McClellan-Cunningham House

Duane's take

The way the marker tells it, here's what this house has seen. Back in 1879, District Judge Eugene David McClellan and his wife Alice, who taught piano over at Carlton College, built themselves a home right here in Fannin County. Now, these weren't folks who did anything halfway.

The house they raised up was two stories of Queen Anne style, and friend, if you've got eyes, you know exactly what that means. There's a projecting bay, full-gallery veranda porches running the length of the place, and trim that somebody put through a jigsaw like they were trying to win an argument. Dormers and gables jutting every which way, fish-scale shingles laid out in patterns on the exterior, and then in the gables, the back porch, and on the interior stairway, sunburst designs that make you stop mid-step just to stare.

Someone loved this house when they were buildin' it. You can feel that. Then 1907 rolls around, and the McClellan daughter, Cornelia, marries an attorney by the name of Henry Allen Cunningham.

The couple moves right into the family home, and just like that, the house passes into the next generation without ever leaving the family. It would stay that way, generation to generation, all the way through the 1960s. Nearly a century of McClellan and Cunningham living, the same sunburst catching the same light on that stairway.

Some houses just hold on. This one held on a good long while.

What the marker says

McCLELLAN-CUNNINGHAM HOUSE DISTRICT JUDGE EUGENE DAVID McCLELLAN AND HIS WIFE, CARLTON COLLEGE PIANO TEACHER ALICE (HUNT), BUILT THIS HOME IN 1879. IN 1907, THE McCLELLANS’ DAUGHTER CORNELIA MARRIED ATTORNEY HENRY ALLEN CUNNINGHAM, AND THE COUPLE MOVED INTO THE HOUSE, WHICH STAYED IN THE FAMILY UNTIL THE 1960s. THE EXTERIOR OF THE TWO-STORY QUEEN ANNE-STYLE HOUSE FEATURES A PROJECTING BAY AND FULL-GALLERY VERANDA PORCHES WITH ELABORATE JIGSAWN TRIM. DORMERS AND GABLES ARE PROMINENT, AS ARE PATTERNS OF FISH-SCALE SHINGLES AND SUNBURST DESIGNS IN THE GABLES, BACK PORCH AND INTERIOR STAIRWAY. RECORDED TEXAS HISTORIC LANDMARK – 2011