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 the McCelvey Mansion 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 homeowners have already started fixing her 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
The McCelvey Mansion was 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 had 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 servant’s 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!
This house is for sale again on Old House Dreams websites
I saw that! I actually had a local realtor contact me. Unfortunately, it appears the house is in worse shape than it was before yet they are wanting more than before. So sad!
I just saw the house with my realtor this morning. So sad, the people that bought it in 2013 really let it go. Drilled holes through the beautiful floors for electrical cables and just screwed plugs and switches onto wall. Basement had water all over floor, pieces of plaster wall on floor. I could go on. It broke my heart to see it.
That is horrible about the floors =( The basement was like that when I looked at it in 2013 as well, looks like they never got around to fixing it (one of the main reasons we decided back then to pass, it was just going to cost way too much to fix the basement issues which wouldn’t leave any money to restore the upstairs which needed to be done as well).
Hi Bridget,
Your post caught my eye as I was doing some searching trying to find some information on my maternal grandmother, Dorothy Elizabeth Cooper McCelvey. My grandmother was not born in Temple but grew up in Dallas, attended SMU during WWII and graduated with a degree in journalism, going on to write for the Temple Daily Telegram later in life. She met my grandfather, Vinson McCelvey a military veteran and a long time resident of Temple. At one time he owned an insurance business with my grand-uncle, Staton McCelvey and they eventually settled in a house on 420 King Circle in Temple. It was for sale recently…and oh how I would have loved to have been able to purchase it. You see, I was born at the ORIGINAL King’s Daughters Hospital, so this is almost a human interest story for me. My grandmother was also a patron of the Temple CAC, she took me to many plays and symphonies, taught me about being a young lady by taking me to high tea at the Adolphus Hotel in Dallas and her father, John Cooper at one time owned a beyooootiful home near Turtle Creek on Mockingbird Lane. I sadly never got to know my grandfather as he died almost a month to the day before I was born in 1965. He is buried at Hillcrest Cemetary and the McCelveys have a beautiful plot with Lucius, George Ed, Staton and Ruth, who interestingly enough, was married to LBJs banker. I want to thank you for posting the pictures of the interior of the house, which I remember visiting. Another interesting tidbit is that my Mom, who passed away recently had a cousin, Bill Gibson, who went on to be a Bell County Judge. I saw Bill at my Mother’s service and time will never change the love I saw in so many people eyes on that day. I hope this reaches you; if it does, please feel free to reach me at my gmail address if you choose. By far the most important element at this juncture is that of human connection…simple human connection and the healing that passes from soul to soul when perchance paths cross physically, spiritually, and in this day and age, electronically. My best wishes to you and thank you again for touching my heart.
What a great story! Thank you for sharing! I love learning about the history of families. This house was up for sale again about a year ago. I wish I had gotten the chance to buy it, but we are still settled in our home here in Harker Heights. The new owner reached out to me, but before I could reply, my server crashed and the email was lost =( We are looking to possibly sell our house here in a couple of years, who knows maybe fate will put it back up for sale.
Hello Wendy! I was just looking over the article about the JS McCelvey house in Temple and saw your comment. We live in a house just down the street at 604 W French Ave. It was built by Herbert Marion McCelvey and his wife Eva Cochrane McCelvey. They lived here until they died and left it to their daughter Lillian McCelvey Thompson. Who sold it in the 60s if I remember correctly. Herbert was JS McCelvey’s half brother. He was born to the older HM McCelvey’s second wife. I would be incredibly interested in contacting any living relatives who might have visited our home and would absolutely love any old pictures anyone might have! We’ve been working hard to restore the house to the best of our ability. Please reach out to me if this message somehow reaches you. My email address is artisttreetemple@gmail.com. You have my mailing address as well. Thank you!!!
They should have worked on the basement before they decided to sell the historic property. If they cant have it restored then the house would rot and may damage it more. Just hoping they can restore the house to its original glory.
It was sold as-is, due to the death of the owner. It was bought and then sold again after that. I believe both times the new owners did start and complete renovations. It definitely needed a lot of repairs when I was looking at it and from my understanding, a lot of repairs have been made since then.
Got it. Thank you for the info Bridget!
Hello! I bought a house less than 2 blocks away from this one at 604 W French Ave. It was built by J.S. McCelvey’s brother H.M. McCelvey! I’m trying to find pictures of these houses as far back as I can find them. I noticed that a woman descending from the McCelvey family (Wendy Walters) commented on the post. I would love to be connected with her in hopes of finding out more about where I could contact surviving family. If anyone can help connect us I would be so grateful!