The A.W. Perry Homestead Museum offers a glimpse of life as it was in north central Texas at the turn of the 20th Century. This lovely home is one of Carrollton's cherished landmarks. Alexander Wilson (A.W.) Perry was one of the early pioneer homesteaders of Peters Colony who arrived in Texas in the 1840's. Mr. Perry built a home on this site in 1857 and later generously donated land to the railroads and platted town lots for businesses and residents.
In 1909, a son of A.W. Perry, DeWitt Clinton, completed the present story and a half home using materials salvaged from the original home his father had built. In the backyard of the museum, stones mark the site of the original foundation of the first Perry farmhouse. The home's high ceilings, dark woodwork and wrap-around veranda are indicative of early 1900s elegance. The original spring fed well that once provided water to many thirsty travelers who stopped at the Perry home can be viewed, and the gas light plant building where gas was produced for the home's lights still stands. The site offers examples of a barn with wide double doors, a root cellar where food was stored and a smokehouse where meats were cured.
In 1975, Mrs. Pearl Perry Gravley, daughter of DeWitt and Francis Perry, and her children gave the house and 10 acres of surrounding property to the City of Carrollton for use as a museum and serene park. Shortly thereafter, the Bicentennial Commission, volunteers from the community and descendants of the Perry family restored this exquisite home. It was designated a historic landmark by the Texas Historical Commission in 1977.
Information from the museum's site