History of Wylie Beats in the Heart of Downtown

History of Wylie History of Wylie Beats in the Heart Beats in the Heart of Downtown

by Judy Truesdell

It was Friday night, July 13, 1923. Wylie citizens had gathered on Ballard Avenue to visit and shop for groceries and dry goods. Suddenly, at 7:40 p.m., streetlights blazed; electricity had come to town. Did the shoppers cheer? Or did they shield their eyes from the harsh glare?

Walking along Ballard today, if you squint your eyes as those long-ago shoppers may have, it’s not hard to imagine the street as a dirt road with horses tied to hitching posts. A sense of history has been painstakingly maintained in downtown Wylie in the names on the buildings, the careful color and material regulations of the Downtown Historic District, and events hosted by the City of Wylie and the Downtown Merchants Association, celebrations that continue to draw people to the city’s heart, still a thriving downtown area.

It’s impossible to turn back the clock and trace the history of downtown Wylie without a nod to the railroad. When the Gulf, Colorado, and Santa Fe Railroad Company finalized plans for its tracks in this part of Collin County, visitors and railroad workers came to town, and businesses moved in to accommodate them. The town of Wylie officially incorporated Nov. 8, 1887, and the area became even more active when the second rail line, St. Louis and Southwestern (Cotton Belt) arrived on the west side. One of the first businesses downtown, Brown and Burns Mercantile, entered into an agreement with the Cotton Belt to provide groceries and other goods for the workers. W.B. Cannon & Co., Housewright Furniture, the Taylor-Birmingham Company, and Daniels Hotel also opened for business.

By 1890, Wylie had a population of less than 250, but it had a furniture store, hardware store, dry goods store, and barber shop. It was around this time that the city garnered a reputation for being somewhat wild and rowdy; railroad workers came to town with money to spend, and soon five saloons and a billiard hall opened, their owners happy to provide outstretched hands for some of that cash. Some citizens were less than delighted about the wildness and voted in 1891 to close the saloons down. In 1893, however, the barrooms were voted back in, and a new marshal was elected to make sure things didn’t get out of hand. Marshal Hamilton Pate “Peanuts” Howery locked up many a rowdy roustabout in his jail, and this proved an incentive for everyone to settle down a bit. The other businesses, however, had no reason to curtail their hours; many stayed open late, possibly inspiring the town’s nickname, “Wide Awake Wylie.”

Not all the business was downtown, but Ballard and surrounding streets benefitted from the new prosperity of onion and cotton farmers. Able to ship their crops on railroad cars, farmers found themselves with additional income to purchase extra items, and downtown commerce increased. The first bank in town, First National Bank, opened in 1896, and, by 1900, Wylie had five cotton gins. Wylie became famous for its sweet white onions, earning the city the honor of being “Onion Capital of the World,” and an onion shed was located downtown near the Santa Fe tracks. Despite the fame of the onion, cotton was the leading crop, with schools scheduled around the growing season so children could help out in the fields. Farmers also grew wheat and other crops.

After electrical service came to town in the 1920s, Ballard Avenue was graveled, and a water well was drilled to provide water for the community. The Depression hit in 1929, and Mayor David Walker Click took steps that prevented Wylie from taking the hit many cities suffered. For instance, he was instrumental in bringing Bigsby Movie Theater to the south side of Ballard. In those early days, a quarter would pay for a movie and a bag of popcorn – and put some change back in the movie fan’s pocket. More critical to Wylie’s Depression survival was the relocation of Johnston Clothing Manufacturing Company, previously located in Garland. Mayor Click, whose “day job” was Johnston salesman, persuaded the owners to move the company’s factory, sales office, and general administration offices to Wylie. Johnston had an annual payroll of $150,000 and hired 100 new employees. J.R. Story ran a sewing plant that was part of the company, and clothing was sold nationwide with outlets not only in Dallas, but also in New York City, Los Angeles, Kansas City, Atlanta, Chicago, and Charlotte. Even Neiman Marcus was one of Johnston’s customers. Johnston held the honor of being the largest industry in Wylie for many years.

