BIRMINGHAM TRUST HISTORIC HOMES

Photos courtesy of Wylie Historical Society, Jon Lewis, and by Anne Hiney.

By Deonna Osborn Birmingham

Family Legacy Continues to Support Education, Preserve Wylie History

The Birmingham family has been a staple of Wylie culture and a cornerstone of its history since the city’s original settlement. Thomas Franklin (Frank) Birmingham helped found the Wylie Independent School District in 1901.

In October of 1911, tragedy struck Frank and Hattie Birmingham as their son passed away from typhoid fever. In his honor, Frank and Hattie founded the Franklin Ovid Birmingham Memorial Land Trust (Birmingham Trust,) conveying seven tracts of land totaling around 738 acres. All monies are directed toward Wylie ISD to enhance existing programs such as Manual Training and Domestic Economy (1940 Trust.) In 1937, they purchased land and donated it for a manual trades building. In 1948, the Birminghams donated $100,000 to build a new high school that would later bear Frank Birmingham’s name. That school was located on South Birmingham Street and is now a portion of the property housing R.F. Hartman Elementary School. A few years later, Frank and Hattie donated an additional two tracts of land totaling 168 acres to the Birmingham Trust for the creation of a second trust (1950 Trust) aimed at enhancing existing programs in the areas of Advanced American History and Advanced Chemistry.

The Birminghams had two other children: Edward Louis Birmingham (1893-1911) and Marjorie Elsie Birmingham (1896-1921). They were known among friends and family as Louis and Elsie. Interestingly, all three Birmingham children went by their middle names.

Three homes in the heart of historic downtown Wylie have been owned by the Birmingham Trust, and each carries its own journey and its own storyline. The renovation of all three has allowed for preservation of the original integrity of the homes while encouraging thriving business to be conducted within the century-old walls and throughout the constantly evolving downtown Wylie. The three houses were purchased by the Trust at various times from January 1989 to January 2002.

The largest of the homes was the first to undergo a major facelift. Located at 301 N. Ballard, it is a Queen Anne Victorian-style home located on three lots. Thomas Brown, another community pioneer, secured this homesite in 1888 along with approximately 31 additional acres as a homestead for himself and his future bride, Martha (Mattie) J. Housewright. The ornate and intricately original home boasts six rooms downstairs and one large room upstairs, highlighted with a variety of materials and an unusually asymmetrical floorplan and roof pitch. Mr. Brown passed away a mere two years following completion of the home, but Mrs. Brown continued living there until her passing in 1922. When renovations began in the

summer of 1989, the Trust employed Harvey Moore, the first of the Birmingham scholars* who had since gone on to become an esteemed architect. He assisted the Trust as it worked hard to restore intimate details of the home, while retaining its original feel. The renovation included finishing out the upstairs, as well as the addition of a bathroom and kitchen.

The 301 property, or the “big house” as it is often called, was utilized by the community and as an event venue through most of the 1990s. It was also the location of Wylie High School’s Senior Tea through the 2000s. The home was sold to the City of Wylie in 2014. Interestingly enough, the funeral of Jim Davis, the actor perhaps most well known for playing Jock Ewing on the hit series “Dallas,” was held at this historic location upon his death in 1981.

The smallest of the homes is located at 100 W. Jefferson and is frequently referred to as the “Brown Cottage.” Renovation construction spanned from September 2018 to February 2020. This home is believed to be one of the oldest in Wylie, having been built and inhabited in 1889 by Thomas and Mattie Brown as a part of the Brown and Burns addition. In 1903, the “little white house” was moved from its original location on Ballard Avenue to its present location on West Jefferson. Mr. Brown and Mr. Birmingham were both initial aldermen, or councilmen, as the city government formed. It is also of note that Mrs. Brown was Mrs. Birmingham’s aunt, so the familial connection ran deep. The home is a Folk Victorian and is currently utilized as headquarters for the Trust.

The last of the houses sits at 307 N. Ballard. This property is the most modernized of the three, primarily because it was completely torn down and rebuilt in the 1920s. It was owned by the same family since the 1940s and then later purchased by the Birmingham Trust. During 2020, Reising and Reising Construction completed the restoration of this beautiful home which was purchased from the Trust by the Wylie Chamber of Commerce, and now serves as its headquarters.

Each property carries with it an important piece of history, both for the Birmingham Trust and for the City of Wylie. The properties string together in commonality as a preservation of “Old Wylie,” yet they also allow visitors and citizens a glimpse into the local bloodlines that run deep and those that have contributed to making Wylie great.

The Birmingham family legacy falls into these categories: During the 2021-2022 school year, the Birmingham Trust contributed $648,000 to Wylie ISD. Since recorded inception (1940-1942 has no records with which to calculate gifts), the Trust has given $16,099,321. These funds are divided between the 1940 Trust, which provided funds in the areas of Manual Training and Domestic Economy, and the 1950 Trust, which provided funds for furtherment in the areas of Advanced American History and Advanced Chemistry.

Whether through gifts of service, land, or money, the Birmingham family has indisputably supported the Wylie community and Wylie Independent School District for over a century. It is always a worthwhile venture to take a moment and view history from a different perspective in order to know how far we have come and look forward into the exciting future ahead for our community. •

*The Pearl Birmingham Scholarship program, another legacy of the Birmingham family that supports Wylie ISD, is separate from the Trust. It was established in 1947 by Frank Birmingham to comply with a request by his sister, Pearl Birmingham, who died in 1946. The scholarship program is managed by the WISD Board of Trustees. Annually, it awards an equal number of scholarships to each high school.