HISTORIC HOMES IN THE UNITED
STATES HOMES IN AMERICA OWNED
BY BAGGETT FAMILIES
The two historic homes in Belton,
Texas were built in the nineteenth century by Silas Baggett and his son
Eli Baggett. They were built in the 1880's and 1890's in Belton. Silas
built his house in 1886 and Ele built his in 1893. Silas had built a house
in Howard, Texas, a town he is credited with establishing in 1853. He settled
at first near Pepper's Creek, a few miles from Belton and built a house
there in 1875, but it was destroyed by fire in 1886. That same year he
built his historic house there on North Main Street in Belton and moved
his residence there. The new owners, The Balls, of the Historical Silas
Baggett House have opened the house as The Morning Glory Inn situated in
downtown Belton, Texas. The two houses are both historic, but only the
Ele Baggett house has the Historical Marker, placed there by the Bell County
Historical Commission.
One thing that makes the houses
so popular is that they are mirror images of each other. After Silas built
his house in 1886, Eli sold his property in Howard and bought land across
the street from his father and built a mirror image of his father's house.
Ele Baggett had lived in Howard and became Postmaster there. He was a long
time member of the Texas Cattle Raisers' Association. George Saunders
organized a group called Old Trail Drivers' Association. This Chisholm
Trail was used by several groups of men who regularly traveled the trail
transporting cattle from Texas to Kansas. The photos of the Silas Baggett
and Ele Baggett houses and other items were taken by LaRue Diddle and Sandy
Smith. We appreciate their permission to post them on this site.
There are many beautiful homes
in the United States owned at various times by one of the Baggett families.
The homes of Silas and Ele Baggett are the only oldest historical homes
we have been able to find, but I'm sure there are many more that deserve
the attention we have given them.
Other than very old and elegant
homes, there are many more that are beautiful in a different manner, and
we feel they should be presented for others to see. If you have an ancestor
who owned a home that you feel should be presented on this site, please
send a photo and description with permission and we will post it here.
We also will post old buildings of every kind and other things of interest
in this section.
