DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Gallagher House in Wylie, Collin County. Now, some houses just sit there. They hold their secrets close, let the years stack up like old newspapers, and don't say much.
And then there's a house that practically leans off its foundation to tell you something. The Gallagher House is that second kind. Built in 1917 — and they weren't shy about it, those numbers are right there in raised plaster on the dormer for anyone who cares to look — it was designed as an American Foursquare with Craftsman details.
Two stories of frame construction, a hipped roof, exposed rafter tails, a full-width front porch held up by box columns. The kind of house that says, without raising its voice, that the people inside mattered in this town. And they did.
Vincent Bernard Gallagher — everybody called him V.B. — was born in 1870 and built this place to accommodate what the marker calls a large and active family. His wife was Mary Ann Scanlan Gallagher, known as Mamie, born 1871. Together they filled that Foursquare right up.
V.B. was not a man who sat still once the house was done, either. He owned the Wylie Insurance Group, described as the town's oldest continuously operated business. He served as a director and officer of the First National Bank of Wylie.
When Wylie got its first schoolhouse, Gallagher became secretary of the school board. A few years on, he moved up to treasurer. But here's where the story gets bigger than Wylie.
V.B. Gallagher and the Commercial Club of Wylie took on Dallas's water supply problem. They presented what the marker calls the most effective solution, and that solution involved promoting the construction of a dam on the East Fork of the Trinity River.
That reservoir is now known as Lake Lavon. One man's civic hustle, one club's well-timed proposal, and a body of water that Texans are still using today. V.B.
Gallagher passed in 1940. Mamie, though — born 1871, she lived all the way to 1964, long enough to watch this town become something else entirely. After V.B.'s death, the house didn't sit empty long.
In 1943, Ollie Addington, born 1903, and his wife Emma Locke Addington, born 1907, moved in and picked up right where the Gallaghers left off in the civic department — maybe even doubled down on the hospitality. They welcomed the Wylie community into their home, hosting events and social gatherings across twenty years of ownership. Ollie was a Lions Club member, a school board trustee, and a two-term city councilman.
Emma became the first president of the Wylie Garden Club and held leadership positions on various church committees. Ollie passed in 1973, Emma in 1977. That house on the corner saw all of it.
Two families, two generations of Wylie leadership, and a front porch built wide enough, it seems, to hold whatever the town needed to bring to the door. The year is still right there in the plaster: 1917. Some things you don't have to take anybody's word for.
What the marker says
Designed as an American Foursquare house with Craftsman details, the Gallagher House is a local example of an early 20th century upper-middle class home. The two-story frame home features a hipped roof with central dormer, exposed rafter tails, and full-width front porch supported by box columns. The year of construction, 1917, is in raised plaster numbers on the dormer. Vincent Bernard "V.B." Gallagher (1870-1940) and his wife, Mary Ann "Mamie" (Scanlan) (1871-1964), built the home to accommodate their large and active family. V.B. Gallagher was a civic and business leader. Owner of the town's oldest continuously operated business, the Wylie Insurance Group, he also served as a director and officer of the First National Bank of Wylie. When the first schoolhouse was built in Wylie, Gallagher became secretary of the school board. A few years later, he became treasurer. However, his most impactful civic endeavor was promoting the construction of a dam on the East Fork of the Trinity River. He and the Commercial Club of Wylie presented the most effective solution for Dallas" water supply problem. The reservoir is now known as Lake Lavon. In 1943, after V.B. Gallagher's death, Ollie Addington (1903-1973) and his wife, Emma (Locke) Addington (1907-1977), moved into the house and welcomed the Wylie community into their home, hosting many events and social gatherings over 20 years of ownership. Ollie Addington was a Lions Club member, school board trustee and two-term city councilman. Emma Addington was first president of the Wylie Garden Club and held leadership positions on various church committees. RECORDED TEXAS HISTORIC LANDMARK - 2019