Gus Wilson

On Christmas Day 1922, Tom Shewmake, who ran a small store a mile northwest of McKinney, and his wife were given a fifty-six-acre black-land farm in the Roland community. The McKinney Examiner named the giver as Uncle Gus Wilson, who had for years been quietly giving away land, securities, cash and automobiles. The paper said his gifts went to tenants, to borrowers who had repaid honestly and to people doing their part without complaint. It added that the Shewmakes had given homes to eight orphans over the years.

What the plaque says

Gus Wilson Augustus M. Wilson was a self-made man who lived in Collin County nearly his whole life, giving his fortune away to needy community members. He was born in 1845 in Tennessee and moved with his parents and six siblings to Collin County in 1849. He lived on his family farm located six miles north of McKinney in the Ash Grove Community. The log house built by his father was modest, with two rooms. Gus added three rooms to the farm house once he inherited it and invested money from his crops in land. Wilson also bought stocks and bonds and invested in railroads. He soon was very rich, but denied the rich lifestyle. He lived a simple life, dressing as the hardworking farmer that he was. Gus was an avid traveler and boasted that he never missed a world's fair except for the 1933 Chicago century of progress. Gus was known for his philanthropy towards county residents and often paid off debts of hardworking farmers and their families. People knew of him from all around the country as stories circulated about the bachelor of Collin County and his considerable fortune that he was giving away. Wilson would receive hundreds of marriage proposals in the mail after articles were published about him. He never did marry. Gus was religious and gave money to several churches regardless of denomination. He also built a school building with room for three teachers and a library. Gus also enjoyed giving away automobiles to friends. He died at age 90 and is buried in the Wilson family burial grounds adjacent to his home. At the time of his death, Gus had given away almost all of his money, an estimated $800,000. In 1935, the Texas State Senate hung a portrait of Gus in the senate chamber to honor his philanthropic service to Collin County. (2014)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Heard Natural Science Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary — 8.6 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 — 26 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.
• Sam Rayburn House State Historic Site — 31 mi
  The two-story farmhouse west of Bonham that the longtime Speaker of the House built in 1916 and kept as his home, left as he lived in it and open as a museum since 1975.

More markers nearby

• Chambersville — 1.7 mi
• Chambersville Cemetery — 1.7 mi
• Chambersville Methodist Church — 1.8 mi
• Melissa Cemetery — 2.3 mi