Elliott, Joel, House

This one-story frame house at 716 North College Street in Belton, Texas, was built around 1881 for Joel Elliott, a partner in the Ray & Elliott dry goods store downtown. It has a modified L-plan, a hip and gable roof, a projecting front gabled wing and a curved wraparound porch. The design is a simple vernacular version of the Queen Anne style with notable Eastlake details, including turned columns, fretwork, fan brackets, and sunburst and basketweave ornament in the front gable. Windows are elongated two-over-two sash with pedimented hood molds. The house was listed for its architecture. It is described as a remarkably intact early example of how Queen Anne and Eastlake styles were adapted to ordinary house types as milled trim became available. It also reflects Belton's growth when the railroad arrived and the cotton boom began, and it would have contrasted with the Greek Revival houses then common in town. It remains a single dwelling in good condition, with a later garage on the lot.