Alley-McKay House
Jefferson, Marion County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Daniel Nelson Alley (1810-68) built this home about 1851. A founder of Jefferson, Alley was a prominent early landowner in Marion County. Several families owned the house before 1884, when Hector McKay (1835-93) bought the property. A veteran of the Civil War, McKay was one of the area's leading attorneys. His son, Arch McKay (1875-1954), retained ownership of the home until his death. Designed in the Greek revival style, it features a 4-room central hall plan. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1986
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Built around 1851 by Daniel Nelson Alley, a founder of Jefferson, this Greek Revival house with its four-room central-hall plan stands among the earliest homes of Marion County. In 1884 it passed to Hector McKay, a Civil War veteran and one of the region's leading attorneys, whose family held it into the mid-20th century. The house survives as a rare antebellum landmark of a onetime riverport boomtown.
Why it matters
Jefferson was a thriving inland steamboat port before railroads redrew Texas commerce, and this home embodies the ambitions of the founders and professionals who built that short-lived prosperity.
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Related people
- · Daniel Nelson Alley
- · Hector McKay
- · Arch McKay
Themes & tags
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