The courthouse is the heart of the square. Built in 1875 by the architect Charles Wheelock in the French Second Empire style — a steep mansard roof, twin towers, decorative cut stone — it was said at completion to be the tallest building in Texas north of San Antonio. It was drastically remodeled in 1927, vacated in 1979, and then carefully restored: in 2006 it reopened as the McKinney Performing Arts Center, with the old courtroom, judge's bench and jury box intact, now a stage. When it first opened in 1876, a thousand locals came for a buffet dinner and a dance that ran past dawn.
The name goes back to the founding of Texas itself. Both the city and Collin County are named for Collin McKinney — a surveyor and pioneer who was one of the five men who drafted, and a signer of, the Texas Declaration of Independence in 1836, and the oldest of all the signers. He never actually lived in the town that carries his name, settling instead farther east near the Red River. Collin County was created in 1846; in 1848 the county seat moved here, and the next year William Davis donated 120 acres for the townsite.
Why People Visit McKinney
Visitors choose McKinney for its handsome square, approachable museums, and easy walkability. It balances small-city heritage with everyday outdoor spaces, from the courthouse and Chestnut Square to the Heard sanctuary and the park trails. Families and day-trippers find a friendly layout and an unhurried pace, with year-round appeal in its parks, paths, and public spaces — and the historic square always at the center of it.
