Title
Conduct a Public Hearing to Consider/Discuss/Act on a Request by Cynthia and Jude Trahan for Approval of a Historic Marker for the House Located at 903 North Waddill Street
Summary
COUNCIL GOAL: Enhance the Quality of Life in McKinney
MEETING DATE: March 1, 2018
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 903 North Waddill.
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 February 13, 2018 the applicant submitted the necessary documentation to apply for a historic marker for the house located at 903 North Waddill known as the Minton 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 903 North Waddill Street and the role they played in McKinney’s history.
The Dr. Morris Minton House was built in 1940 by Lee Elliott. It is a fine example of Colonial Revival Style architecture that was popular from 1880 - 1950. The architecture gets its inspiration from the late 18th century Georgian, Federal and early Classic Revival styles. The house is built on a rectangular massed foundation which is typical of the style. The house is two-story, pier and beam foundation, wood-frame house covered with wood, lap siding. The porch extends across the front of the house and is supported by columns that rise the full two stories of the house. There is a roof-line balustrade as well as three evenly spaced dormers located on the roof. The balustrade is a Greek Revival Design used in Colonial Revival architecture and, though not original to this house is typical of many roof-line balustrades that can be found in the Colonial Revival repertoire. The house is fenestrated with evenly spaced six-over-six, double-hung windows with shutters. The evenly spaced windows are typical of the style as well. The front door has a wood fantail decoration above the door. Two appropriate additions have been added to the rear elevation over the years. These additions are at least 50 years of age.
Historical Figures Associated with the House:
Dr. Morris Sheppard Minton (1911 - 1990)
• Born in Sabine County, Texas in 1911. He moved to McKinney in 1935 to start a dental practice located in the Fox Building on East Virginia Street.
• Morris graduated from Baylor College of Dentistry in Dallas and served his internship at Parkland Hospital in 1934.
• In 1936, Dr. Minton was called by the United States Public Health Service to investigate why people in the Amarillo were experiencing a condition known as “brown tooth stain”. According to his research his conclusion was that the water, that was being consumed, had a high chlorine content which effected the enamel and caused them to brown. It has been suggested that it is fluorine and not chlorine which causes a condition called fluorosis which causes teeth to brown. He was in Amarillo and Wichita Falls for six months.
• Toward the end of 1937 he moved from the Fox building to an office in the Abernathy Building, which is located at the southeast corner of the Louisiana and Kentucky intersection. Minton kept this office for twenty years.
• Dr. Minton was very active in the civic affairs of McKinney. In 1938, he was elected director of the Junior Chamber of Commerce (Jaycees). In 1941, he was elected president of the Fourth District Dental Society and chair in the County’s Health and safety department. In 1943, he was elected chair of the Rotary Club and served as a volunteer fireman.
• Dr. Minton was very active in McKinney and in 1951 he became a director of the Collin County National Bank. He held this position for almost forty years.
• Minton enlisted in the Army at the age of 42. He left his wife and two children in McKinney while he served in the medical branch for two years at Fort Hood. He returned the summer of 1955 and resumed his dental practice and his responsibilities at the Collin County National Bank which was in the process of moving to a new location just north of the Square where City Hall is now located.
• In 1957, Minton moved his office to a wood-frame house at 401 South Tennessee Street.
• He became Layman Chairman of the Texas Baptist Crusade for Christian Education eventually becoming a member of the Board of Directors of the Baylor University Alumni Association.
• In 1969, Minton became director of the McKinney Chamber of Commerce and in 1969 he was elected President of the Texas Dental Association. In 1981 Minton retired from practice and sold his Tennessee Street office to Dr. Richard Conoley.
• Dr. Morris Minton was married to McKinney native Mary K. Dooley in 1940. Mary’s father, Thomas P. Dooley was assistant manager of the McKinney Steam Laundry.
• The Minton’s had two children and both attended Baylor.
• Dr. Morris Minton died in 1990. He was 79 years old. Mary died in 1998.
Landon Lee Elliott, Jr (1902-1968)
• Built the Minton House in 1940.
• Landon Lee Elliot Jr grew up in the lumber business and opened his own yard in 1936. The lumber business was located behind the W.O.W. Building located on South Tennessee Street near the corner of Cloyd and Chestnut.
• Landon Lee worked on rebuilding the Texas Textile Mill after the 1948 tornado and added 72 homes to the mill block in 1950.
• Lee also worked on the Veteran’s Hospital in McKinney and the first government-subsidized housing project aka the McKinney Housing Authority.
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 903 North Waddill 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.