National Register Listing

Belvin Street Historic District

700, 800, 900 blocks of Belvin St., and 227 Mitchell St., San Marcos, TX

Belvin Street has always been central to San Marcos' tradition of education. As early as 1860 it was the location of a privately run school, and became the address of farmers and stockmen as they moved from their land into town to be near Coronal Institute, Fathers may have had to contend with the frontier's hardships, but they wanted their children to have an education, and long with it, some of the niceties such as music, art, and white muslin dresses. In a way, this striving for sophistication in raw surroundings set the tone for the entire town. Throughout its history, Belvin Street's residents have been educators and other professionals. Today, it is a gracious neighborhood of primarily Victorian-period homes with wide porches, broad lawns, and delicate wood trim.

During the Civil War period, a school operated in the house which Robert Hixon Belvin would later expand as his home. In 1870, Belvin, a Methodist minister, settled in the new town. He came from San Antonio by stagecoach, the family traveling with him with baskets of provisions and flowering bulbs. He bought Coronal Institute from O.N. Hollingsworth for $10,000. The Belvin family lived on the campus while he was president, until 1875, when Belvin sold Coronal to trustees of the Methodist Church conference for a male and female high school. In the agreement, the sale of Coronal was for 11 acres of Farm Lot 15 where Belvin added to an earlier building (or rebuilt it) to make his home. Like others attracted to San Marcos' scenic location, Belvin managed his life so that his family could stay there even when he had been assigned to other pastorates. In 1882, he retired from the ministry and continued his involvement with real estate. His efforts, with the help of S.B. McBride, resulted in the attractive residential neighborhood.

At the time Belvin established the Belvin Addition there were only three buildings in the area. The property line along what is now Burleson Street came through an agreement in 1870 between Belvin and S.B. McBride, an understanding to extend Burleson Street, which ran above Coronal Institute, on to Ed. Kone's land and to extend a street to be known as Belvin as far west as the southwest corner of Belvin's yard. McBride also agreed to open an extension of Hopkins Street across his premises to the Belvin line on the west. Ed Kone agreed to open a street across his land to intersect with an extension of Burleson Street.

Local significance of the district:
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1983.