McKinney Texas History

McKinney, Texas is an old and historic city, first settled in 1841. The state’s first legislators met in 1846 meeting and created Collin, Denton, Hunt, and Grayson counties. Collin County, which McKinney is in, had a population of 1,950 in 1850. Today, over 300,000 people live in the county. The town was originally incorporated in 1849, and was re-incorporated on May 28, 1859.

Collin McKinney

Collin McKinney was born April 17, 1766, in New Jersey, one of ten children. He grew up in a rural area of Kentucky, complete with warring Indian tribes. He moved to Texas with his family in the 1840's. Early in his career, he was a guide for new citizens settling in North Texas from Kentucky. He even rode his horse back and forth eleven times! Serving under eight different governments in his life, including the Texas Republic, the United States, and the Southern Confederacy, McKinney was a celebrated and popular figure, a classic personality of Texas history. He died in 1861, at the age of 95.

It was written that Kinney was "a man of most admirable character. He possessed a spirit of progressiveness which dominated his life. No one of that group of pioneers exercised a more wholesome influence over those with whom he came in contact than Mr. McKinney. He lived a life worthy of emulation and was held in high esteem."

Historic Buildings

• Old Collin County Courthouse: built in 1876, the first permanent building on the downtown square.
• Old Collin County Jail: built in 1880, a site that has become popular with Hollywood filmmakers in recent years as a movie location.
• The First Methodist Church: built in 1900, which stands as the oldest existing church in town.
• The original home of Captain "Tuck" Hill, friend of Jesse and Frank James: built in 1877 and located at 616 W. Virginia.

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