Title
Conduct a Public Hearing to Consider/Discuss/Act on the Request by William and Bonita Thedford, for Approval to Receive a Historic Marker for the House Located at 505 West Hunt Street
Summary
MEETING DATE: December 5, 2013
DEPARTMENT: Planning
CONTACT: Guy R. Giersch, Historic Preservation Officer
Jennifer Arnold, Planning Manager
STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Staff is recommending approval of a historic marker for 505 West Hunt Street.
PRIORITY RATING: The property is listed as a medium priority building according to the 1985 Historic Resource Survey. 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 November 6, 2013, the applicant submitted the necessary documentation to apply for a Historic Marker for the house located at 505 West Hunt Street (also known as the Stiff 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 505 West Hunt Street and the role they played in McKinney's history.
The Stiff House, constructed by the G. W. Owens Company for Glenn and Edna Stiff, is an example of a modified circa 1913 American Foursquare also known as Prairie Box style. This particular vernacular style was originally constructed as a variant of the pyramidal folk-style which started being built with great regularity beginning in the 1900's. Typically this style had a low-pitched hipped roof with wide overhanging eaves. The original wood, lap-sided, 2-story house incorporates simple ornamentation. The porch exhibits the largest amount of architectural detailing. The flat roof of the porch extends across the front of the house and is supported by Greek Classical columns with a heavy wood banister and balusters. The front door and sidelights appear to be original to the house. The front porch is located on the southwest corner of the house and is incorporated as part of the main body of the house.
Around 1922 the house was bricked. The one-over-one windows were replaced with four-over-one windows. The original front door was maintained and a smaller temple-front style porch roof supported by large square brick columns replaced the full length porch. An addition was constructed on the west elevation and a two story addition with a screened porch on the first floor was constructed on the east elevation.
The house is being maintained in its current 1920's configuration.
The house at 505 West Hunt Street has been in the same family since it was constructed for Glenn Alvin Stiff. Glenn Stiff was the son of Edward Rollins Stiff and Mary McGarrah Stiff. Mary McGarrah was the daughter of Jack (John) McGarrah who was one of the early settlers of Collin County. Jack (John) McGarrah established the town of Buckner in 1873 which served as the original Collin County seat from 1846 to 1848. An election established McKinney as the county seat in 1848.
Glenn Stiff was a prosperous businessman. He worked as a road contractor, railroad contractor, and a cattleman. He served on the Central National Bank Board, was a member of Chamber of Commerce, and donated land to Pecan Grove Cemetery, as well as to the First Methodist Church. He married Edna Emberson in 1891 and they had a daughter.
Claude Gladys Stiff, daughter of Glenn and Edna Stiff, married Julius Purnell in 1916. The Purnell's lived with the Stiffs and had a daughter, Edna Elizabeth Purnell, in 1922. Glenn Stiff died in 1929 and Edna Stiff in 1932. Claude Gladys Stiff and Julius Purnell would continue living in the house until 1978 when Claude Gladys was moved to a nursing home following the passing of Julius 18 years earlier in 1960.
Edna Elizabeth Purnell, daughter of Claude Gladys and Julius, graduated from the first Boyd High School and went on to attend college at SMU. After graduation, she returned to McKinney and taught high school math. She met her husband William Thedford in McKinney and married William in 1949. They would eventually move to Seattle and, in 1950, they had a son named William Purnell Thedford.
William Purnell would visit the Purnell's, his grandparents, Claude Gladys and Julius, every summer. While he was stationed at Fort Hood he met and married Bonita Sue McKnight in 1978. They moved into the Stiff house with plans to fix it up to sell, but ended up staying and raising their three daughters in the home. The Thedford's are the fourth generation to live in the house. They are active in the First United Methodist Church and continue to carry the preservation of a remarkable historic home that has been in continual family ownership since it was built.
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 505 West Hunt 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) providing the building has architectural integrity and has been properly rehabilitated/restored and maintained.