Other businesses in downtown Wylie in the 1930s and ‘40s included (on the side that is now home to Wylie Flower and Gifts and Shoemaker & Hardt), E. Housewright Grocery; Housewright & Hammett Hardware and Furniture Store, which featured a funeral home in the back; Holloman’s Drug Store; Tom and Lillian Corzine’s Café; Hicks Grocery Store; S.H. Hillis and Son Grocery; H.C. Click’s Dry Goods; C.C. Fawcitt Drug Store; Ed Spurgin’s Barber Shop, which housed Pat Miller’s Cleaners in back; and the medical office of Dr. Percy Franklin Brooks. Across the street (on the Wylie Eye Center and Ballard Street Café side), were C.M. Gallagher Dry Goods; Foster Grocery; Jess Callaway Hamburgers; S.M. McDonald Auto; Bob Gallagher Café; the telephone company where operator Gladys Bowman routed calls; the medical office of Dr. George Pembert Maynard; First State Bank; and the post office, where Postmistress Della Duncan sorted the mail.

In 1948, football fans gathered upstairs at Housewright & Hammitt to see the SMU vs. Notre Dame game on Wylie’s first television, a 7-inch, black-and-white set owned by Louis Hudson. The late Rita Gallagher Smith, for whom the Rita & Truett Smith Public Library is named, was the daughter of Claude M. and Anna McNally Gallagher. She worked in her father’s dry goods store, which he had purchased from previous owners Jack Taylor and Frank Birmingham when they moved to Tulsa. Accounts were paid once a year after the crops were gathered.

Wylie Historical Society

The downtown area has continued to grow and thrive, and one Wylie organization is dedicated to keeping its history and spirit alive. The Wylie Historical Society (WHS) was formed in the mid-1980s. According to current president, Jennifer Wakefield, the group was casual. “While they were very active at the time, it was an informal group of local history lovers, but they didn’t create a legal entity. After several of those key people moved away, The Stone family house, aka. Stonehaven – before the group faded for a while.” (above) and after being moved.

In 2011, however, several people who had belonged to that first group became concerned about the vulnerability of Stonehaven, the Stone family house at 1400 S. Ballard. It had been vacant for over 50 years, Jennifer said, and the family had long left the area. The Stone family had gone through the process of applying for Recorded Texas Historic Landmark status in 1992, but the house sat empty and deserted on the corner of Ballard and Alanis. “Determined that this Landmark should not continue on the course of desolation, the group set about to find the Stone family and see what could be done to better preserve this house,” Jennifer said. In the meantime, the group took the necessary steps and became a legal 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization.

In 2015, developers, city officials, and WHS worked together to restore Stonehaven and gently move it 400 feet north, making it the centerpiece of the Stone Ranch Development and enabling the widening of Alanis.

Since then, WHS members have engaged in many projects dedicated to the preservation of Wylie’s history, including pursuing state markers for the City of Wylie and Wylie Cemetery, researching buildings for the Collin County Historic Asset Survey, creating the Wylie Historic Downtown Walking Tour brochure, partnering with the Smith Library to begin Oral History interviews, and digitizing copies of early Wylie newspapers.

Current and upcoming projects include more Oral History reviews, a “Highlights of Wylie History” pop-up exhibit, Historic Sites of Wylie interactive online map, restoration of founder Col. W.D. Wylie’s piano, restoration of the Housewright Store Christmas Dolls, and continued restoration of the Stone family house.

“We are planning an event in November to mark Wylie’s 135th birthday,” Jennifer said. “More on that in the coming months!”

WHS meets the third Tuesday of each month, with the location being somewhat fluid due to Covid concerns. Although it’s open to everyone, membership is encouraged; dues support the group’s causes. Visit wyliehistoricalsociety.org The Stone family house, aka. Stonehaven – before to join, see where WHS is (above) and after being moved. meeting, and stay up to date on the group’s activities.

In addition to Jennifer, WHS officers include Vice President Jon Lewis and Secretary/ Treasurer Alexis Tapp. Directors are Kirstin Dodd Eugene Hauptmann, Bob Heath, Larry Taylor, and Karla Warborg.

“We welcome stories, photos, letters, and artifacts of all periods in Wylie area history (and we can help digitize those),” Jennifer said. “Because the story of Wylie continues!” •