Start with dense marker clusters
- Collin County courthouse square
- Historic downtown McKinney
- Church, school, and cemetery markers
- Older residential and commercial blocks
Collin County, Texas
Historical Markers in McKinney, Texas
McKinney is a strong Collin County history stop because its marker clusters follow a courthouse square, early commercial blocks, churches, cemeteries, schools, homes, and the growth of a North Texas county seat north of Dallas. The city works well as a slower downtown walk before turning into a driving route toward Plano, Frisco, Denton, or Dallas. Use this page to preview which markers sit near the square and which ones need the RoadHistorical map once you are moving. McKinney has 72 official Texas Historical Commission markers in Collin County. Common marker themes include courthouse and civic history, churches, cemeteries, and community institutions, railroad, trail, and transportation history. Use this page to preview the markers, then open RoadHistorical on your drive to see nearby stops on the map, listen to narration, and save the places you want to visit.
Best starting areas in McKinney
Route ideas near McKinney
- Pair McKinney with Denton for a North Texas county-seat route.
- Connect McKinney with Dallas or Plano-area history stops for a northern DFW drive.
What you will find in McKinney
- Courthouse and civic history
- Churches, cemeteries, and community institutions
- Railroad, trail, and transportation history
- Ranching, farming, and frontier settlement
- Military, battle, and Texas Revolution sites
Plan with RoadHistorical
Open the Texas historical marker map
Find McKinney markers in map context, then scan nearby Texas cities before you drive.
Plan a Texas history road trip
Turn McKinney marker clusters into a route with city stops, saved places, and Discovery Mode.
Use the Texas historical markers app
Use RoadHistorical on iPhone or Android to find nearby McKinney markers, listen, and save stops.
DFW historical marker hub
Use the DFW hub to connect McKinney with nearby North Texas marker cities and routes.
First United Methodist Church of McKinney
This congregation originated in 1851 as a mission of the Dallas Circuit. At first it met in the county courthouse, Masonic hall, or a union church building. In 1858, it became center of the McKinney Circuit; erected in…
View on map ↗Collin County · 1936
Formed from Fannin County. Created April 3, 1846. Organized July 13, 1846. Named in honor of Collin McKinney 1766-1861, land surveyor, signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence, member of Congress, Republic of…
View on map ↗Collin McKinney Home · 1962
Texas patriot and statesman one of committee of five that wrote the Texas Declaration of Independence, one of its fifty-nine signers, March 2, 1836. Served in House of Representatives, Republic of Texas. In recognition…
View on map ↗McKinney · 1963
Founded 1845 by Collin McKinney, a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence. In Civil War, Gen. J.W. Throckmorton (later a governor of Texas) organized McKinney's Co.K, 6th Texas Cavalry, an outstanding…
View on map ↗Law Office of James W. Throckmorton · 1966
Texas Governor (1866-1867). Front remodeled but interior unchanged. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1966
View on map ↗Heard-Craig House · 1975
Designed by the noted architect J.E. Flanders of Dallas, this home was built in 1900 for Stephen D. Heard (1847-1926), a prominent merchant and business leader, and his wife, Lillie Snapp Heard. Their daughter, Kathryn…
View on map ↗Kirkpatrick House · 1976
E.W. Kirkpatrick (1844-1924), a veteran of the Confederate Army and a prominent leader in business and civic organizations, purchased this property in the 1870s as a site for his prosperous plant nursery. This spacious…
View on map ↗Pecan Grove Memorial Park · 1976
This park is situated on property granted by the Republic of Texas to Samuel McFarland in 1845, only four years after the first permanent settlement in this area was begun by a pioneer from Tennessee, Dr. William E.…
View on map ↗The Birthplace of Rebekah Baines Johnson · 1976
Joseph Wilson Baines (1846-1906), son of minister editor-Baylor University President George W. Baines, settled in Collin county in 1867. He taught school and in 1869 married Ruth Huffman, daughter of a physician of the…
View on map ↗Dulaney Cottage · 1977
A surgeon in the Confederate Army, Dr. Joseph E. Dulaney (d. 1877) came to McKinney after the Civil War (1861-65) and married Lucy Ann Field (1844-1941), daughter of Collin County pioneers. In 1875 he built this…
View on map ↗Governor James Webb Throckmorton · 1977
(February 1, 1825 - April 21, 1894) A doctor's son, James W. Throckmorton was born in Tennessee. He migrated with his parents to the Texas frontier in 1841 and settled near this site. At age 17, he became hunter and…
View on map ↗William B. Largent House · 1977
North Carolina-born William B. Largent (1840-1896) came to Collin county with his parents in 1854. He later prospered as a livestock trader and lumber merchant. In 1876 he hauled building materials overland from…
View on map ↗Buckner · 1978
John (Jack) and Polly McGarrah and family came to this site from Tennessee in 1842. The third settler in present Collin County, McGarrah opened a trading post to barter for hides and furs. While in the act of building a…
