Dr. John S. and Mary McCelvey House

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Dr. John S. and Mary McCelvey House in Bell County. Now settle in, because this one starts with a house that was built before the couple who commissioned it had even said their vows.

Around 1906, a home was completed in Temple for Dr. John S. McCelvey, born in 1870, and his fiancee, Mary Horne, born in 1881.

His fiancee. They hadn't married yet, and already they were raising walls. That tells you something about the confidence of these two people.

Now here's the part that ought to stop you in your tracks. Those walls weren't built from lumber or ordinary brick. The concrete blocks were cast on the Horne family plantation near Waco.

They made the building material themselves, hauled it up, and set it in place. You want to talk about putting down roots, that family brought the ground with them. The house was designed in what they call an eclectic Gothic style, and it is a particular kind of place.

Asymmetrical plan, wraparound porch with chamfered corners, stone piers topped with urns. It doesn't follow a straight line, literally or figuratively, and somehow that suits the story just fine. Dr.

McCelvey went on to become a prominent local physician, affiliated with the King's Daughters Hospital and active in state medical associations. Mary McCelvey, for her part, threw herself into the social and civic life of Temple. Then in 1927, the McCelveys expanded, adding a north wing, a garage, and servants' quarters.

Dr. McCelvey lived until 1964. Mary until 1960.

The house they built together before they were even married outlasted them both, and it's still standing there in Bell County, concrete blocks and all, cast from the soil of a plantation near Waco, telling the story of two people who clearly didn't believe in waiting around.

What the marker says

Completed about 1906 for Dr. John S. McCelvey (1870-1964) and his fiancee, Mary Horne (1881-1960), this house was erected of concrete blocks cast on the Horne family plantation near Waco. The McCelveys built the north wing addition and garage and servants' quarters in 1927. Dr. McCelvey was a prominent local physician affiliated with the King's Daughters Hospital and was active in state medical associations. Mary McCelvey was active in Temple social and civic affairs. The house was designed in an eclectic Gothic style with an asymmetrical plan, wraparound porch with chamferred corners, and stone piers with urns. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1999