Pioneer Farms
James Bell House - 1859
Built about 1859, on the rolling prairie east of Round Rock, this Green Revival style plantation house was the home of James Hall Bell, an associate justice of the Texas Supreme Court. It served as the centerpiece of Bell's 600 acres of agricultural interests in Travis and Williamson counties for more than 35 years.
A Harvard-educated attorney who trained in Kentucky, Bell (1825-1892) had moved to the area in 1859, from Brazoria County on the Texas coast. He supported Governor Sam Houston in opposing Texas' secession and joining the Confederacy, but unlike Houston continued to serve as an elective official throughout the Civil War. Bell assisted in the founding of the Texas Republican Party and the Texas State Historical Association.
Bell and his wife, Catherine, reared five children - two sons and three daughters - in this house that originally was located along Brushy Creek. Constructed of milled lumber, its design - deep front porch, central hallway, and large rooms - reflects the conservative popular taste of the day. After years of neglect, the house was moved to Pioneer Farms and restored in the 1990s. Its exterior has been restored to the colors that it was painted in the early 1880s.
Sources: Handbook of Texas, Pioneer Farms Archives.