I actually stumbled across this old historic home in 2013 when I was House hunting (it was for sale at the time and was in our budget). It is known as the McCelvey Mansion or McCelvey House.
Remember that this is a private residence, so be respectful and do not trespass if you are headed out to take a look. Admire it from the street only! I am including some pictures that I took (as well as some from the original listing) when we did a tour with our realtor, but from my understanding, the new lucky homeowner’s have already started fixing her back up, so what it looks like now, may look slightly different than the pictures I took and what I was able to grab from the listing:
McCelvey Mansion in Temple History
Built in 1906 and completed in 1910, this was the home of Dr. John S. McCelvey (1870-1964) and his then Fiance Mary Horne (1881-1960) who married in 1908. The mansion is just shy of 5700 sqft and was erected of 12″x24″ concrete blocks that were cast by hand on the Horne family plantation near Waco. The McCelvey’s added the north wing, garage, and servants quarters in 1927.
Dr. McCelvey was the medical director of King’s Daughters Hospital in Temple.
This house is recorded as a Texas Historic Landmark.
In 1966 Gordon (1922-2006) and Dolores Case (1930-2012) bought the home from the McCelvey estate where they lived until their death. You can read more about Dolores here and Gordon here.
From the Marker:
Dr. McCelvey was a prominent physician affiliated with King’s Daughters Hospital. He served on the State Board of Health and as president and secretary of the State Board of Medical Examiners. He also helped establish Temple Junior College in 1926.
Dr. McCelvey remained vigorous and active well into his 90s. For a Temple Daily Telegram feature story published on his 94th birthday in 1964, the reporter asked how younger men could stay healthy. He answered, “Don’t eat too much and no smoking.” The reporter noted that Dr. McCelvey chain-smoked Bull Durham cigarettes until he was 90, “ruining many a tie and shirt with hot ashes in the process.”
Why I Like It
The reason this one caught my eye is that it was old and historic. It did make my final two as it was a toss-up between this house and the one we bought.
When you walked into the house, you felt like you were walking back in time. The detail of the woodwork was unbelievable! The downstairs was in what appeared to be great shape! It had a massive attic that was a good 8ft tall (I just had to go up and look) that looked to be in pretty good shape.
In fact, I and my mom ventured up into the attic to take a look around. The floor felt solid. I did think it was weird that the attic access was pull down stairs instead of like the old houses that had a staircase that led to it. Especially since there was so much usable space! The attic still had a lot of the previous owner’s items which were OLD. Very old (at least most of it anyway).
Why I Kick Myself in the Butt
The main reason we decided not to buy it, is due to the entire second floor needed to be renovated in addition to the parade balcony and the balcony off of the master. The old servants quarters on the property has the roof completely missing. Oh and the basement needed to be entirely redone.
Granted we could have lived on the bottom story, and if our kids were already out of the house, we would have bought that one. My husband told me that if it came on the market again in a couple of years, we could buy it (fat chance of it coming on the market again).
It sold in October of 2013 (6 months after we purchased the other house we were looking at) and I was heartbroken. I could actually sit here and cry, that’s how heartbroken I am over it!
It sold for $50,500 less than their asking price (or $10,000 more than what we bought this house for). If I would have known that (it was at the top of our budget) I would have bought that and used the $50,500 for repairs! Hence the reason I am so heartbroken! Maybe I should have put in an offer when I had the chance.
I would have loved to have raised my children and grandbabies in that home, just like the 2 previous owners!
If the new owners happen to stumble across this, I would love to see what you have done with the place if you wouldn’t mind giving me a grand tour!
Getting There
Address: 804 N. 11th St. Temple, Texas
Remember the McCelvey Mansion is a privately owned house! Only admire from the street!
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