest building north of San Antonio.  

In 1927, extensive exterior and interior renovations to this courthouse included the removal of the mansard roof and tower caps, as well as the addition of a third story and basement. Overseen by W.A. Peters of the Paris, Texas Architectural firm of Sparger and Peters, the work resulted in a classical revival edifice. Original features included tripartite windows with flanking double classical columns on the north and south facades. The new structure was commonly known as the Temple of Justice, and continued to be the center of activity for city and county functions. It remained in service as a courthouse until 1979. Now it's the McKinney Performing Arts Center.

Inside the courthouse basements, there are remnants of old Jim Crow. There are signs for the bathrooms that distinguish between White and Colored. The signs have been preserved so that we won’t forget.

Dr. Benjamin M.E. Smith, one of the city's first doctors, founded Smith Drug Co. around 1859 with his sons and partners.  Smith Drug moved to the square when the Jesse Shain building was constructed about 1900. It was the longest operating business and the state’s oldest pharmacy until it closed in 2008.

In 1864 John Heard moved to McKinney from Arkansas. With his brother, he started the JS and SD Heard Mercantile Company on the first floor of this building. On the second floor was the Heard Opera House until a fire destroyed it in 1910. Now it's a winery.

Heard also had a hand in starting the Interurban railway, a passenger service that ran from Denison to Dallas and on to Waco. He was instrumental in bringing the first flour mill to McKinney as well as an oil mill. This is all that's left of that rail line in McKinney. 

In 1911, the McKinney Post Office was built. It served as a government building until 1959 when it was sold to Collin County. In 1982, it became the Collin County History Museum. It’s free and open to the public Thursday through Saturday from 10 – 4. It had all kinds of artifacts related to the history of the city and the county. It's well worth a visit.

Just off the square on Kentucky street, you can find the Old Collin County Jail. Completed in 1880, the two-story building contained the jailer’s quarters at the front of the building while the mid-portion of the building contained the cellblocks. In 1900, new detention cells were added while the other cells were restored. A dungeon-like cell with a trap door was added in order carry out executions. At one time, the prison could house 50 prisoners.

The last man to be executed here was Ezell Stepp in 1922. He was hanged for the murder of Hardy Mills. Apparently, Hardy Mills went missing one morning on the way to work and he was found two weeks later, bound by wire, attached to a rail and dumped in a well on a local neighbor's farm. Ezell was convicted based on testimony by his nephew.  Was it because Hardy found out about Ezell's moonshining business? or because Ezell was having an affair with Hardy's wife and he became angry when it was discovered? We'll never know. Ezell proclaimed his innocence to the end.

The prison was closed in 1979 due to an increase in the county’s population and prison reforms that the building didn’t meet. Today, it houses offices for various businesses. Can you imagine working there today?

All of these buildings have some kind of history. The building in the middle of this photo is the Lovejoy Building. Built in 1926, it was home to J. C. Penney until they moved across the square. Then the K. Wolens store moved in.

This is the Pope-Silver Brothers building. This 1929 Art Deco building originally housed the Silver Brothers Dry Goods. In the 1940's, J. C. Penney moved to this building from across the square. It also housed Gambel's Drug Store where all the kids would hang out and drink milkshakes. 

I love the design across the top.

This is the First National Bank Building. Entrepreneur Francis Emerson (1815-1905) founded a McKinney Banking firm in 1869 which became the First National bank in 1882. First National bought this site in 1912 and built this classical Revival Style Building. Collin County National Bank, founded in 1883, occupied the building from 1935 to 1958 when they merged with First National Bank. They eventually merged with Texas American Bank and moved to 222 N Tennessee St. 

First Savings and Loan Association officed here from 1958 to 1973. Now it's a clothing shop.

This is the Central Continental Bank Building. The interior of the building was remodeled in the 1930s and much of the original fabric still exists. The building is the only downtown building with a full basement that is accessible from the street. The Central Continental Bank remained in this location from 1918 until 1963 when they moved to a new building at 221 N. Tennessee. The building has been a home to a variety of retail establishments in the basement and on the first floor while the second floor has provided office space for several businesses.

The McKinney Flour Mill was built in 1872 and processed most of the grain from the area. The coming of the Houston and Texas Central Railroad stimulated the grow the of the mill as well as the town. Now this place is an event venue.

That's just a small taste of McKinney. We were only there for a couple of hours so we didn't get a chance to drive around and look at all the historic houses (there are tons!) or the Chestnut Square Historic Village but I will!

McKinney's slogan is "Unique by Nature" which refers to its natural beauty, it's historic downtown and its sense of community. I'd say that about sums it up. If you have the chance to check it out, you should.