John Faires - Bell House - McKinney
Located at Chestnut Square in McKinney. This house is on the National Register of Historic Places.
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JOHN FAIRES HOUSE
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 HAND CHISELED FRONT DOOR OF FAIRES’ HOME REFLECTS HIS WOODWORKING CRAFTSMANSHIP. THE GREEK REVIVAL STYLE HOUSE, ORIGINALLY LOCATED ONE BLOCK WEST, REMAINED IN THE FAIRES FAMILY UNTIL 1975. Texas Historical marker, 1984. |
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FAIRES HOUSE
Dallas Morning News , August 13, 1998, by Adrian Schofield.
HERITAGE GROUP CAMPAIGNS TO SAVE McKINNEY HOUSE
Funds sought to fix termite, foundation problems.
McKinney – After withstanding everything the world could throw at it for nearly 150 years, the Faires House is now facing destruction from within.
The oldest house in McKinney – and one of the oldest in Collin County – needs $40,000 in repairs to remedy termite and foundation damage.....
The Greek revival house is names for John Faires, a blacksmith from Tennessee who built the house in 1853. He hauled pine from nearby Jefferson for its clapboards. Mr. Faires went on to build several bridges in Collin County....
In 1864, it was on the firing line of the only Civil War action fought in McKinney, when William Clarke Quantrill and his guerilla force skirmished with local Sheriff James L. Reed. Two bullets from this fight were discovered in the foundations of the house in 1980.
In 1871, the Faires House was linked to the murder trial of Stephen Ballew, the first white man to be legally executed in Collin County. The jury was sequestered in the house for two weeks.
The house was scheduled for demolition in 1980 to make way for a new Collin County courthouse. Faires descendant David Bell donated it to the [Heritage] Guild, which moved it and another house across the road to Chestnut Square....
Dallas Morning News , August 13, 1998, by Adrian Schofield.
HERITAGE GROUP CAMPAIGNS TO SAVE McKINNEY HOUSE
Funds sought to fix termite, foundation problems.
McKinney – After withstanding everything the world could throw at it for nearly 150 years, the Faires House is now facing destruction from within.
The oldest house in McKinney – and one of the oldest in Collin County – needs $40,000 in repairs to remedy termite and foundation damage.....
The Greek revival house is names for John Faires, a blacksmith from Tennessee who built the house in 1853. He hauled pine from nearby Jefferson for its clapboards. Mr. Faires went on to build several bridges in Collin County....
In 1864, it was on the firing line of the only Civil War action fought in McKinney, when William Clarke Quantrill and his guerilla force skirmished with local Sheriff James L. Reed. Two bullets from this fight were discovered in the foundations of the house in 1980.
In 1871, the Faires House was linked to the murder trial of Stephen Ballew, the first white man to be legally executed in Collin County. The jury was sequestered in the house for two weeks.
The house was scheduled for demolition in 1980 to make way for a new Collin County courthouse. Faires descendant David Bell donated it to the [Heritage] Guild, which moved it and another house across the road to Chestnut Square....
