Collin McKinney
McKinney, Collin County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Texas patriot and statesman. One of committee of five that wrote the Texas Declaration of Independence; one of its fifty-nine signers, March 2, 1836. Served in House of Representatives, Republic of Texas. In recognition of his distinguished service the county and county seat of Collin County bear his name. Born in New Jersey, April 17, 1766. Died in this house, September 9, 1861. Erected by the State of Texas 1936
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Born in New Jersey in 1766, Collin McKinney lived to the remarkable age of 95, dying in this very house in 1861. In between he became a fixture of Texas's fight for nationhood: one of the five men who drafted the Texas Declaration of Independence and among its fifty-nine signers on March 2, 1836, before serving in the House of Representatives of the young Republic. In gratitude both the county and its seat carry his name.
Why it matters
He is one of the founding fathers of an independent Texas, and the survival of the home where he died anchors the Republic's birth to a specific, human place.
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Related people
- · Collin McKinney
Related events
- · Texas Declaration of Independence
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
John Martin House
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Local architect and builder John M. Martin erected this house for himself around 1880, showcasing the Queen Anne style then sweeping American towns. Its asymmetrical form, varied wall surfaces, and octagonal-roofed upper bay — said to be a Martin signature — reflect the fashionable eclecticism of the Gilded Age, finished with milled porch details drawn from the Eastlake style. Martin sold the home in 1908 and left McKinney.
Howell House
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The Howell House stands on land granted in 1845 to Edward Bradley, a member of the Peters Colony that drew settlers into North Texas. His daughter Mary Ann inherited the property, and her husband, merchant Daniel Howell, built the first part of this home in 1861-62 — much of its cypress lumber hauled by wagon all the way from Jefferson. Four generations of the family occupied and enlarged the house over the years.
John Faires House
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Built in 1854 by John Faires, a Tennessee man who had reached the young town of McKinney only three years earlier, this Greek Revival home reflected the skills that made him valuable on the Texas frontier. Faires kept a blacksmith shop nearby, working metal and wood with a craftsman's hand — a talent still visible in the hand-chiseled front door. The house stayed in the Faires family for more than a century, until 1975.
Bradley Cemetery
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