Ferguson, James A., House
a.k.a. #8
1123 N. Beal St., Belton, TXThe James A. Ferguson House, built about 1905, is an example of a 1-story variation of the American Four Square type that was common in Texas and particularly characteristic of Belton. Contextually the house relates to the Community and Regional Development of Belton during the years of the cotton boom at the turn of the century. The house meets National Register Criterion c, significant in the area of the architecture as an intact example of this distinctive regional variation on a nationally popular house type.
The James A. Ferguson House was built for James A. Ferguson by well-known local builder T. Hamp Birdwell around 1905. Ferguson was a local attorney and cousin of James E. Ferguson, who later served as Governor of Texas, as did his wife Miriam "Ma" Ferguson.
The property was built during an extended period of growth for Belton before and after the turn of the century. The design reflects the evolution of architectural trends at the time when symmetry and classical influences were replacing the Queen Anne picturesque aesthetic, and Prairie School designs were permeating the popular literature on house design. The Ferguson House is an early example of the emerging four-square type that became more popular from about 1910 to 1930. It is probably more accurate to attribute the design to the classical Revival movement, seen in the boxed columns and pediment over the entryway, as applied to an established pattern for small houses; the house retains the wraparound porch and asymmetry of the plan of a Queen Anne cottage. The house is significant as an unusually intact example of its type on its original site with outbuildings.
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.