E. A. Newsome House

Duane's take

The official marker's the source, and here's how I tell it. Now, not every house has a story worth stoppin' the car for, but this one in McKinney just might. We're talkin' about the E.

A. Newsome House, and it starts with a man named Edward A. Newsome.

Financier, land owner, philanthropist. The kind of fellow who, when he decided to build a home for his wife Laura Fitzhugh and their family, wasn't about to do anything small. The year was 1895, and what he put up was a grand, two-and-a-half story Victorian home.

Grand is the word the marker uses, and I don't think it's overselling it one bit. This place became the scene of many social activities in McKinney. You can almost imagine it, a north Texas evening, the whole town finding its way to that front door.

Now, step inside and the house keeps its promises. Large rooms. High ceilings.

Ornate woodwork. And then there's the stair landing, which the marker calls majestic, and I'm inclined to trust that assessment. But here's the detail that'll stick with you.

Along the main staircase, window panes of cocoa glass, also known as solar glass, are on display. Cocoa glass. In 1895.

In McKinney, Texas. Edward A. Newsome was not a man who cut corners.

The house changed hands over the years, as houses do, and in 1966 the Murphy family purchased it, adding their own chapter to the story. But through every change of ownership, through all of it, this place held on to something. The marker calls it a distinctive architectural gem in north Texas, and after everything I just told you, I think you'd have to agree.

Some houses just refuse to be ordinary.

What the marker says

Edward A. Newsome, a financier, land owner and philanthropist, built this home in 1895 for his wife, Laura Fitzhugh, and their family. In 1966, the home was purchased by the Murphy family. The grand, two-and-a-half story Victorian home was the scene of many social activities in McKinney. The interior of the house boasts large rooms, high ceilings, ornate woodwork and a majestic stair landing. Window panes of cocoa glass, or solar glass, are displayed along the main staircase. The house changed hands over the years but remains a distinctive architectural gem in north Texas.