{"nrhp_refnum":"10000268","name":"The Settlement Historic District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Centered on the intersection of N Bell Dr and the 100 block of S Bell Dr with cross-streets Carver Ave and Eunice St","address_restricted":false,"city":"Texas City","county":"Galveston County","state":"TX","lat":29.384314906000043,"lon":-94.97731396699999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2010-05-17","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Black"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A small historic district at the core of the Settlement community in Texas City, Galveston County, Texas, made up of six contributing resources (five buildings and one site) and one noncontributing house, dating from about 1887 to the mid-20th century.","why_significant":"The district preserves the historic center of a community founded in the late 1860s and 1870s by African-American cowboys who had worked on the Butler ranch and the Chisholm Trail. It reflects the community's land ownership, high literacy, education, and Black-owned commerce. It is nominated under Criterion A for Settlement and Ethnic Heritage/Black.","narrative":"Centered on South Bell Drive and Eunice Street in Texas City, this small district marks the historic heart of the Settlement, a community founded in the late 1860s and early 1870s by African-American cowboys after their years on the Chisholm Trail. The district holds five contributing buildings, a contributing site with two century-old live oaks, and one modern noncontributing house. The oldest building is the Frank Bell, Sr. House, dated to 1887, a raised Creole cottage built partly of recycled lumber and now a museum. Craftsman bungalows from the 1920s and 1930s, many tied to Frank Bell, Jr. and his real estate business, reflect middle-class prosperity. A 1943 Art Moderne corner store is the last survivor of the community's business center. The district is significant for the Settlement's land ownership, high literacy, emphasis on education and Black-owned commerce, which set it apart in its era.","period_of_significance":"c. 1887-1960","architect_builder":"Unknown; Bell, Frank, Jr.","architectural_style":"Creole Cottage; Craftsman; Art Moderne; Ranch Style","criteria":["A"],"status_note":"Most contributing resources retain integrity. The 1887 Frank Bell, Sr. House is now a museum, the 1943 corner store is still used for local business, and the Britton Oaks site has lost its house but retains two oak trees.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:23.577271-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/72/9720/40972072/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/10000268.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/10000268/781baea333-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/10000268/781baea333-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Jim Evans","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Settlement_Historic_District_--_Texas_City.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jim Evans</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Settlement_Historic_District_--_Texas_City.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40972072","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_1867_Settlement_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q109999869"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/galveston-county/the-settlement-historic-district-10000268/"}