Mary Alice Ward McCampbell, widow of William Berry McCampbell, purchased land at 1421 Water Street in the old Irishtown section of Corpus Christi in 1908. Soon thereafter she hired local architect and builder William F. Bowles to design and build a home for herself and her three sons. Mrs. McCampbell later married G. E. Wilkinson. Located on beachfront property overlooking Corpus Christi Bay, the McCampbell house was in a precarious position when the hurricane of 1919 ravaged the city. As Mary and her sons watched from the porch on the second story, floodwaters rose to cover the first floor of the structure.

Although the house survived the storm, family tradition holds that Mary contracted pneumonia while watching the storm and died of the disease in early 1920. After their mother's death, the McCampbell sons left Corpus Christi to attend military schools. They all returned to the city, however, and the house remained in the family until 1945. After a period of use as rental property, it was acquired by the city and relocated to Heritage Park in 1984.