Title
Conduct a Public Hearing to Consider/Discuss/Act on the Request by Sharon K. Scott for Approval to Receive a Historic Marker for the House Located at 315 North Waddill Street.
Summary
MEETING DATE: May 1, 2014
DEPARTMENT: Planning
CONTACT: Guy R. Giersch, Historic Preservation Officer
Matt Robinson, AICP, Planning Manager
STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Staff is recommending approval of a historic marker for 315 North Waddill Street.
PRIORITY RATING: According to the 1985 Historic Resource Survey, the property is listed as a Medium priority building. Medium priority buildings contribute to the local history or broader historical patterns, but alterations have diminished the resource's integrity. The building is a significant example of architecture, engineering, or crafted design.
ITEM SUMMARY: On April 14, 2014, the applicant submitted the necessary documentation to apply for a Historic Marker for the house located at 315 North Waddill, also known as the Walter C. Patterson House.
The purpose of the Historic Marker Program is to encourage owners of historic properties to become actively involved in the preservation of McKinney's historic past through the recognition of historic events, people, and architecture. The applicant has submitted a written narrative relating the history of the various families that have owned the property or resided at 315 North Waddill Street and the role they played in McKinney's history.
The Patterson House is an English Cottage Style home which is a variant within the Tudor Revival Style. It was constructed in 1926 as a single-story brick and stucco home. At a later date, a laundry room was added to the rear of the house. In 1998, the interior was renovated into a 1½ story home by taking advantage of the high pitched, multiple gables that are typical of the Tudor Revival style.
The history of the land and the house are deeply intertwined with the early founders of McKinney. The land was originally part of a 50 acre tract of land granted to T. T. Bradley as part of the Peter's Colony Grant issued in 1855. A portion of the land that was granted to Bradley was sold off to R. L. Waddill in 1860. Eventually, Waddill sold a portion of the land to Robert Fitzhugh Newsome. He then divided the land into lots and sold a lot to W.C. Patterson in 1924 so Patterson could build a house.
W.C. Patterson contracted with Landon Lee Elliott, Jr. to build his house. Mr. Elliott had worked for a few years in the lumber business for his father. Elliott married Virginia Massie and briefly worked for his wife's father in the funeral business only to return to his great uncle's lumber business in 1925. In 1936 Elliott started his own lumber company. He would go on to have a long career in the lumber and construction business. Besides constructing the Patterson's house he completed other local projects that include 72 mill homes near the Texas Textile Mill as well as a hundred-unit housing project for the McKinney Housing Authority.
W.C. Patterson was born in 1880. He moved to McKinney in 1918 with his second wife, Lily Burleson. Upon moving to McKinney he joined forces with Aubrey Hamilton and together they purchased Standard Garage. Standard Garage was located in the building owned by Jas. H. Merritt located at 210 N. Tennessee Street. The building was specifically built for the garage business. The economics of WWI took its toll on their business and so Patterson and Merritt sold their interest in the business to J.F. Chandler in 1921.
Patterson sought out other opportunities in Cisco, Texas, but by 1923 Mr. Patterson returned to McKinney. He established a partnership with Aubrey Hamilton and Grover Furr to start the Hamilton-Patterson Motor Company in the same location where he had operated the Standard Garage three years earlier. They sold Overland and Packard automobiles.
Walter C. Patterson died on February 20, 1940. Walter's wife lived at the residence for another two years before selling to Frank and Willie Smith in 1942. Mr. Smith was the Texas Textile Mill superintendent. Frank started working as a bookkeeper for the Texas Textile Mill in 1922, and in 1930 he became the superintendent of the Mill. Under his supervision the Texas Textile Mill survived two world wars, the Great Depression, and the tornado of 1948. Mr. Smith retired from the Mill in 1958 after 36 years of service.
In 1957 Frank Smith sold the house to Russell O. Wilson. Mr. Wilson was an estimator for the Texas Bitulithic Company when he lived in McKinney. The Wilsons lived in the house until they sold the house in 1966. Since 1966 there have been five owners.
ASSESSMENT: Staff believes that the applicant has met all of the requirements to obtain a Historic Marker under the Historic Neighborhood Improvement Zone Program (Ordinance 2013-11-110). Therefore, Staff is recommending approval of a Historic Marker for 315 North Waddill Street.
Under Ordinance 2013-11-110, if the HPAB approves the Marker, the applicant will be responsible for purchasing and displaying the Historic Marker.
Also, under Ordinance 2013-11-110, if the HPAB approves the Marker, the applicant may make application for a Level 1 tax exemption (100% exemption of the City's ad valorem taxes for a period of 7 years) provided the building has architectural integrity and has been properly rehabilitated/restored and maintained.
ATTACHMENTS:
· Historic Marker Application
· Marker Narrative
· Sanborn Maps
· Survey of Property
· Photos
· Sanborn Locating Historic Businesses
· Marker Bibliography