Plano's oldest house has finally arrived at its new home.
On Wednesday, crews completed the final leg of a move for the historic Collinwood House after a years-long debate over its future.
The two-story farmhouse, built around 1861, is now part of the Haggard Farm off Parkwood Boulevard. The plan is for the Collinwood House to eventually be restored and incorporated into future development on that property, according to city officials.
"It's not just a record in a book," preservation advocate Candace Fountoulakis said of the home. "It's something you can walk in, see, feel, touch."
The city of Plano purchased the 80-acre Collinwood Farm in 2009 with plans to develop it as part of a 124-acre park. The pioneer home on the site was declared a hazard, but efforts to relocate it fell through.
Last year, after voters rejected a $3.5 million bond measure to restore the house, the city council voted to tear it down. A preservation architect was tapped to document the dismantling. His estimate for the job was $250,000.
But city officials changed their mind and decided once again to offer up the house and pledged to use the $250,000 to move it off-site. Haggard Enterprises Ltd. submitted the only bid.
Clint Haggard talks with family friend Jeff Nesbitt in front of the Collinwood Home, built around 1861, as it is prepared to be moved to the Haggard farm in Plano.
The Haggards are one of Plano's founding families. Clinton Shepard Haggard bought the Collinwood house in 1862 and lived there with his family for years before it was passed down to his daughter and then a granddaughter. The house changed hands several more times before it was sold in 1956 to the Sowell family, whose trust later sold the property to Plano.
Crews have been busy for weeks prepping the historic structure for the move. Last week they lifted it off its foundation and onto a moving truck. The truck made the slow trek Wednesday along a few city streets to the home's new resting spot.
The Haggards' farm is only about a quarter mile from the home's original location, Plano city spokesman Steve Stoler said.
Fountoulakis is happy the structure will be preserved. She hopes people will start referring to it as the Haggard house in honor of its new owners. And while it didn't qualify for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, it is still a significant piece of history, Fountoulakis said.
"It's important to save because it's so unusual and rare," she said.
Construction has already begun on the city's Windhaven Meadows Park, which will include trails, ponds and a dog park. The project is expected to be completed in late 2019 or early 2020, Stoler said.