John Martin House

Duane's take

Here's the story as the official marker tells it, in my own words. Now, some folks build a house to sell it. John M.

Martin built one to show you exactly who he was. Martin was born in 1859, came up as part of an early Collin County family, and made his living as a local architect and builder. Around 1880, he turned his craft on himself; put up this house right here in McKinney, and brother, he did not hold back.

The structure runs in the Queen Anne style, which means Martin had a few tricks up his sleeve. Asymmetrical massing, meaning the thing doesn't square up the way your eye expects, and somehow that makes it more interesting. Wall surfaces in various materials, so the house catches light and texture from every angle.

And then there's the centerpiece: an octagonal-roofed upper bay. Eight sides reaching skyward. That particular touch was said to be a Martin trademark.

You want to know a man's signature, look at what he does when nobody tells him what to do. This was John Martin's signature. The milled porch details drew from the Eastlake style, popular at the time; decorative millwork that gave a porch the kind of character most folks only dreamed about.

Martin lived with what he built, let it speak for him for nearly three decades. Then, in 1908, he sold the house and moved on from McKinney. Just like that.

The man left behind his trademark octagon, his Eastlake porch, his asymmetrical statement to the world, and walked out into wherever came next. Some signatures, it turns out, outlast the man who made them.

What the marker says

John M. Martin (b. 1859), a member of an early Collin county family, was a local architect and builder who erected this house for himself about 1880. The structure exhibits elements of the Queen Anne style, including asymmetrical massing, wall surfaces of various materials, and an octagonal-roofed upper bay -- said to be a Martin trademark. Milled porch details were inspired by the popular Eastlake style. Martin sold the house in 1908 and moved from McKinney. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1986