View on map ↗Fanny Finch Elementary School · 1978
Laura Frances (Fanny) Shipe (1866-1942) was born in Woodstock, Va., and educated in Texas. In 1890, after teaching at McKinney's Collegiate Institute, she married Henry A. Finch (d. 1934), later a Texas legislator and…
View on map ↗First Christian Church of McKinney · 1978
This congregation was formed on April 1, 1848, when about 20 persons gathered to worship at the home of Nancy and Joseph Bryson Wilmeth (1807-1892). After a picnic lunch, the group journeyed about two miles south of the…
View on map ↗Howell House · 1978
Occupied by four generations of the same family, this structure stands on property granted in 1845 to Edward Bradley (1787-1855), a member of the Peters Colony. His daughter Mary Ann (1820-1878) inherited the land. Her…
View on map ↗Site of Muse Academy · 1978
A native of Virginia, James S. Muse (1804-1878) prospered as a hemp grower in Missouri before coming to Texas with his wife Margaret Slaughter. He bought 320 acres and built this house in 1858-59. In one wing which was…
View on map ↗Beverly-Harris House · 1979
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…
View on map ↗Gough-Hughston House · 1979
James Rowland Gough (1860-1916), a McKinney attorney, built this residence in 1898. He served as state representative and senator from this area. The home was sold to Wallace Hughston in 1918. Active in government,…
View on map ↗First Presbyterian Church of McKinney · 1980
This fellowship was the first congregation in Collin county affiliated with the Presbyterian Church in the United States, a denomination established during the Civil War. Chartered with eighteen members, it was…
View on map ↗Saint Mark Baptist Church · 1980
The congregation was organized in 1879 by two preachers, the Rev. Dick White and a Rev. Jones, who conducted prayer meetings in area homes. The first church services were held on the farm of Isaac Graves, northeast of…
View on map ↗Aron-Harris House · 1981
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…
View on map ↗Charles P. and Sallie G. Heard Home · 1981
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…
View on map ↗McLarry Cemetery · 1981
This site was first used as a cemetery in 1851 when property owner John R. Jones buried his infant son here. The land was later donated as a public burial ground for the pioneer settlers of the surrounding Wilmeth…
View on map ↗First Baptist Church of McKinney at Drexel Street · 1982
This congregation was organized in April 1882 under the direction of the Rev. A.R. Griggs. Originally known as the Second Baptist Church, the fellowship conducted early worship services under a brush arbor. Land at this…
View on map ↗Old Collin County Courthouse · 1982
Collin County was created from Fannin County in 1846. It was named for pioneer area settler Collin McKinney (1766-1861), a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence. The first county seat was established at…
View on map ↗L. A. Scott Home · 1983
Square nails used on the first floor of this Queen Anne style residence suggest a construction date before the late 1880s. Originally a one-story structure, the second and third floors were added soon after 1900, when…
View on map ↗Taylor House · 1983
Built in the 1860s, the structure originally stood across the street from the site. It was sold in 1868 to Armistead Joshua Taylor (1840-1888), a cabinet maker. He married Tabatha Jane Scott, daughter of Collin County…
View on map ↗Barnes-Largent House · 1984
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…
View on map ↗Estes House · 1984
Kentucky native Ben T. Estes (1841-1920) came to Texas in 1856. After serving in the Confederate Army during the Civil War, he returned to McKinney where he was engaged in the mercantile business. Estes had this home…
View on map ↗John Faires House · 1984
This home was constructed in 1854 by John Faires (1801-1878), who had come to McKinney from Tennessee three years earlier. Near his home he built a Blacksmith Shop, where he worked skillfully with metal and wood. The…
View on map ↗Stiff Chapel Cemetery · 1984
Jesse Stiff (1796-1871) came to Texas from Virginia in 1835 and settled on several thousand acres of land in this area. His brother, Louis, arrived in 1849, and a community known as Stiff Chapel developed around their…
View on map ↗Texas American Bank/McKinney N. A., formerly the Collin County National Bank · 1984
This financial institution was organized on March 13, 1883, by a number of McKinney's prominent citizens and businessmen. Among those financial pioneers were James W. Throckmorton, who had served as governor of Texas in…
View on map ↗Woodlawn Cemetery · 1984
This cemetery, located along the historic lower Bonham Road on the site of the Old Rock Rest Church and School, was first used during the 1870s. The two and one-half acre plot was deeded to cemetery trustees George A.…
View on map ↗Waddill-Morris Homesite · 1985
Kentucky native Judge R.L. Waddill (1811-1865) came to McKinney with his stepson, George Shackelford Morris, in 1853, five years after the town had been established as the Collin county seat. The two men bought large…
View on map ↗Bradley Cemetery · 1986
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…
View on map ↗First National Bank Building · 1986
Entrepreneur Francis Emerson (1815-1905) founded a McKinney banking firm in 1869, which developed into the First National Bank in 1882. First National bought this site in 1912 and built this classical revival style…
