Wilson Creek House

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Now, some houses just sit where they're built and that's the end of the story. But some houses, some houses have a little more wander in them.

This is one of those. Back in 1901, a man named W. W.

Wilson came to Plano. Wilson was an employee of the Cotton Belt Railroad system, which means he knew something about moving from place to place. He was forty-two years old that year, born back in 1859, and he'd found his way to Collin County.

The following year, he married Alice Bell. And then, in 1903, Wilson had this home built on Avenue K right there in Plano. Now, when I say he had it built, I want you to picture what that meant at the turn of the century: fish scale shingling on the exterior, Victorian details worked into every corner.

Somebody took their time with this house. Somebody had intentions. The Wilsons and their three children lived there together, building a life inside those carefully crafted walls.

W. W. Wilson lived until 1937.

Alice Bell Wilson lived on until 1945. And after the Wilsons were gone, the house changed hands. Then it changed again.

Several times over, in fact, the structure passed from owner to owner; each one inheriting those fish scale shingles and all that Victorian character. Then came 1976. And that's when this house did something most houses never do.

It moved. Picked up from Avenue K and brought right here to this site, whole and intact. A house that had already outlasted its builders, that had already survived the slow drift of changing hands, it made one more journey.

Some things are just too well-built to let go of.

What the marker says

In 1901 W. W. Wilson (1859-1937), an employee of the Cotton Belt Railroad system, moved to Plano. He married Alice Bell (d. 1945) the following year. In 1903 Wilson had this home built on Avenue K in Plano. The turn-of-the-century house features fish scale shingling and other Victorian details. The Wilsons and their three children occupied this home. After the Wilsons died, the structure changed owners several times until 1976 when it was moved to this site. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1979