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City planner: McKinney awarded first Collin County 'Undertold' marker for ES Doty School
Summary
Neighborhood planner Tori Brown told the Historic Preservation Advisory Board that the City of McKinney's Undertold McKinney project won a Texas Historical Commission Undertold marker for ES Doty School and will expand into a year‑long program with a community advisory group. Applications for the Year 2 advisory group are open through May 17.
Tori Brown, neighborhood planner for the City of McKinney, told the Historic Preservation Advisory Board that the Undertold McKinney project — a pilot to surface under-recognized histories in legacy neighborhoods — was awarded a Texas Historical Commission Undertold marker for ES Doty School.
Brown said the project launched in June 2025 after a 2023 East McKinney preservation study recommended prioritizing Black and Hispanic neighborhoods. "We were notified in February of this year that we were awarded a marker," she said, adding the commission is fabricating the plaque and the installation is expected in spring 2027.
The Undertold Marker Program recognizes topics with historical gaps and is competitive; Brown said only about 10–15 Undertold awards are issued statewide each year. The city convened a Community Advisory Group (CAG) to research and draft the ES Doty narrative; Brown credited letters of support and oral histories from generational families for strengthening the application.
For Year 2 the city plans to expand the pilot to a 12‑month term, solicit public applications through May 17, and hold a June 11 orientation meeting at City Hall. Potential CAG projects could include additional Undertold marker applications, neighborhood art or beautification projects, community history publications, or a "history harvest" event to digitize family-held historic documents on site.
Brown said the subject marker chosen for ES Doty records and memorializes the story but does not place legal restrictions on the property; by contrast, an architectural Texas historic marker would require property-owner consent and could impose restrictions. The board and several members of the community praised the award and urged continued outreach to help residents access tax‑relief programs and preservation incentives.
