Title
Conduct a Public Hearing to Consider/Discuss/Act on the Request by Robert D & Jan K Barstad, for Approval of a Historic Marker for the House Located at 601 North College Street.
Summary
COUNCIL GOAL: Enhance the Quality of Life in McKinney
MEETING DATE: April 6, 2017
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 601 North College Street.
PRIORITY RATING: The property is listed as a high priority building according to the 2015 Update of the Historic Resource Survey. A high priority building contributes significantly to local history or broader historical patterns; 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 March 14, 2017 the applicant submitted the necessary documentation to apply for a historic marker for the house located at 601 North College Street (also known as the Comegys’ 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 601 North College Street and the role they played in McKinney’s history.
The Comegys’ House was designed and built between 1928 and 1930. It is an excellent example of a Tudor Revival Style. This style historically was brought home to the America by the returning “doughboys” of WWI.
The Comegys’ house is a two-story, wood frame, masonry clad building constructed on a pier-and-beam foundation. The house has a small covered porch with a Gothic arch portal. The front door and original screen have a Gothic arch. The first floor is clad using stone and brick while the upper story is brick. Ornamental, timber half-framing with decorative masonry patterns are located on the front elevation. The house uses wood, six-over-six, double hung windows for fenestration. This is unusual in that the windows are typically casement windows and not double-hung windows. The roof is a steep pitched hipped roof covered with slate. There is a porte-cochere located on the left elevation of the house.
Historical Figures Associated with the House:
• John Lemuel Lovejoy (1800-1885) also known as Reverend John Lemuel Lovejoy, establishes a mercantile at Buckner in 1846. Buckner, at the time, was the county seat. A law, recently passed by the legislature requires the county seat to be within 3 miles of the geographic center of the county. Buckner did not meet this standard. An election was held and McKinney was selected as the county seat. After the town was laid out Lovejoy moved his store to McKinney to become the first shop owner on the square.
• Cornelius George Comegys, DDS eventually married Marjorie Lovejoy, one of John L. Lovejoy’s daughters. John L. Lovejoy (1848-1921) was the grandson of Rev. John Lemuel Lovejoy who established the first store in McKinney.
• George Comegys was born July 15, 1879 and died January 23, 1930. He was educated at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in dentistry. He worked as a dentist for 10 years and moved to McKinney in 1917 to become a Director/Vice President/Cashier of the First National Bank. Comegys was the President of the McKinney Compress, a director of the Texas Electric Railway Company, and a member of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church.
• Marjorie (Lovejoy) Comegys maternal grandfather was Francis Emerson who was the founder and President of the First National Bank of McKinney.
• Originally W. R. Hill owned a home constructed circa 1895. According to the Sanborn Maps the foot print changed after 1902 and again when the Tudor Revival house was constructed by the Comegys in 1928-30. It is not clear if the original home was demolished or burned but it was most likely demolished.
• In 1928 the Hills sold the house to the Heathington’s who sold it to the Comegys within a few months for a $500.00 profit.
• Cornelius George died before the house was completed in 1930. Marjorie Lovejoy Comegys lived in the house until she died in 1962. From 1962 to 1981, George Woilkins managed the property until 1981 when the house was sold.
• Virginia Morelock Wolfe lived in the house starting in 1981. She added the stained glass to the openings to the porte-cochere. Kenneth and Sally Wolfe moved into the house in 2001 after Kenneth’s mother died in 1994. Kenneth and Sally lived in the house until 2010. Kenneth was a Navy veteran from the Korean War and was a 21 year veteran with the Dallas Police Department. The Wolfe’s constructed the two story, three car garage located at the rear of the house.
• In 2010 Jan and Bob Barstad purchased the house from the Wolfes. The Barstad’s have taken care to preserve the integrity of the home as it was built in the late 1920’s.
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 2015-12-105). Therefore, Staff is recommending approval of a Historic Marker for 601 North College Street.
Under Ordinance 2015-12-105, if the HPAB approves the Marker, the applicant will be responsible for purchasing and displaying the Historic Marker.
Also, under Ordinance 2015-12-105, if the Historic Preservation Advisory Board 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. The building must have a residential use in order to qualify for the tax exemption.