The Buildings of Chestnut Square Historic Village 1854 Faires House | Known as the Oldest House in McKinney, the Greek Revival Faires residence was built on Tennessee Street. | Mr. Faires, a blacksmith by trade, came to Texas from Tennessee. The “dog trot” style house boasts the original | front door made by Mr. Faires himself. When the home was moved to Chestnut Square, 2 civil war era bullets were | bullets were discovered lodged in the foundation posts. | | 1863 "Two Bit" Taylor Inn | The Armsted Taylor house was purchased for $340 in 1868. Located on Chestnut Street near the “Jockey Lot”, | drummers (salesmen) were given a bed for the night, a hot breakfast and had their clothes laundered for 25 Cents (2 bits). | The Taylor’s adult daughter Jennie had her own separate quarters, where she lived and conducted her sewing business. | | | 1870 Dulaney Cottage (Indigenous to Chestnut Square) | The Cottage, home to Dr. Joseph and Lucy Ann Field Dulaney, originally sat on the corner of Chestnut and Anthony | Streets. Dr. Dulaney was a Civil War surgeon who practiced medicine in McKinney and in Tennessee, his home state. | Dr. Dulaney left Lucy with 3 small children when he died of pneumonia in 1877, one of whom also died of pneumonia, in 1883. | | 1870 Johnson House (Indigenous to Chestnut Square) | Captain John Johnson bought this Victorian home with Italianate trims in 1878, where he and Polly raised 13 children. | Captain Johnson served as a State Senator and legislator. His great nephew and McKinneyite Bobby Younger was a WWII | hero whose plane was shot down in 1944. A room in the house displays a tribute to Bobby’s service. In 2015 a crash site | was discovered, and Bobby’s remains were identified along with most of his crew. On June 27, 2018 they were laid to | rest in Arlington National Cemetery and memorialized at McKinney’s Veterans Park. | J.B. Wilmeth One Room Schoolhouse | A reproduction of the 1892 one room schoolhouse, the building features separate front doors for girls and boys. Children | typically went to school twice a day, breaking to go home for farm chores. The Wilmeths operated the first free school in | McKinney, first in their home and then in the schoolhouse until 1922. | | 1908 Foote Baptist Church (The Chapel at Chestnut Square) | A turn of the century white clapboard chapel, the church was moved to Chestnut Square from Proper, TX, a community | near the current Virginia Parkway and Stonebridge Drive intersection, in 1994. The transport began at 4:30 in the morning | and took 14 hours to accomplish. The Chapel boasts the original bell in the bell tower, and holds 150 guests for a | wedding, memorial, or church service. | | 1916 Dulaney House (Indigenous to Chestnut Square) | Built by John Field for his widowed sister Lucy Field Dulaney and her 2 children, this stately Prairie style home was built at | the corner of Chestnut and Anthony Street, after the “cottage” was moved to the less prestigious lot next door. The widowed | Mr. Field planned to live with Lucy, his niece and nephew, however he died just a month before the house was complete. | | | 1918 Brimer Anderson Grocery (Dixie's Store) | Originally on Lee Street near Howell and Graves Streets, Mr. Brimer served local farmers by filling their orders while they | did other business in town. His store was also known as a place to catch up on local news (gossip). When his daughter | Dixie took over the store, she treated children with good report cards and paddled the ones who acted up! The store is the | home of Doc & Clyde’s Ice Cream Freezer Museum, the largest collection in the world (Guinness Book of World Records). | | | 1920 Bevel House | An Arts and Crafts bungalow, the house features wide porches and typical architectural detailing. The Bevel family lived | in the house until 1975, then a 2007 fire rendered the home uninhabitable by the owners at the time. It was then | purchased by the Guild, and completely preserved and renovated for use as a reception and event space. | | |
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