Title
Conduct a Public Hearing to Consider/Discuss/Act on the Request by James Russell Monroe for Approval of a Historic Marker for the House Located at 501 North Church Street
Summary
COUNCIL GOAL: Enhance the Quality of Life in McKinney (5C: Continue to market and highlight McKinney as a unique destination for residents and visitors alike.)
MEETING DATE: March 7, 2019
DEPARTMENT: Planning
CONTACT: Guy R. Giersch, Historic Preservation Officer
Jennifer Arnold AICP, Director of Planning
STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Staff is recommending approval of a historic marker for 501 North Church 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 February 15, 2019 the applicant submitted the necessary documentation to apply for a historic marker for the house located at 501 North Church Street known as the Jesse F. Bone 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 501 North Church Street and the role they played in McKinney’s history.
The Jesse F. Bone House was built in 1927. It is an example of a subgroup of Tudor Revival homes called the English Cottage Style which was popular after WWI. The house is a single story wood frame house constructed on a pier and beam foundation. The house has steep gabled roofs which intersect and the front facing gable sports a prominent chimney. The house is a one-story, wood-frame house covered with wood, lap siding. The porch extends midway to the left across the front of the house and is supported by a segmental arch. There is a small, shed dormer located on the front of the house. The house is fenestrated with eight-over-eight and six-over-six, double-hung windows. There is a set of leaded glass casement windows on the northeast elevation of the front of the house and a set of glass casement windows underneath the front porch as well.
Historical Figures Associated with the House:
Jesse Foster Bone (1878 - 1968)
• Born in Little Elm, Texas in Denton County. He moved to McKinney around 1893. Jesse was the eldest of five children. He worked the family farm but eventually started clerking for T.J. Melton in 1898 at one of the grocery stores on the McKinney Square. Jesse moved away and in 1907 he married Ola Grace Bradshaw in Howe. Eventually Jesse and Ola grace moved to McKinney and Jesse was hired by William H. Matthews.
• The Matthews Brothers Store also known as the “Big Daylight Store” was located where the Ritz Theater now stands at the northeast corner of Virginia and Kentucky. The Matthews’ store was three stories high and the second and third floors were accessed by elevators that could hold 8 people. The store was the first to have electric elevators in McKinney. They sold everything from dry goods to automobile products.
• In 1913, Jesse left the Matthews store and teamed up with his uncle who purchased the W.P. Suttle Shoe Store which was located on the west side of the Square where Rick’s Chophouse now sits. Jesse’s business partner was Robert L. Ray, his uncle by marriage. Mr. Ray was marred to Jesse’s Aunt Lula. The shoe store was known as “Bone & Ray”.
• In 1927 Jesse sold his interest in the shoe store back to Uncle Bob.
• In February of 1928, Jesse opened a new shoe store on the North Side of the Square, next to the Matthews Dry Good Store, now known as the Harris-Price Store. Today the Harris-Price building is known as the Little Red Hen. Prior to this store being a shop it was the Continental State Bank of McKinney. The bank opened in 1909 and in 1911 merged with Collin County National Bank.
• The new bank, Continental State Bank, was constructed on the NW corner of the Square on the former site of the Mississippi Store which burned in 1913 and a new bank building opened October of 1917 and eventually becomes the Central State Bank in 1920.
• The Matthews Dry Good Store burned but, fortunately, the Bone Shoe Store located next to it suffered no serious damage and opened almost on time. Jesse Bone owned and operated the store in the Estes building for the next 40 Years. The Ray, Conner, and Ray unfortunately closed in the early 1930’s.
• Jesse and Ola did not have any children. Their financial success allowed then to travel extensively about the country. Jesse Bone died in 1968 at the age of 90. He still owned and managed the store at the time of his death. Ola died in 1975.
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 501 North Church 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.