Frazier, Dr. Jacob Moore, House
a.k.a. #35
618 N. Wall, Belton, TXThe Frazier House is a good example of an evolutionary domestic design with a mixture of late Victorian and bungalow architectural elements. Contextually it relates to Community and Regional Development, specifically to the growth of the middle class in Belton during the peak years of the cotton boom and the consequential construction boom in modest residences. The house is eligible for listing in the National Register under Criterion c, significant in the area of Architecture, as an archetypal Arts & Crafts bungalow of the early 20th century.
The Frazier House is estimated to have been built (in its current configuration) between 1905 and 1915 for Dr. Jacob Moore Frazier. Frazier studied medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and moved to Belton with his wife Minnie in 1894. In addition to his private practice, he served as a physician for Baylor College for Women, a post that he held until 1936. Frazier also taught Anatomy, Physiology, and Hygiene at the college for many years.
The house consists of two stylistically different parts suggesting that the bungalow was built around an earlier house or that the builder incorporated old habits in the new design. The lower floor features typical late Victorian elements in the elongated windows with pedimented architraves. The upper story, with its spreading side gable, broad eaves, shaped brackets, and rafter tails, emulates the Arts & Crafts bungalow. This juxtaposition of styles suggests that the house was constructed in two phases: the lower portion was probably built sometime before the turn of the century and the porch and upper floor were most likely added sometime between 1905 and 1915. Despite its Victorian core, the Frazier House as altered is an excellent example of the Arts & Crafts style bungalow of the early century.
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.