Allen Birthing Center is housed in one of Allen's original homes, the Bacus-Brown House. According to old newspaper articles, construction began in 1908 and was completed in 1910. Bacus soon sold the home to the Brown family where it remained for over 60 years. Throughout that time, numerous founding families of A-town (the nickname for Allen) called the house, "home," for brief periods. The reason is that during World War II, the family ran a boarding house, perhaps for women and children whose husbands and fathers had gone to war. The building lent itself to such a community-focused use because the original structure had an outside stairwell from the driveway area up to the second floor. The King Family purchased the home in 1997, changing it to its current structure, adding baths, a new kitchen, the gazebo area, and the fragrant herb & flower gardens.

We invite you to take time to enjoy the architecture of yesterday when you visit Allen Birthing Center. Characteristic of the time, you will see windows set in three's in the reception area and the visiting room (formerly the parlor and the dining room). Stairwell details, a stained glass transom, original pine flooring, and beautiful room, window, door, and ceiling moldings from the early 1900's abound. One of the baths upstairs still has the original claw-foot bath tub of the home. You can also see the original "air-conditioning" of the early twentieth century—doorways between all upstairs rooms for the air to circulate.

Four coal burning fireplaces define the waiting room, the visiting room, and two of the birthing suites. Bacus installed this type of fireplace because coal was easily accessible at the train stop down the street. Allen was originally established as a train depot for the Houston and Texas Central Railroad. Coal was transported throughout the area via this railroad just a couple of blocks away.

In addition to the interior of the home, an endearing—but fading—touch was the original concrete walkways of the home. If you look closely, you can see where the family etched four-leaf clovers into the cement!