Downtown Fulton Historic District - Fulton, MO - Wikipedia Entries on Waymarking.com

County of district: Callaway County
Location of district: Roughly bounded by 4th St., Market, 7th St. and Jefferson Ave., Fukton
Registered: 2004

"Summary
The Downtown Fulton Historic District is located in the community of Fulton, Callaway County, Missouri. Consisting of 69 buildings and 1 structure, the district is roughly bordered by 4th Street on the south, 7th on the north, Market Street (Business Highway 54) on the east and Jefferson Avenue on the west. Fulton is the county seat and the district includes the Callaway County courthouse as well as the largest intact portion of Fulton's historic commercial center. The district also includes several buildings designed and built by M. Fred Bell, a prominent local architect and builder. The buildings are one to three story brick commercial blocks with flat roofs constructed between 1880 and 1938. Most are a half city block in depth and share walls with neighboring buildings. The buildings were historically mixed use and contained commercial, office, residential and meeting spaces. The majority of the resources are vernacular commercial designs with some high style Victorian and Italianate detail. Though storefront and other facade updates have occurred throughout the district, the overall level of integrity is high. Of the 69 buildings, 57 are counted as contributing and 12 as non-contributing. The historic brick street paving that has been retained along Court, Nichols, 5th and 6th streets is also counted as a contributing structure to the district.

"Elaboration
Fulton, the seat of Callaway County government, was founded in 1825 but not incorporated until March 14, 1859. Beginning in the mid-1820s entrepreneurs established businesses and the community grew. Fulton soon became a center of governmental and commercial activity as well as a regional trade center. Early in the development of downtown frame buildings with gable roofs appeared around the courthouse. On April 14, 1876 fire destroyed the block of Court Street buildings between 4th and 5th streets. Only the John Bartley Building, of brick construction, survived the flames. The destroyed block was rebuilt using more fire resistant materials. Most of the new buildings were flat roofed brick commercial blocks with stone foundations and cast iron storefronts. These brick two-part commercial blocks became the standard design for downtown Fulton and are typically what is seen today in the historic commercial center. Many of the buildings have had updates, notably to the storefront, but remain remarkably intact on the upper story façades. The historic character of the buildings is further enhanced by the retention of some of the historic brick streets in the district. Brick streets were laid between 1910 and 1912, replacing the muddy clay streets and wooded sidewalks that originally carried the customers to businesses in the district. The brick paving is still extant on Court, Nichols and on 4th, 5th and 6th streets within the district boundaries. The combination of the brick streets and buildings constructed between 1870 and 1938 insure that the historic commercial center of Fulton retains its historic feeling and sense of place. Commercial activity has been a constant in the historic district. Though blacksmith shops have been replaced by computer software offices, the district has remained the commercial hub of the community." ~ NRHP Nomination Form