Cole-McNeill-Jones House

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Out here on the South Plains, a house can hold more history than you'd think just looking at it. This one, the Cole-McNeill-Jones House in Crosby County, starts with a man named Handy P.

Cole. Born in 1864, Cole was the kind of fellow who ended up at the center of things. He served as foreman of the Spur Ranch, and later as sheriff of Dickens County.

A man of some standing, clearly. In 1897, he bought this property. And around 1900, the original part of this house went up.

Now picture that, a ranch foreman turned lawman, putting down roots on a piece of West Texas ground. That's a foundation worth noting. But Cole wouldn't be the last name on this house.

In 1904, a young man named James Calvin McNeill, Jr., born in 1875, bought the place. He didn't have far to move. His father's ranch sat right next door, adjoining this very property.

So McNeill came over from next door and made this house his own. The years rolled on, and in 1917, additions were made to the residence, the house growing a little, the way a family does. Then came 1943, and the property changed hands once more.

It was sold to the estate of Morgan Jones, described on this marker as a West Texas business leader. But here's the part that says something about the people involved. That sale came with an arrangement for continued occupancy by the McNeill family.

The house changed owners, but the family stayed. Three names on one house, and the last family just kept right on living there. That's West Texas for you.

What the marker says

Handy P. Cole (1864-1923), foreman of the Spur Ranch and later sheriff of Dickens County, bought this property in 1897. The original part of this house was built about 1900. In 1904 James Calvin McNeill, Jr. (1875-1949) bought the place and moved here from his father's adjoining ranch. In 1917 additions were made to the residence. The property was sold in 1943 to the estate of West Texas business leader Morgan Jones with an arrangement for continued occupancy by the McNeill Family. (1982)