James Calvin Rhea House

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the James Calvin Rhea House, out in Collin County. Now, some families leave a mark on a place so deep it just about writes itself into the land. The Rhea family was that kind.

James Calvin Rhea was born in 1837, and in 1855, still a young man, Tennessee behind him, he pointed himself toward Texas. He didn't come alone. His brother W.A.

Rhea made the journey with him, and together those two got to work. They built a gristmill in a Collin County community that would come to carry their name: Rhea Mills. That's the kind of thing that tends to stick.

James Calvin lived a long life, a very long life. He was born in 1837 and didn't leave this world until 1925. Eighty-eight years.

He'd seen Tennessee, seen Texas, seen a Civil War in between. He came out the other side a veteran, and he and his wife Mary are buried nearby, together, in Pecan Grove Cemetery. Now, the house the marker tells us about, that came a little later.

Built around 1890, and built by a man named John W. Hamilton. Hamilton knew what he was doing.

He gave this home what's called the Eastlake style, you can see it in the wraparound veranda, the ornamental woodwork, the sunburst panels. It's the kind of house that makes you slow down when you drive past it. The home passed into the Rhea family and stayed there.

For decades it stayed there. All the way until 1956, that house belonged to them. And when it finally needed tending to, Harry E. and Rebecca Sue McKillop took on the restoration and saw it through to completion.

A gristmill. A community. A house dressed up in sunbursts and woodwork.

And two people resting in Pecan Grove Cemetery not far away. James Calvin Rhea came to Texas from Tennessee in 1855, and he left behind more than most people manage in twice the time.

What the marker says

James Calvin Rhea (1837-1925) came to Texas from Tennessee in 1855. He and his brother, W.A. Rhea, built a gristmill in the Collin county community that became known as Rhea Mills. Built about 1890 by John W. Hamilton, this home features Eastlake style elements in its wraparound veranda, ornamental woodwork, and sunburst panels. The home remained in the Rhea family until 1956. A Civil War Veteran, Rhea and his wife Mary are buried nearby in Pecan Grove Cemetery. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1989 Incise on base: Restoration completed by Harry E. and Rebecca Sue McKillop