The "Rock House"

The "Rock House". The McPherson Family Farm Home. T.J. McPherson and his wife Barbara were among the last large dairy operators in Colleyville. The McPhersons brought in Holstein cows and created a modern milking operation with a filtration system. During the dairy farm period, the Rock House was the McPherson family farmhouse., The decline of dairying in the area began in the 1970s when developers sought increasing amounts of land for housing developments. The opening of Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in 1974 intensified demand for housing in the region and accelerated the pace of conversion from farms to subdivisions. Land prices skyrocketed, and many farmers sold their farm properties., After the McPhersons retired in 1987, they sold their land to the City of Colleyville, which turned it into McPherson Park. The Rock House and the renovated Dunn/Tirk log barn serve as reminders of the city's dairy history. When Colleyville purchased the McPherson farm, the development plans included preservation of the Rock House and repurposing it as a multi-use educational facility to include programs in conservation, green technologies, and other city programming.