Mary Mccain

Another piece of Gainesville’s history slipped away on Thursday, November 5 ^th when Mary McCain, our beloved champion for historic preservation, joined her dear friend Johnann Bezner in the presence of God.  Holding her hand was her loving caretaker, Rachel Howe.

Born December 22, 1927 in Gainesville, Mary Aurelia McCain was the seventh child of Eula Sager McCain and Hugh O Mc Cain, then principal of Gainesville High School.  Mary was born and lived her entire life in her family home on Dodson with a garden filled with her mother’s beloved irises.  Mary learned to care for and treasure them too.

Mary was Valedictorian of her high school class in 1945 and received an Associates Degree from Cooke County Junior, now NCTC.  She earned a B.S. degree in education at what is now the University of North Texas in Denton in 1950.  Her minor was Mechanical Arts.  A part time job as a draftsman at Joe Walter Lumber Co piqued her interest in architecture.   Mary attended the Rice institute School of Architecture in Houston on a full scholarship and was one of only 11 women who graduated with a degree in Architecture in 1962.

Mary was the first female architect in Gainesville and later joined the prestigious Mount Miller Architects firm in Denton in the 1970’s, earning her place as partner.    Mary renovated many of the homes in the historic district and also built several mid century homes in Gainesville with her favorite on Tennie St.

While driving with a client down Dixon she noticed they were beginning demolition of the original city hall and jail on the corner of Dixon and Pecan.  After witnessing the recent demolition of several historic buildings like the post office, seeing this drove her to say enough is enough.  She immediately called the city manager to petition him to stop its imminent demolition.  And as they say, the rest is history.

Mary founded the Cooke County Heritage Society in 1966.  She spearheaded the historic district tour of homes as a fundraiser and drew pencil drawings of each home on tour.  These are still used to promote our historic homes.  With the help of her friend, Margaret Parx Hayes, they coordinated the funding to restore the building that houses the Morton Museum.  Together, the architect and the retired State Department employee pulled off a stunning coup that put an end to the destruction of the historic building and placed Gainesville on the State map as a unique community of late 19 ^th century buildings.

Mary attended First United Methodist Church and was a former member of First Presbyterian Church and Westminster Presbyterian Church.  She was the founding force behind the Cooke County Heritage Society, a member of the Cooke County Historical Commission, the Historic Iris Preservation Society, and a recipient of the NCTC Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2012.

Mary is survived by six nieces, their children and grandchildren, as well as sister-in-law Janis McCain of Gainesville.  She was predeceased by her parents and siblings.   A private service will be held at her burial site at Fairview Cemetery.