View on map ↗J. D. Stiff Home · 1986
John David Stiff (1853-1909) and his wife Blanche (Duer) (1866-1950) built this residence in 18934, the same year the first of their two children was born. A merchant, stiff owned a dry goods business on the town…
View on map ↗John Martin House · 1986
John M. Martin (b. 1859), a member of an early Collin county family, was a local architect and builder who erected this house for himself about 1880. The structure exhibits elements of the Queen Anne style, including…
View on map ↗Dr. William Taylor Hoard House · 1987
Dr. William Taylor Hoard (1873-1945) moved to McKinney in 1898. A dentist and civic leader, he built this house in 1907. Exhibiting elements of the prairie school, colonial revival, and American foursquare styles of…
View on map ↗Buckner Cemetery · 1988
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…
View on map ↗Burton House · 1988
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…
View on map ↗Collin County Farm · 1988
As early as 1858 Collin County had a system for providing relief to its indigent citizens. This property was acquired in 1886 and became known as the County Farm. Structures were built over the years to house the…
View on map ↗Dulaney House · 1988
Built in 1916 by Dallas banker John Field for his sister, Mrs. Joseph E. (Lucie) Dulaney, this home remained in the Dulaney family for over fifty years. Joseph Field Dulaney (1876-1968) inherited the home from his…
View on map ↗George McGarrah Cemetery · 1988
A member of the Peters Colony, George McGarrah (1804-1879) brought his family to this area in the 1840s. Prior to his arrival in Texas, McGarrah had lived in Fayetteville, Arkansas, where he is credited with helping to…
View on map ↗Scott Cemetery · 1988
Established on the land of area pioneer James Preston Scott, this cemetery dates to the 1850s. The first person buried here was Scott's granddaughter, Mary C. Taylor (1852-1854), child of Scott's daughter Tabitha and…
View on map ↗Crouch-Perkins House · 1989
A fine example of Queen Anne architecture, this home was built in 1887 for Joe H. and Clara Letson Crouch. It was sold in 1906 to F. Dudley Perkins and in 1920 was acquired by the Martin Moses Family. Prominent features…
View on map ↗James Calvin Rhea House · 1989
James Calvin Rhea (1837-1925) came to Texas from Tennessee in 1855. He and his brother, W.A. Rhea, built a gristmill in the Collin county community that became known as Rhea Mills. Built about 1890 by John W. Hamilton,…
View on map ↗Collin County Prison · 1990
Designed by F.E. Ruffini, architect of numerous public buildings in Texas in the late 19th century, this High Victorian Italianate structure served as the Collin County prison for 99 years. Completed in 1880, it was…
View on map ↗Davis House · 1990
John N. Davis, a traveling buggy salesman, and his wife Maggie (Hamilton) had this house built in 1902. Their seven children were born here, although only three lived to adulthood. After Maggie's death in 1908, her…
View on map ↗Forest Grove Christian Church · 1992
This church traces its origin to informal prayer meetings held in 1847 at the home of William and Mary (Syndusky) Snider. American revolutionary war veterans and original settlers of the Peters Colony are counted among…
View on map ↗John S. and Rachel W. Heard House · 1993
Arkansas native and Confederate soldier John Spenser Heard (1841-1933) joined his family here in McKinney about 1865. He married Rachel Wilson in 1884. Business success allowed the Heards to benefit numerous local…
View on map ↗Fox-Caldwell House · 1994
This house was built in 1915 by George W. and Lula Fox. George Fox, the descendant of one of Collin county's pioneer families, was a local Realtor and county official. Prominent local citizens Gibson and Goldie Caldwell…
View on map ↗Site of Wilmeth-McKinney Homestead · 1994
Joseph Brice (J.B.) Wilmeth (b.1807) and Nancy Ferguson (b.1807) were married in Tennessee in 1826. They settled here on 320 acres of virgin prairie in 1846. They began to farm their land and soon built a grand…
View on map ↗William Clinton and Anna Belle Thompson House · 1994
William Clinton (Clint) Thompson, and his wife Anna Belle (Wofford), prominent local newspaper owners and civic leaders, built this house in 1894 on land purchased from Clint's father, noted McKinney developer Dr.…
View on map ↗Site of Elm Saloon · 1995
The Elm Saloon opened about 1883 in a 2-story frame building at this site owned by T.O. Bower. According to an 1884 newspaper story gunfighter Frank James was arrested for his involvement in a fight in the Elm Saloon.…
View on map ↗1911 McKinney Post Office · 1997
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…
View on map ↗Altoga Cemetery · 1997
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…
View on map ↗Old Settlers Park · 1997
Site of all Collin County Fairs and Ex-Confederate - Old Settlers picnics, this land first housed a fair in 1858. The fair was held each year, usually in autumn, except during the Civil War years. In 1883, the…
View on map ↗1927 Collin County Courthouse · 1998
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…
View on map ↗...and 12 more McKinney markers. Find every one of them on the map in the RoadHistorical app.
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