Built in 1880, this house originally was the residence of Dr. John R. Smith, who served as the mayor of Corsicana from 1883 until 1885. During his term of office, Smith organized the volunteer fire department and helped Navarro County set up a poor farm at Petty's Chapel, where prisoners without money could work off their fines. In 1898 the home was purchased by Mrs. A. W. McCrery, a widow who brought her ten daughters and her mother-in-law to live here. The house remained in the McCrery family until 1967.