Built in 1893, this Southern Colonial house was enlarged and remodeled in 1910 by Marion Wickliffe Railey, then President of the First National Bank. Stately columns grace the entry. Restoration includes reclaiming two acres of land with its many old plantings.

Soon after its completion in 1899 by W.P. Portwood, this house was sold to the Joy family who occupied it until 1953. A striking feature of the interior is a large pipe organ, located in the library. The house has had extensive restorations with unusual light fixtures, carved doors, etched glass windows, and beveled glass retained.

Mr. and Mrs. Ben S. Roberts built this home around 1913. The Roberts were very active socially and often hosted parties and teams for charities. The Browning Club Silver Tea was held annually at their home as well as many other functions. The Roberts family donated the use of the third floor of this home to be used as a USO center for servicemen who trained at the British Flying Training School in Terrell during World War II.

A two story Mediterranean Revival built in 1923 by owner Matthew C. Roberts, prominent in real estate and banking, planned by architects Foshee & Clark of Dallas. The house has spiraling Corinthian columns flanking the front door and a two-story arcaded porch.

During World War II thousands of British pilots learned to fly at six civilian training schools in the United States. One of these schools was located in Terrell, Texas. Because the United States was not in WWII at the time, it was essentially a secret training program, thus the bus says “Aviation School”.



After the United States entered the war, American Aviation Cadets also trained at the school. More than 2,000 Royal Air Force and American Army Air Force pilots earned their wings over North Texas between 1941 and 1945. Terrell’s citizens welcomed the student pilots to their community and many life-long bonds were forged.



Each person depicted in this mural is an actual person who either trained, worked, or taught at the No. 1 BFTS during World War II, Pictures from the Museum were used as reference for the mural.



Learn more about this incredible story by visiting the No. 1 British Flying Training School Museum which celebrates this little known chapter of World War II history. Their collection includes hundreds of historical items: log books, training materials, WW II memorabilia and uniforms. The museum’s archives contains the most extensive record of the No. 1 British Flying Training School that exists. The museum is located at 119 Silent Wings Blvd in Terrell, just north of the mural.



Photo provided by Prouty Photography in Terrell, Tx. Mural painted by Sunny Delipsey from photos in the BFTS Archives.

In 1901, William Boggs (W.B.) Muckleroy married Miss Lucy Drake and in May 1913 they purchased this home from the builder, the Edwards-Elliott Lumber Co. Mr. Muckleroy was a funeral director and undertaker. The funeral home was located at the corner of Nash and Frances (in those days spelled Francis) in what is now known as the Masonic Building. The funeral home horses were kept in stables at the back of the property. During the Depression, Mr. Muckleroy fell on hard times and the property was sold at public auction to Mr. John C. Patton in 1931. It remained in the Patton family for 68 years.

The mural is a series of movie posters from the early days of Hollywood. The mural pays homage to the beginnings of this building as a movie theatre. The Iris Theatre, built by Leaman Marshall, opened in 1925 and was touted in the newspaper as “Terrell’s Finest Theatre”. (In the 1920’s there were three theatres operating in downtown Terrell – The Iris, The Palace, and the Lyric.)



The posters include “The Lady”, a silent film which was the first movie shown at The Iris. The Iris operated continuously as a movie theatre from 1925 to 2001 when the modern multi-screen theatres in Mesquite drew the crowds away from the historic single screen theatre. The mural also includes the poster for “Wings”, which was the First Academy Award winner of Best Picture.



The lady on the bench is Mrs. Marion Briggs, wife of John Briggs (a former mayor of Terrell) who was instrumental in clearing the way for the current owners to renovate the building into Books and Crannies after the Iris ceased operation. The cat beside her is Maddie, a long-time resident of Books and Crannies. Maddie was a Hurricane Katrina refugee who delighted customers for years as the bookstore greeter.



This mural was painted by Sunny Delipsey and was sponsored by The Terrell Heritage Society.



Also, don’t miss the mural of Charlie Chaplin on the rear door of the building which the current owners of the building had painted – also by Sunny Delipsey and sponsored by Books and Crannies.

This home was built in 1909 designed by James E. Flanders, a prominent architect of Dallas, was commissioned to design this home. Flaunders had previously designed two other home in Terrell and the First United Methodist Church.

The mural on the front of Firmin’s Office Products store is a depiction of the front of the old Lyric Theatre which was located in this building during the time when there were three movie theatres located in downtown Terrell.

The picture on the front is a re-creation of an actual photograph of the staff of the Lyric Theatre taken in 1948. Pictured are (from left to right): Woody Reeves, John Marshall, Minnie Mooser, Tommie Green, Peggy Landers, Thelma Jones, Eunice Wickham, Art Elliott, Reba Choate, Charles (Skipper) Ellis, Billy Shumpert, Cecil McDonald and Carl Rose.