Younger Scott McKinney Home

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Younger Scott McKinney Home in Grayson County. Now, some houses just sit on a piece of land. This one sits on a piece of history, and the history goes back further than the house itself.

The land surrounding this home was originally owned by Collin McKinney, a prominent early Texas statesman. That name carries weight in Texas, and the ground here carried it too. In 1857, Collin McKinney deeded the acreage to his son, Younger Scott McKinney, born in 1819.

Younger Scott had come into the world in Kentucky, but he grew up in Red River County, and by the time he made his way to Grayson County, he was a man with a full life already behind him and more still ahead. He built this home for his wife Sarah, Sarah Janes by her maiden name, and their six children. Six children.

You build a house with that many souls in mind, you build it to last. And last it did. Now here is where the story gets interesting, because Younger Scott McKinney was not one thing.

He was a farmer. He was an ordained Methodist Episcopal minister. And he had served as Grayson County surveyor back in 1852 and 1853.

A man who could survey the land, preach the word, and work the soil. The land itself stayed in the McKinney family all the way until 1928. Younger Scott lived until 1907, and the family held on for more than two decades after that.

Some roots, once set down in Texas ground, take a good long while to let go.

What the marker says

The land surrounding this house was originally owned by Collin McKinney, a prominent early Texas statesman. In 1857 McKinney deeded the acreage to his son Younger Scott (1819-1907), who was born in Kentucky but grew up in Red River County. When Younger Scott McKinney moved to his property in Grayson County, he built this home for his wife Sarah (Janes) and their six children. In addition to being a farmer and an ordained Methodist Episcopal minister, McKinney served as Grayson County surveyor in 1852-53. The land remained in the family until 1928.