Collinwood House faces new possibilities

Originally published April 2018

Photos by Audrey Henvey

By Audrey Henvey

Beneath the painted walls of Collinwood House, rough rods of wood support its surrounding younger components. The wood, cut into shape around 1861, still bears the marks of a saw.

The historical house in Plano holds many elements dating back to its creation that live hidden among newer additions, including a half-cellar, unique for houses built on the area at the time.

“It’s still the bones that we’re looking at” said Harold Sickler, Heritage Commission chairperson.

Every month, Sickler and Bhavesh Mittal, Heritage Preservation officer join city staff to tour the now closed-down house to ensure no wasp or other elements will result in its deterioration. Air units maintaining a constant temperature rest behind blocked-off windows whose frames would once have held the wavy glass of the time. Where sunlight would usually pour through to give natural light, foam boards block this and any other elements from the house’s innards.

Mittal said these walk-throughs have occurred since December of 2016. The house is visited twice per month by city staff, but Mittal and Sickler only visit once per month to ensure it stays safe from vandalism and wasps as it awaits its fate.

A story to tell

When the city of Plano acquired the property, and the house on it, in 2010, the original plan was in favor of leveling the land the house stood on.

The city had been acquiring surrounding land in hopes of creating what will be named Windhaven Meadows Park, complete with trails and a fully accessible playground. The Quimby McCoy restoration architecture company was hired to learn about Collinwood House’s history.

“At the time, no one really had an understanding of the historical significance of it,” Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Ron Kelley said. “There are some elements of that home that are incredible. Absolutely incredible.”

The city council voted in November of 2015 to demolish the house. In March of 2016, the Heritage Commission submitted a memorandum to the council listing its historical value and requesting the house be preserved.

After the memorandum was submitted, a $3.5 million bond proposal was added in a May 2017 election. The money would go to the preservation of the house, according to the ballot.  

“The issue for the city is the money to restore it, to make it ADA compliant, and then who’s going to pay to continue the maintenance and operations of the house,,” Kelley said. “So it’s a long history of people wanting to save it, but monies couldn’t be raised.”

The bond proposal failed in a 13,098 to 12,502 vote.

“That makes it really tough for the city to move forward,” Kelley said.

Rather than bulldozing the house, Kelley said the city voted to dismember it and preserve some parts, as well as placing a memorial in the park to acknowledge the house had existed. Parks and Recreation Director Robin Reeves said no plans had been made yet for a memorial in the park.

"The problem with it being in the park, it would be extremely difficult to protect it,” Reeves said. “There’s no attendance or anything in a park like that. It just would be very hard to protect the house from vandalism and those kind of things.”

Reed said if the house were to survive, it would need to be placed somewhere outside the public park.

“It has a story to tell,” Kelley said. “Just the simple fact that that home was standing there when Abraham Lincoln was president.That blows my mind.”

Cloaked history

Hidden underneath weathered grey shingles, added sometime before the 1950s, the original wood siding of the house rests protected from rain and wind.

“It just has been cloaked with a different layer,” said Plano resident Candace Fountoulakis. “The materials are still there, and in great condition because they’ve been protected with a different layer.”

The building is one of only two in Plano constructed before the addition of railroads in the area, according to the Plano Heritage Commission report.

“Because of the names we know all over Plano, our streets and our parks and libraries are all named for the founding members, it was just surprising how interwoven the stories between these families, the landmarks, and now our present-day Plano are still tied to each other,” Fountoulakis said.

Clinston S. Haggard, who has a local middle school in his name and whose grandson bears the name of one of the city libraries, bought the property the house rests on in 1862, according to a timeline provided by the Heritage Commission. 

Haggard, a confederate soldier in the civil war, lived in the home until 1884 when the family moved into a new home on the other side of town, according to Jennie Haggard Ray’s “History of the Haggard Family.” The Collinwood house and property stayed in the family’s hands until 1936, when Haggard’s granddaughter sold it to another family.

Fountoulakis has supported preserving the house and keeping it in its original location by writing pieces in publications such as Plano Magazine and attending city council meetings. She said having a piece of local history in house form gave visitors the ability to truly grasp what life was like in the past.

“It’s more real because you can stand in a structure or outside it and be in the same place that it was built,”Fountoulakis said. “It’s much easier to comprehend that it occurred, because I know it’s difficult sometimes to really grasp how it felt, or how it came about until you’re in a building that those people built and is still standing, which is sort of astounding.”

Built near the Shawnee trail, which was used to herd cattle across land, the house witnessed a shift from trails to railroads to streets. The land is also very close to White Rock Creek, which would have served as a water resource, Fountoulakis said.

Fountoulakis said knowing Plano’s local history gives members of the growing city some context.

“I think because people have come to Plano with a perception based on what they’ve seen in the modern times, it gives them a sense of place when they can understand how it started and developed like other towns, but didn’t disappear when the railroads showed up,” Fountoulakis said.

If the house were to be moved or dismembered, Fountoulakis said the house risks losing its historical context.

“I don’t think we’re out of options,” she said. “I think we still have options available that would be less expensive. No one’s going to complain if we find a better way.”

A transformed timeline

Despite its possible loss of context, a solution may be around the 157 year old corner for Collinwood.

The house may find a new home across the street on property owned by the Haggard family, who still resides in the city today. Kelley said the family showed interest in obtaining the house.

With the house on a nearby location, the land it rests on today would be available for development as Windhaven Meadows park, featuring a dog park, all-accessible playground and walking trails, Reeves said.

Because of high demand at the city’s Arbor Hills Nature Preserve, Reeves said there is need to have another park to alleviate the preserve’s overuse.

“Plano continues to grow,” Reeves said. “And so there’s going to continue to be more residents, and those residents are going to want open space.”

Kelley said the request must still follow the general process of requests for proposals, but the house’s movement is preferable to dismemberment.

“We were heading down this path of deconstruction, but now there’s a good opportunity that that may not happen,” he said. “So, I think the timeline is to be determined.”