The Settlement Historic District

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.