Before It Was a Museum: The Past Lives of McKinney’s 1913 Post Office Building

By Lillie Miller
Special contributor

Lillie Miller is a 6th-generation Collin County resident and chairs the Collin County History Museum Board of Directors.

When it opened in 1913, the Collin County History Museum was a United States Post office and Postal Savings Bank. This three-story federal building was designed by architect J. H. Suttle in the Italianate style, a look favored by early 20th-century government buildings meant to project stability, dignity, and permanence. The building is clad in limestonewith an arched three-bay recessed entrance and wide overhanging eaves with detailed brackets.

The building is a showcase of regional materials. Gray Texas granite foundation and steps were quarried from the Llano Fields, Texas limestone walls came from Cedar Park Quarry in Williamson County, and there is Athens brick in the basement and on interior walls.

Other original features include copper trim, a clay tile roof, a large original boiler in the basement, and a striking cast-iron and marble staircase. The building has terrazzo and imported marble floors, decorative molding and carved wood details, operable interior windows designed for natural air circulation, as well as original light fixtures, doors, and cast-iron radiators.

In the main gallery, you can see that the original one-inch thick maple tongue-in-groove wood flooring has each plank stamped with the milled date of  January 1st, 1895. Two original iron safes remain in the vaults.

Inside, the building was carefully designed for oversight and accountability. Observation rooms allowed inspectors to discreetly monitor postal workers and bank employees. 

It served the City of McKinney for 46 years. As the city grew, the building was scheduled to be replaced in 1941. This was delayed due to WWII, and it did not close as a post office until 1959 when it was deeded to Collin County. 

After postal operations moved, the building took on new life. It has served as the headquarters for Civil Defense, a Cold War fallout shelter stocked with emergency supplies, and as Offices for the Texas Department of Public Safety.

By 1970, the building was being used as a warehouse by the county fire marshal. It was then abandoned for several years. The Collin County Historical Society Rescue began in 1976, when former First Lady, Lady Bird Johnson, cut the ribbon dedicating it as a museum. Restoration took place six years before the building reopened in 1982 as the Central Museum in the Old Post Office. Today, it has a new life once again serving as The Collin County History Museum.

The building was designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1997 and retains an exceptional level of original architectural detail and historic character. Despite a few practical updates over the years, the building remains largely unchanged from its early 20th-century appearance and now serves a new generation in preserving and sharing local stories through exhibits, educational programs, and community events with a mission of keeping the history of Collin County “alive, accessible, and meaningful for generations to come.”

You can schedule an appointment for a private tour of the Collin County History Museum or visit during regular hours of operation, Fridays and Saturdays, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.