Original Town Site of Emerson

The town of Emerson was established in February of 1902. The town site (also known as the Original Donation) was purchased from what was at that time known as the Francis Emerson Farm. Francis Emerson was a citizen of McKinney and President of the First National Bank of McKinney. Mr. Emerson sold the land to the Blackland Townsite Company, a corporation owned by the St. Louis and San Francisco Railroad, and laid out in streets, lots, and blocks that were sold at public auction for residences and businesses. The town was named Emerson in honor of Francis Emerson, but due to the similarity of Emberson in Lamar County, the name Frisco was supplied, taken from the Frisco railroad.

The original plat of the town that was filed at the Collin County Clerk’s office on February 12, 1902 has the following boundaries:

West – John Elliott Street – one block west of the railroad tracks
East – North and South County Roads – on the 1902 plat this is listed as “Road”
South – Ash Street
North – Walnut Street – North County to John Elliott on the South and North County to Fifth Street on the North