Title
Conduct a Public Hearing to Consider/Discuss/Act on the Request by Susan And Jon Gastrock for Approval to Receive a Historic Marker for the House Located at 507 North Bradley Street.
Summary
MEETING DATE: Wednesday, July 10, 2013
DEPARTMENT: Planning
CONTACT: Jennifer Arnold, Planning Manager
Guy R. Giersch, Historic Preservation Officer
STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Staff is recommending approval of a Historic Marker for 507 North Bradley Street.
PRIORITY RATING: The property is listed as a high priority building according to the 1985 Historic Resource Survey. High priority buildings contribute significantly to local history or broader historical patterns. The house is an outstanding or unique example of architecture, engineering or crafted design; retains a significant portion of its original character and contextual integrity; meets, in some cases, criteria for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places and/or is eligible for a Texas Historical Marker.
ITEM SUMMARY: On May 28, 2013, the applicant submitted the necessary documentation to apply for a Historic Marker for the house at 507 North Bradley Street (also known as the Board-Everett 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 507 North Bradley Street and the role they played in McKinney's history.
The Board-Everett House is an outstanding example of a Queen Anne Victorian Style house constructed in 1887 by Robert M. Board. This type of Queen Anne Victorian represents approximately 50% of all Victorians in the U.S. It is a variant of the style which started being built with great regularity beginning in the 1880's. The house is 1 ½ stories high and incorporates spindlework and jig-sawn spandrels as part of the architectural detailing of the porch and balcony. The projected upper portion of the gable has brackets and an ornamental gable. The shed dormers use spindlework brackets similar to the brackets found beneath the porch frieze. Of note is the centered temple front motif found over the balcony of the upper story. This not only points out the balcony upstairs, it also clearly indicates the single door, primary entrance to the house. The door appears to be original to the house. The front porch is covered with a flat roof and is supported with turned, wood posts of the period. The porch floor is wood, as are the banisters and balusters. Wood, weatherboard lap siding covers the house. The double-hung, one-over-one, wood sash windows are original to the house as well.
R. M. Board was born in Rocky Mount, Virginia in 1837. He moved with his family to McKinney in 1855. He was a charter member of the Central Presbyterian Church and a Degree Mason of the Royal Arch Masons, Haggai Chapter No. 53, chartered June 14, 1856 in McKinney. In 1858, he volunteered to help protect the Texas frontier from Comanche Indians. He again volunteered at the start of the Civil War by enlisting as a private in Captain Joe Dickson's Company I 9th Texas Infantry. Captain Dickson died at the Battle of Shiloh and Lt. Board was promoted to Captain. He remained as commander of Company I until surrendering in Alabama in 1865. The 9th Infantry started the war with 1,018 men. At the end of the war there were 8 officers and 79 enlisted left. Of the original 102 enlisted men in Company I, only 16 survived to see the end of the war, including Captain Board.
After the war, Captain Board returned to McKinney and re-entered the mercantile business in partnership with I. D. Newsome. The firm was first located on the north side of the square and later in the Newsome Building located at 202 E. Louisiana Street. On April 25, 1866, he married Adelia E. Willingham, whose sister was the wife of Board's business partner. Adelia was the daughter of Thomas H. Willingham, a Baptist minister and teacher. Captain Board and Adelia lived in the Board-Everett house for 50 years where they had three children: Edgar M. Board (? - 1918), Hallie Board Everett (1872 - 1961), and Forest Oak Board (1875 - 1943). Between 1921 and 1925, Forest Board served as city secretary, assessor, and as Collin County Tax Assessor.
In 1931, Captain and Mrs. Board both died of pneumonia and Hallie Everett and her husband, Thomas, sold her parent's home to Mr. Bullock, a local carpenter and painter. Mr. Bullock repaired the home and then sold it to Jesse M. and Olivia Foster in 1934. The Fosters lived in the house until 1975. Jesse worked at the McKinney Courier-Gazette. Their daughter, Francis, worked at the Gazette as a society editor and their son, Jimmy, operated a men's clothing store.
The Fosters sold the house in 1975 to the Roessler's. In 1978, after just three years in the home, the Rossler's sold the house to James J. Stokes, Band Director for McKinney High School, who then sold the house to Mr. and Mrs. Charles Hewitt in 1980. It was during the Hewitt's ownership that the house was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987. The house was sold to Gary M Gibson in 1994 and then to Terry and Susan Germann in 2000. In 2012, the Germann's sold the house to the present owner's, Jon and Susan Gastrock.
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 2008-04-030). Therefore, Staff is recommending approval of a Historic Marker for 507 North Bradley Street.
Under Ordinance 2008-04-030, if the HPAB approves the Marker, the applicant will be responsible for purchasing and displaying the Historic Marker.
Also, under Ordinance 2008-04-030, 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 15 years), providing the building has architectural integrity and has been properly rehabilitated/restored and maintained.