Baggett, Ele, House
a.k.a. #17
1019 N. Main St., Belton, TXThe Ele Baggett House, built in 1895, replicates the Silas and Ellen Baggett House which it faces, and together they illustrate the Queen Anne aesthetic popular within the prosperous middle class in the late 19th century. Contextually, the property relates to Community and Regional Development, specifically to the growth and prosperity of Belton as a result of the cattle boom after the Civil War. The house is eligible for listing in the National Register under Criterion c, significant in the area of Architecture, as one of a significant pair of houses embodying the popular Queen Anne style for houses in the late 19th century.
The Ele Baggett House was built by the farmer and rancher Ele Baggett in 1895. Baggett was the son of Silas Baggett, one of the early settlers of Bell County. The two made their fortune in the cattle drives after the Civil War and built mirror-image houses across North Main Street from one another. Baggett lived in this house until 1900.
The Ele Baggett House exemplifies the prosperity of Belton during the 1880s and '90s related to ranching. The house is only one of a number of similar mansions that once lined North Main Street. It is distinctive as one of a pair of houses facing one another on either side of North Main and probably was based on a pattern book or mass-marketed design.
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1990.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.