The NRHP application informs us that Belvin Street is a tree-shaded avenue of distinctly Victorian character. The 15 contributing houses were built between 1878 and 1910, and reflect the many variations in architectural taste within that period, including Carpenter Gothic, Second Empire, Eastlake, and Colonial Revival styles.
San Marcos was laid out in 1851 as small lots beginning at the San Marcos River. Larger farm lots were included in the town plat for farming and stock grazing. The first subdivisions developed in 1868 from farm lot 15 north of San Antonio Road. The Belvin Addition contained 11 acres divided into 12 residential lots.
Belvin Street has always been central to San Marcos' tradition of education. As early as 1860 it was the location of a privately run school, and became the address of farmers and stockmen as they moved from their land into town to be near Coronal Institute.
INVENTORY OF HOUSES, BELVIN STREET HISTORIC DISTRICT:
1. 716 Belvin Street - O.T. Brown House. Built 1878. Contributing. Victorian. (Waymark WMKGYB)
2. 730 Belvin Street - Robert H. Belvin House. Built 1859, 1875, 1890. Contributing. Victorian. (Waymark WMKHVZ)
3. 734 Belvin Street - Built 1923. Contributing. 20th-century vernacular. Unfortunately, it has been reported that "734 Belvin Street, a house which burned down in December of 1994." (reference)
4. 802 Belvin Street - George Henry Talmadge House. Built 1889. Contributing. Victorian. (Waymark WMKHW2)
5. 816 Belvin Street - Built 1951. Noncontributing. Modern, brick "ranch-style" house.
6. 832 Belvin Street - John Francis McGehee House. Built 1889. Contributing. Eastlake style Victorian. (Waymark WMKD3N)
7. 904 Belvin Street - Eugene L. Thomas House. Built 1890. Contributing. Victorian. (Waymark WMKHW5)
8. 920 Belvin Street - Built 1940. Noncontributing. Modern house with board-and-batten siding. Earlier home on site destroyed by fire.
9. 922 Belvin Street - John Springer Davis House. Built 1886. Contributing. Victorian. (Waymark WMKHWD)
10. 715 Belvin Street - Eliza Pitts Malone House. Built 1908. Contributing. Vernacular house under steeply pitched hipped roof. (Waymark WMKHWF)
11. 719 Belvin Street - Rylander House. Built 1912. Contributing. Early 20th-century, vernacular. (Waymark WMKHWJ)
12. 727 Belvin Street - George Thomas McGehee House. Built 1895. Contributing. Victorian. (Waymark WMKHWQ)
13. 733 Belvin Street - Built 1955. Noncontributing. Frame ell-plan house.
14. 801 Belvin Street - Dr. Adams Jones Beall House. Built 1904. Noncontributing. Two-story, frame house altered in the 1940s into Neo-Georgian style. Harmonious with neighborhood.
15. 809 Belvin Street - Alexander Gates Thomas House. Built 1920. Noncontributing. Reddish, stone cottage.
16. 819 Belvin Street - John A. Montgomery House. Built 1909. Contributing. Colonial Revival. (Waymark WMKD15)
17. 833 Belvin Street - Joseph W. Earnest House. Built 1892. Contributing. Victorian. (Waymark WMKD39R)
18. 903 Belvin Street - Sam R. Kone, Jr., House. Built 1886. Contributing. Victorian. (Waymark WMKC6E)
19. 919 Belvin Street - Built 1912. Contributing. Vernacular. (Waymark WMKHWT)
20. 921 Belvin Street - Rufus King House. Built 1900, rebuilt 1960. Noncontributing.
21. 227 Mitchell - J.W. Wood House. Built 1908. Contributing. Colonial Revival. (Waymark WMKEB5)