Baggett, Silas and Ellen, House
Also known as: #16
Approximate location: the National Park Service places this pin arbitrarily within the property, not at a surveyed point (stated accuracy ±12 m).
Why it's listed
Built about 1890 at 1018 North Main in Belton, this 2 1/2-story wood frame house shows the exuberant side of the Queen Anne style. It has a modified L-plan, a hipped roof with multiple gables, a projecting chamfered bay, a bell-roofed corner tower and a large two-story gallery. Weatherboard siding is combined with decorative shingles, milled trim, sunburst and fishscale ornament, and art glass windows on the first floor. It was built for Silas Baggett, a cattleman who arrived in Bell County before the Civil War and, with his sons, organized cattle drives to Kansas and Montana. His son Ele built a nearly mirror-image house across the street. The design suggests the influence of published plan catalogues such as those of George F. Barber, likely adapted by a local builder. The house is valued as one of the best surviving Queen Anne examples in Belton and as evidence of ranching wealth in the 1880s and 1890s. It remains a single-family home.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the house is one of the finest and most intact Queen Anne style houses in Belton, listed under Criterion C for architecture. Together with the Ele Baggett House across the street, it illustrates the use of stock house plans and patternbooks for ornate late-Victorian middle class homes. It also reflects Belton's prosperity from the post-Civil War cattle boom.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 90001881, listed December 26, 1990. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 1018 N. Main St., Belton |
|---|---|
| County | Bell County |
| Listed | December 26, 1990 |
| Reference number | 90001881 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | C. 1890 |
| Architect / builder | unknown |
| Architectural style | Queen Anne |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still used as a single dwelling; a small outbuilding on the site is noncontributing. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 31.06760, -97.45175 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 90001881.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikidata Q110001547
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.