Married after 1876 to Mollie Turner (1857-1919), daughter of an early Trinity pioneer, Ranald McDonald (1846-1931) settled on his land along the Trinity River. He bought this lot in 1890 and hired John Denton Gibbs to erect this victorian structure, which stands on stone piers, McDonald kept bees, honey, buggies, and wagons. His son Alexander (d. 1944), the second owner of the house, built a power plant on this property to provide Trinity's first electrical system.