County of district: Callaway County
Location of district: Court Street, between 10th St. & St. Louis Ave., Fulton
Admitted in 2007
"The Court Street Residential Historic District is roughly along Court St. between St. Louis Ave.
and 1 Oth St in Fulton, Callaway County, Missouri. Buildings in the district date from c. 1844 to
1942 and reflect the popular styles of the late 1 gth and early 20th Century. Late Victorian
architecture, notably the Queen Anne style, had a particular influence on the district and
approximately 20 buildings display characteristics of this style. The district also has
representative examples of Second Empire, Colonial Revival styled houses and American
Movement property types such as bungalows and American Foursquares. In all, there are 84
contributing buildings in the district, 66 of which are primary buildings and ,the rest are garages
or other outbuildings. There are 37 non-contributing buildings, 25 of which are garages or
outbuildings, and 3 non-contributing structures. One residence, the Brandon-Bell-Collier House
is individually listed on the National Register. Most of the historic resources face Court, 9Ih and
1 Oth streets and have relatively shallow front yards. Foundation plantings are typical and lots are
generally dotted by mature trees. Though many of the homes have undergone some
modification and restoration, the overall integrity is high. Prominent citizens have owned many
of the homes and it continues to be one of the most notable residential areas in the community.
"Individual Property Descriptions
Properties within the Court Street Historic Residential District are designated as (C) for
contributing or (NC) for non-contributing. Historic/original property owners, date of construction, architect and other information is placed in a tag line for each description followed by a narrative
description. Some of the descriptions also include historic information about the property or
original owners. Descriptions are arranged numerically by street address.
"Unless otherwise noted, the historic information provided on individual homes, buildings and
residents was taken from the Architectural and Historical Inventory Forms completed during the
survey of Fulton conducted by Phyllis Strawn in 197811 979.
Summary:
The Court Street Residential Historic District, roughly along Court St. between St. Louis Ave.
and 1 Oth St, in Fulton, Callaway County, is locally significant under Criterion A and C in the areas
of Social History and Architecture. Though slow to grow after its designation as county seat in
1825, Fulton by the mid-to-late 1800s burgeoned into a regional center of government, trade,
and higher education. Commercial and educational opportunities as well as two state-funded
institutions--the School for the Deaf and State Hospital #l --drew professionals, investors and
entrepreneurs to the community. Centrally located Court Street attracted these professionals
because it is removed from, yet easily accessible to the institutions that drew them to Fulton.
Because of this, the story of the Court Street Residential District is closely linked to the
development of the city's businesses and institutions. Though established in the mid-1 800s,
Fulton's institutions grew and expanded in the late 1 9Ih and early 201h centuries and the
nominated district reflects this growth. The majority of its 84 contributing buildings were
constructed between 1844 and 1940 and reflect the architectural styles and movements popular
during that period. The district contains representative examples of Gothic Revival, Second
Empire, and many Queen Anne style homes. Twentieth century architectural movements are
also well represented by American Foursquare, bungalows and Tudor and Colonial Revival style
buildings. M. Fred Bell, Fulton resident and highly regarded Missouri architect, designed many
of .the district's historic homes. Though the community has a wealth of architecturally significant
residences, the Court Street Residential Historic District contains the city's largest and most
intact grouping of late 1 9Ih and early-20th century, high-style residential architecture. The period
of significance for the district is 1844 to c. 1945, the date of the earliest extant building in through
the period of most extensive construction and development in the district." ~ NRHP Nomination Form