T. J. Campbell House

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm gonna give it to you straight out of Collin County history. Now, when folks talk about pioneer homes in Texas, they usually mean something that stayed put, dug in, rooted, weathered in place. The T.

J. Campbell House did not get that memo. This place has been on the move.

It started in 1869, out in Lebanon, Texas, right on Preston Road. That's where T. J.

Campbell put down roots and built himself a house, and not just any house thrown together from whatever scraps were handy. Campbell had lumber hauled in by wagon train, all the way from Jefferson. Think about that for a moment.

Wagon train. From Jefferson. That lumber had a journey before it ever became walls and floors, and what it became had cypress siding and windows to show for the effort.

The Campbell family weren't just building a home, either. They were pioneer merchants, and from 1869 all the way to 1910, they served that stretch of Collin County. For decades, that house stood as a landmark right there on Preston Road, watching the great Texas cattle drives roll through in the late nineteenth century.

Drovers and dust and longhorns passing by, and the Campbell place just standing there, marking the way. But here's where the story takes a turn. In 1902, the house moved.

Not the family; the house. Picked up and relocated to Frisco, to be on the railroad and mail line. Progress had shifted the center of things, and the Campbells moved their landmark right along with it.

And somewhere after that move, somebody added a little gingerbread trim to the place, a flourish, a finishing touch, like the house deserved something extra for making the trip. Years later, the W. O.

McCallum family restored it, 1971 to 1972, and it carries that record in the stone at its base. A house hauled out of Jefferson lumber, planted on a cattle drive road, picked up again for the railroad age, dressed up with gingerbread, and still standing to tell the tale. The T.

J. Campbell House has earned every year of its history.

What the marker says

Pioneer home of T.J. Campbell. Built in Lebanon, Tx., on Preston Road, 1869. Moved to Frisco to be on railroad and mail line, 1902. Constructed of lumber hauled by wagon train from Jefferson. Has cypress siding and windows. Gingerbread added after move. The Campbell family, pioneer merchants, served this area of Collin County from 1869 to 1910. House was a landmark on Preston Road during era of Texas cattle drives, in late 19th century. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1972 Incising on base: Restored by W.O. McCallum family 1971-72