Historic McKinney Square & Courthouse

McKinney grew up around a courthouse and never let go of it. When Collin County's seat moved here in 1848, the town platted its streets around a central square — and that square is still the beating heart of the place, ringed by limestone storefronts, a former bank with a gilded eagle over its door, and a domed courthouse that has watched over downtown for a century and a half. This short loop walks the square and the blocks just off it, tracing the buildings that gave McKinney its courthouse, its banks, its jail, and its brush with one of the most famous outlaws in the West. You'll pass the law office where a future governor of Texas studied his books, a saloon where the brother of Jesse James was once hauled before the law, and the old post office that became the county museum. Bring comfortable shoes and look up — the best details are above the storefront windows.