Craftsman Bungalow – 304 Corsicana Street Hillsboro

For Over a Century the Craftsman Bungalow Has Graced 304 Corsicana Street.

And what story does 304 Corsicana have to tell for its first 50 years of existence?

A story built around faith, love, tragedy, education, and family roots.

In 1910 Sarah Elizabeth (Bettie) Rutherford McCarty, husband, Rev. James Madison McCarty, died in retirement as a Cumberland Presbyterian minister. Three years later in 1913, Sarah Elizabeth (Bettie) purchased the property of 304 Corsicana St.

Sara Elizabeth and her namesake daughter moved from 625 Elm to 304 Corsicana, returning Sara Elizabeth Rutherford McCarty to her old campus site of Patterson Institute, the school she attended in her youth.

As an adult Sarahs daughter, Bettie became a teacher in Hillsboro Public Schools. She and her husband, Warren H. White, continued to reside at 304 Corsicana their marriage in 1915.

Sadly tragedy struck on January 2, 1917 and Sarah Elizabeth lost her daughter, Bettie McCarty White, to ptomaine poisoning and complications from pregnancy. Soon after Warren White left town to pursue work in other areas.

With her daughter deceased and son-in-law relocated to Beaumont, Sarah Elizabeth found herself with an empty home. So she prepared the upstairs with an exterior staircase and rented it to family T. O. and Beulah McClure Cone. Beulah was daughter of her sister Julia Rutherford who married Jesse M. McClure. In 1944 Sarah Elizabeth (Bettie) McCarty sold the 304 property to the Cones with retention of a life estate in the property.

Sarah Elizabeth (Bettie) McCarty died May 9, 1952 and is buried with her husband and daughter Bettie, in Ridge Park Cemetery.

What’s next?

Many owners have enjoyed 304 Corsicana since the death of Beulah McClure Cone in 1984, but current owners Jared and Joelle Allen are proud of their historic home and are working to bring economic and spiritual renewal to Hillsboro and Hill County. Both Jared and Joelle Allen are from the Dallas area, attended college and graduate school in the metroplex, and have lived in various places around the U.S. and abroad. When expecting their 5th child, the Allens determined to seek a smaller community “where our children could play with neighbor kids and our lives would be local. We wanted a real community and not just the conveniences of suburban America or the hustle/bustle of metro life. We found that in Hillsboro, and as soon as we entered 304 Corsicana we knew it was the perfect place for us.”

The Craftsman (California Bungalow) architecture of 304 Corsicana was a popular style that was a marked move from Victorian to 20th century architecture. This style spoke to a growing middle class in America and promoted form and function over detail and finesse.

The interior design moved from a central hall with rooms opening and provided a large living room at entry that would use French doors to open into space for dining, kitchen, and bedrooms. The home at 304 Corsicana is an excellent specimen that retains its original style and “feel” after years of changing ownership and renovation.

For readers who would like to know what “story” their house has to tell, we recommend research with the Hillsboro Heritage League. Sanborn insurance maps, 1867-1970, provide on-line information of streets and structures, including textual details, building materials and use. To access Sanborn Maps through TexShare Database contact the Hillsboro City Library at 254.582.7385. For additional information contact Will Lowrance at lowrancew@sbcglobal.net.