The Plano Conservancy for Historic Preservation, Inc. today announced that the group is interested in restoring the historic Collinwood house. Currently, the Collinwood house, which was built in 1861, is located at 5400 Windhaven Parkway in Plano.  The original, two-story, 1,800-square foot home is in good condition.  The City of Plano recently released a query seeking groups interested in restoring, relocating and repairing the home.

"The city of Plano has an asset and opportunity with this home," said Plano Conservancy for Historic Preservation, Inc. board member Clint Haggard, whose family has lived in Plano since 1856.  "This is the oldest home in the city of Plano next to the Foreman home on Avenue K that was built in 1867.  Plano has a great staff and council members that care about this city.  I’m hoping we can provide some guidance on how to find a way to keep the house where it is.  I am working beside some smart people from The Plano Conservancy for Historic Preservation, Inc., the Heritage Farmstead Museum and the City of Plano to find a win-win solution to keep the home where it was built 153 years ago." 

Clint Haggard's great-great-great grandfather Clinton Shepard Haggard (for whom Plano's C.S. Haggard Middle School and Haggard Park are named) purchased what is now known as the Collinwood house from Charles M. and Julian K. Fox in March 9, 1862, when C.S. Haggard was 23 years old. 

C.S. Haggard came to Texas when he was 18 years old with his father John Haggard in 1856 from Winchester, Kentucky.  John Haggard came because Clinton was his youngest child and all of his other children were much older and out of the house.  John also raised Clinton on his own after losing his wife (Mourning Quisenberry Haggard) when Clinton was eight years old.  The two were part of the first settlers to come to the area known as Peters Colony, which later became Plano.   They originally settled near White Rock Creek, just to the East of the current Dallas North Tollway between Parker and Spring Creek.  John passed away two years after arriving in Texas, and C.S. was on his own. In 1859,  C.S. Haggard married Nannie Kate Lunsford and the couple had nine children. C.S. already owned land next to the Collinwood House property, so he purchased the property where the Collinwood House stands today. 

The land and home were passed down to C. S. Haggard's daughter Annabel Haggard Aldridge, who gave it, in turn, to her daughter, Emma Ruth Aldridge Kendrick.  Mrs. Kendrick and her husband sold the property in 1936, so it remained in the Haggard family from 1862 until 1936...for 74 years.  

C.S. Haggard lived in the Collinwood house for a while due to its close proximity to White Rock Creek.

C.S. Haggard went on to serve in the Civil War and raise nine children.

"Through quiet determination, frugality and hard work, he became one of the largest landowners in Collin County," said Clint Haggard.  "His interest in education led to the establishment of Add Ran College, which later became Texas Christian University.  He lived to 92 years old."

Clint Haggard said he and others with The Plano Conservancy for Historic Preservation, Inc. and throughout the city are interested in preserving this unique piece of Plano's history.

"It’s hard for us to find examples of the past when Texas was at its very beginning," he said.  "In the 1860’s, Texas was a like a third world country. This is an opportunity to preserve a piece of that."

Clint Haggard believes it would be a mistake to relocate the Collinwood home. 

"I’ve moved four historic homes and outbuildings to save them from developments over the years," he said.  "One thing I have learned is that once they are moved, they are never the same and neither are the environments that they came from.  It’s also one of the reasons that the Texas Historical Commission and National Register of Historic Places will rarely register a home that has been moved."

Regardless, Haggard said he and The Plano Conservancy for Historic Preservation, Inc. are interested in an ongoing dialogue with the City of Plano and others to work to save the Collinwood home, whether it is relocated or rehabilitated in the place where is has been for so many years. 

About The Plano Conservancy for Historic Preservation, Inc:
The Plano Conservancy for Historic Preservation, Inc., a Texas corporation 501 (c)(3) non-profit, is an organization dedicated to promote civic pride in the past, to increase preservation awareness through education and public outreach, and to provide financial assistance to protect and preserve our heritage resources for this and future generations. For more information, please visit www.planoconservancy.org or call 972-941-2117.