DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm going to do it justice. Now pull over a minute, because this old house in Harrison County has seen more history than most buildings ever get the chance to hold. The Todd-McKay-Wheat House — three names on one deed line, each one carrying its own chapter of Texas.
Let's go back to 1856, where the story properly begins. A woman named Mary Britt bought this property, and not long after, she married a man named Judge William S. Todd.
Now that name is going to mean something in a few years. The value of that land climbed noticeably during the time the Todds owned it, which tells us — even if no document spells it out plain — that a house went up right here during their ownership. They sold in 1858, and whatever they built, they left behind.
Then 1861 arrived, and Judge William S. Todd put his name on the Texas ordinance of secession. He was a signer.
That detail is just sitting there in the marker, quiet as a stone. The man who built this house helped pull Texas out of the Union. Now the property passed to a North Carolina native named Gilchrist McKay, who had come to Marshall to hang out a shingle and practice law.
And here's the thing about Gilchrist McKay — he also signed that 1861 ordinance of secession. Two signers, one house, one turning point in American history. McKay bought the place, then went off to fight for the Confederacy.
The war did not treat him kindly. He was captured at Arkansas Post, imprisoned all the way up in Ohio at a place called Camp Chase, and then — in 1864 — he was killed at the Battle of Mansfield. He never came home to Marshall.
The house was sold in 1869 as part of his estate, like the last echo of a man who had wagered everything on a cause and lost. The property passed through several hands after that, quiet years, until Naomi and William Wheat took ownership sometime around 1880. The Wheats were people of their era, and their era had opinions about front porches.
Most likely during their eight years here, from 1880 to 1888, they wrapped this house in a two-story, full-length front porch — turned wood posts, jig-sawn brackets, the whole Victorian declaration. You can almost picture it: a house that had witnessed war and imprisonment and death, suddenly dressed up in the optimism of a new decade. Then came 1909, and a man named Oscar Brown — engineer for the Texas and Pacific Railroad — bought the place and added a one-story section onto the southeast corner.
Brown and his family lived here until 1926, then leased it out, and finally sold it in 1970. One house. Constructed before the Civil War, reshaped in the 1880s, added onto in 1909.
Two signers of secession passed through its title. A prisoner of war who never made it home. A Victorian porch nailed on like an act of hope.
That's what a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark looks like when it's earned the designation the hard way.
What the marker says
Todd-McKay-Wheat House Originally constructed before the Civil War and modified during the 1880s and again in 1909, this house is significant for its historical associations and for its representation as an evolutionary house form. In 1856, Mary Britt bought the property and married Judge William S. Todd, later a signer of the 1861 ordinance of secession. Although it is possible a structure was on the site when she purchased it. The increase in value at the time the Todds sold the property in 1858 points to construction of a house here during their ownership. North Carolina native Gilchrist McKay, also a signer of the secession ordinance, purchased the property from the Todds after he moved to Marshall to establish a law practice. During his service in the Confederate army, he was captured at Arkansas Post, imprisoned at Camp Chase (Ohio) and killed in the 1864 Battle of Mansfield. The house was sold in 1869 as part of his estate. After a series of subsequent owners, Naomi and William Wheat purchased the home. It was most likely during their ownership (1880-1888) that the two-story, full-length front porch with turned wood posts and jig-sawn brackets was added, in keeping with the Victorian tastes of the time. In 1909, Oscar Brown purchased the house and added a one-story section to the southeast corner. An engineer for the Texas and Pacific Railroad, Brown and his family resided here until 1926 and then leased the house until selling it in 1970. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2001