Once a private residence, the historic Bingham Estate property in East McKinney now welcomes guests for overnight stays.

Owner Erika McWilliams opened the main house as a bed and breakfast in May 2023, and six new cottages debuted in April following an expansion on the south side of the property. The cottages are each named for a child of the Bingham family that originally owned the property, McWilliams said.

The setup

The Bingham Estate was constructed from 1882-83 for Captain John Henry Bingham, who fought in the Civil War, and his family, which included his wife and six children, the business’s website states.

The estate was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. The property has served as both a bed and breakfast as well as a wedding and event venue. McWilliams acquired the estate in September 2022 with the goal of restoring the home.


McWilliams has previously restored three other historic homes in downtown McKinney and resold them, but she decided to retain ownership of the Bingham Estate.

“It comes from the heart of owning a historic home,” McWilliams said of her desire to restore the estate and add cottages. “There's nothing like it. It just makes my heart beat like no other.”

The 1.4-acre estate features the main house with four suites, a living space, kitchen, dining room and more. The property also features amenities such as a pool and pool house, a pickleball court, social areas and a garden.

Small event spaces including a tea room and a carriage house can also be found on site. Some events held at the estate include retreats, tea parties and mahjong parties, McWilliams said.


“It was for community, I yearn for that in a different way,” McWilliams said of the business. “That's why retreats and tea parties will be the heart of it. ... We all yearn to connect.”

A stay at the estate can be booked through the business’s website or on Airbnb, and guests can reserve the main house, a cottage or the entire property, McWilliams said. Guests of the estate must be at least 25 years old, except for select events, she said.

Diving in deeper

The six new cottages added expanded the property’s total rooms to 10. The estate previously featured a parking lot that would accommodate guests for on-site events, which is the space that was used to construct the cottages, McWilliams said.


“The day that I walked on property, ... I knew I wanted to build cottages, it hit me just like a truck,” McWilliams said, noting that she was inspired by destinations such as Fredericksburg, Texas and Charleston, South Carolina.

Each cottage has a unique design aesthetic that was curated to represent one of the six Bingham Children, including:
  • The Eliza cottage
  • The Isaac cottage
  • The Margaret cottage
  • The Nathaniel cottage
  • The Sallie Mills cottage
  • The Stephen cottage
The personalities of each Bingham child were dreamt up by McWilliams along with the cottage designers, Cassie Werner and Signe Hugghins of Sidewalk Dreamery. The cottages each feature a unique design aesthetic and a conceptual portrait of the Bingham child the cottage is named for. While the design aesthetic varies by cottage, intentional use of color and design elements like wallpaper tie the spaces together.

“They feel alive to us,” McWilliams said of the cottages named for the Bingham children. “It's not a hotel, and even some of the other historic hotels you stay in, it just feels like a room. The Bingham feels alive and you can be immersed in history the moment you walk on.”

McWilliams collaborated with a contractor to design the cottages, which are about 600-square-feet each. The cottages have varying layouts and architectural styles, including Queen Anne, Mansard-style and Carpenter Gothic. While each cottage is unique, they also feature shared exterior design elements such as gas lanterns on the porches that were sourced from New Orleans, McWilliams said.


“When I stay somewhere, I like to go back over and over, I get connected to it,” Hugghins said.

It's fun to think ‘Eliza is my cottage’, or ‘Sallie Mills is the place that my husband and I like to go’. It's fun to make the connection to a person instead of just a room.”

Work on the cottages began in April 2023, and was completed over a two year period. Updates to the tea room were also completed in April.

Quote of note


“They have the Michelin Star for a restaurant, but they have Michelin Key,” McWilliams said. “If there's one little star for something that's unique, ... We're going to get it.”

Looking ahead

McWilliams said she would like to continue to grow the Bingham brand, possibly through a restaurant or retail concept in downtown McKinney. After additional work is completed on the yard, McWilliams would also like to see the business featured in Southern Living, she said.