McKinney Cotton Mill Historic District
Why it's listed
Mill Town, in southeastern McKinney, grew up around a cotton textile mill that opened on November 1, 1910. The district covers about 30 acres and holds the two-story brick mill, three warehouses, a two-story boarding house and roughly 70 contributing structures, mostly one-story frame workers' houses set close to the street in uniform rows. The first 17 cottages went up with the mill in 1910, and more followed in 1926 during a $200,000 expansion by contractor J. E. Cooper. Local business leaders, led by J. Perry Burrus, financed the mill, which grew to 376 looms by 1917 and employed more than 520 people. A 1948 tornado damaged it, and it closed in 1969, when a furniture maker took over the plant. The district is listed because few Texas textile mills were built, and almost no other mill-and-housing complex survives as intact. Many houses are dilapidated, and some lots stand empty.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the district is one of the state's finest and most intact examples of a planned mill neighborhood, a type common in the eastern United States but rare in Texas. The mill was built mainly with local financial support and shows the importance of cotton to McKinney and the state. Reviewers accepted it under criteria A and C at the state level.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 87001740, listed October 8, 1987. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | Roughly bounded by Elm, RR tracks, Burrus, Fowler, & Amscott, McKinney |
|---|---|
| County | Collin County |
| Listed | October 8, 1987 |
| Reference number | 87001740 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1900-1937 |
| Architect / builder | J. E. Cooper (contractor for the 1926 mill expansion and additional workers' houses) |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Industry, Community Planning and Development, Architecture |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The mill was converted to a furniture plant in 1969 and remains in good condition. The workers' houses are in fair to poor condition, and some are abandoned or dilapidated. |
| Acreage | 30 |
| Coordinates | 33.18325, -96.61121 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 87001740.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikidata Q109999664
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.