McAllister House
311 N. Locust St., Seiling, OKThe McAllister House is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places for its architectural significance as an excellent local example of a Bungalow/Craftsman style home. Although there are several stucco buildings in Seiling, Oklahoma, the McAllister House is the only example of textured stucco and is therefore unique in Seiling. It was built in 1920 by the prominent McAllister Family of Seiling; James McAllister being the first mayor of the Town of Seiling.
When the McAllister House was built in 1920, it was the most expensive house being built at the time. Together Pat and Belva McAllister used the $10,000 she had received from the military for the loss of her first husband during World War I to build the fourteen-room home. Interviews with Ms. Josephine Goss, a neighbor to the McAllister for over fifty years, and Mr. Ernie Hussman a personal friend of the McAllisters for over sixty years, stated that the McAllister House is the second finest home in Seiling. A pond was built in the backyard for Belva McAllister. She was thrilled about this pond and wanted some goldfish. Mr. Hussman and a buddy surprised her by putting goldfish in the pond. The cement pond remains in the backyard today.
Belva McAllister died of cancer and the McAllister House was sold to Lillie Perkins in the early 1940s. Ms. Perkins ran the six-bedroom home as a boarding house until 1985. Ms. Perkins died in September of 1994, with the current owners having purchased the home the month earlier, in August of 1994.
The McAllister House is an outstanding example of a Bungalow/Craftsman style home. It is the only two-story textured stucco home in Seiling. There are 378 dwellings in Seiling, of which 50 are stucco homes. All the stucco homes are "flat" stucco, one-story, two-bedroom homes. The artistry in building a stucco home has become extinct in the Seiling area. No stucco homes have been built in Seiling since the 1940s. Thus, the architectural significance of the McAllister House is of great importance to the Seiling area being the only two-story textured stucco home in the Town of Seiling.
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1997.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.