Collin County

Collin County voted against leaving the Union, 948 to 405, and the Handbook of Texas ties the result to the ground. Settlers came from the upper South to small farms of wheat and corn, with no navigable river and the nearest market at Jefferson, over 150 miles east. In 1860 the county had 9,264 residents, of whom 1,047 were Black, and the plantation and slave economy of the older South never took hold. After secession more than 1,500 residents enlisted, and some took part in the events behind the 1862 Great Hanging at Gainesville.

What the plaque says

Collin County Formed from Fannin County. Created April 3, 1846. Organized July 13, 1846. Named in honor of Collin McKinney 1766-1861, land surveyor, signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence, member of Congress, Republic of Texas, member of the Texas Legislature. County seat, Buckner, 1846-1848 McKinney, since. (2,5 mi. S McKinney, US Hy 75)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Heard Natural Science Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary — 2.7 mi
  A 289-acre sanctuary in McKinney that Bessie Heard founded at the age of 80, with five habitats, a 50-acre wetland and 6.5 miles of trails.
• Rockwall County Historical Foundation & Museum — 21 mi
  A small museum in Harry Myers Park that keeps the evidence on Rockwall's rock wall, sandstone dikes that geologists call natural and folk tales call built.

More markers nearby

• Waddill-Morris Homesite — 0.2 mi
• The Birthplace of Rebekah Baines Johnson — 0.3 mi
• Old Settlers Park — 0.7 mi
• Fanny Finch Elementary School — 0.8 mi