Scott-Barker House
Melissa, Collin County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Probably erected in the 1870s, this house was already standing when prominent Melissa merchant Louis A. Scott and his new wife Louise (Allen) purchased the property in 1880. The Scotts sold the house in 1901, and in 1903 it was purchased by Hugh M. and Fannie Barker. A 1921 tornado devastated the town but took only a chimney from this house, which the Barker's daughters occupied for 85 years. A fine example of an L-plan Victorian-era dwelling, the house features pedimented door and window surrounds and highly unusual dormers with distinctive Mansard-type roofs. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1999
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
This L-plan Victorian dwelling went up around the 1870s, as the young town of Melissa was taking root in the Blackland Prairie of North Texas. Merchant Louis A. Scott and his wife Louise bought it in 1880, and after 1903 it passed to the Barker family, whose daughters lived here for 85 years. When a devastating tornado tore through Melissa in 1921, the sturdy house lost only a chimney—a small testament to its solid construction and its distinctive dormers and Mansard-type roofs.
Why it matters
Surviving homes like this one preserve the domestic texture of the small merchant towns that grew up along the rail lines of post-Civil War Texas.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · Louis A. Scott
- · Louise (Allen) Scott
- · Hugh M. Barker
- · Fannie Barker
Related events
- · 1921 tornado
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Chambersville Cemetery
McKinney, TX
Elisha and Margaret Ann Chambers came to Texas from Indiana in 1847, and when their infant son died in 1853 they gave the land where he was buried for a cemetery and school. The site once stood at the crossroads of a busy farm community of homes, a cotton gin, stores, and a post office, and those buried here were its storekeepers, teachers, blacksmiths, farmers, and soldiers. By 1999 some 950 graves recorded the community's long history.
Chambersville
McKinney, TX
Elisha and Peggy Ann Chambers brought their seven children to Texas in 1847, claiming headrights in Collin and Dallas Counties and donating land for a cemetery and school that seeded the community named in their honor. By the turn of the century Chambersville thrived with a sawmill, cotton gin, blacksmith, post office, and stores, while its school doubled as auditorium, dance hall, and even a roller rink. During World War I the Red Cross worked out of the school as local women rolled bandages for the troops.
Chambersville Methodist Church
McKinney, TX
Though Chambersville dates to 1847, its residents worshiped in non-denominational services at scattered locations until the Methodist congregation formally organized in 1905. J. M. Bryan deeded land across from the community school, where members first met in a white frame building and later built anew in 1948. Its Harvest Festival, begun in 1945, grew into a lasting Chambersville tradition.
Mantua
Anna, TX
In 1854 a group of founders set aside twenty-five acres for the town of Mantua, conceived expressly to support the Mantua Seminary, with lot sales funding the school and deed restrictions banning gambling, horse racing, and liquor. A Masonic lodge, post office, and co-educational seminary followed, and by 1868 the school enrolled some eighty pupils. But when the Houston and Texas Central Railroad laid its tracks a mile and a half east in 1872, residents and businesses decamped for the new town of Van Alstyne, and Mantua faded until only its cemetery and a road name remained.