Jack McKinney is significant in the history of Nacogdoches for organizing the construction of the Hotel Fredonia. To view or print a brochure about Jack McKinney, please click the following link Jack McKinney Brochure, or for more information, please continue reading.
Jack McKinney
Jack Raines McKinney was born October 4, 1911, in the Banita Hotel which was operated by his parents John and Laura McKinney.[1] Jack had three older siblings, Richard, Mary Ann, and Edgar.[2] The hotel, also the home of the McKinneys, was constructed by Laura's father, Norvel Wade, in the 1890s and later purchased by Jack's parents. Rho Cox hired Jack, at the age of fourteen, to disassemble, wash, and otherwise prepare parts of Model T automobiles for resale. Jack graduated from Nacogdoches High School in 1929, and he attended Stephen F. Austin State Teacher's College and the University of Virginia where he studied history, art, engineering, and law. However, McKinney did not receive a degree from either institution.[3]
The Banita Hotel
McKinney Drilling
When McKinney returned to Nacogdoches, he went to work for his brother R.W. who had established the R.W. McKinney Construction Company, which eventually became one of the principal builders of highways in the United States and internationally.[4] As part of his job, Jack was responsible for surveying the land for Stephen F. Austin State Teacher's College.[5] In 1934, he married his sweetheart Claudine Woodward and the two postponed settling down, instead relocating to wherever work took him.[6] In 1940 Jack and R.W. founded the McKinney Drilling Company with Jack acting as manager. The drilling company and construction companies separated, and Jack took over operations of the drilling company, allowing him and his wife to move back home to Nacogdoches. With the stimulus brought to his business by World War II, the company expanded throughout the United States and had offices in England, Australia, Guatemala, and New Caledonia, a chain of islands off of the coast of Australia.[7] Foundation drilling was a new industry and Jack pioneered the development of machinery that made drilled piers more economical. In 1976 McKinney resigned from his position as president of the company to assume the duties as chairman of the board with his son John Richard as president.
To view McKinney Drilling's current website, please click the following link McKinney Drilling's Website
McKinney Drilling Building
Getting into the Hotel Business
Having been born and raised in a hotel and traveling a great deal for work, Jack concluded that Nacogdoches needed a first class hotel to attract and cater to vacationers and businessmen.[8] McKinney began studying the hotels he visited, even carrying along a folding ruler to measure the size of the rooms, hallways, staircases, and the distance between the entrance and the reception desk.[9] McKinney shared his dream with other community leaders and the group took their idea to the Nacogdoches Chamber of Commerce who approved the idea on June 16, 1952. In March of 1953, McKinney announced a contest to name the hotel. The winner would receive a stay in the best room of the hotel. Nearly three hundred names were submitted including The Old Stone Fort Hotel, Hotel Nacogdoches, Seven Flags Hotel, The Pines Hotel, and The Thomas J. Rusk Hotel. The winning name was The Hotel Fredonia, submitted by Dr. E.P. McKinney under the name of his daughter Susan Prentice. On April 1, 1955, Susan was given then honor of cutting the ribbon at the hotel's opening reception, while Jack McKinney and Herbert Wilson raised the flags.
For more information on the Hotel Fredonia, please click the following link to view the City of Nacogdoches's building survey 200 North Fredonia Street
Hotel Fredonia
Beyond Business
In 1962, the East Texas Chamber of Commerce named McKinney "Man of the Month." In 1975, he was inducted into the Moles Society, an organization for individuals involved in the construction of tunnels, foundations, sewers, subways, and subaquatic construction.[10] McKinney was also a member of the Nacogdoches Historical Commission where he participated in the restoration of the Old Nacogdoches University building, which saved the structure from demolition. Jack also enjoyed attending horse shows and served as emcee of the Nacogdoches Horse Show for ten years.[11]
Jack McKinney at the restoration of the Durst-Taylor house
Jack McKinney at the Durst-Taylor house
According to Jack's grandson, Dr. Tom McKinney, family stories state that Jack was driving down the road with his arm hanging out of the window when it was taken off by a lumber truck. Jack stopped the car, apologized to the truck driver, picked up his arm, and drove himself to the hospital.[12] It is uncertain whether this story in a fact or fiction. However, Jack was, in fact, an amputee. Jack McKinney passed away in Nacogdoches on July 29, 1997 at the age of 86.[13]
Jack McKinney is buried in the McKinney family plot, which is located in the northeast corner of the cemetery. Jack's gravemarker is a square tablet made of marble. Unlike many markers, the carved letters on this stone were darkened so that they are easy to read. In addition to his name and dates of birth and death, the stone also lists where Jack was born and died, both in Nacogdoches County. To find Jack's grave in Oak Grove Cemetery visit http://preserveamerica.sfasu.edu/OakGrove/ and enter either his first or last name in the name search areas.
Images
- Jack McKinney, J. McKinney's Restaurant, Hotel Fredonia, https://www.facebook.com/#!/JMcKinneys?fref=ts.
- The Banita Hotel, Photograph Collection, East Texas Research Center, Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, Texas.
- McKinney Drilling Building, at the corner of North Street and Wettermark Street, Nacogdoches, Texas, http://digital.sfasu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/EastTexRC/id/12 .
- The Fredonia Hotel, "200 North Fredonia St." Center for Regional Heritage Research, http://www.sfasu.edu/heritagecenter/1274.asp .
- "Architecture of the Durst Taylor House," Center for East Texas Studies, http://cets.sfasu.edu/DT/architecture.html .
- "Architecture of the Durst Taylor House," Center for East Texas Studies, http://cets.sfasu.edu/DT/architecture.html, accessed September 24, 2012.
- Jack McKinney Headstone at Oak Grove Cemetery, Nacogdoches, Texas.
References