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History
in a Pecan Shell
David and Matilda Green, the reputed earliest settlers, moved onto land in
the 1840s. In 1847 Green submitted the name Greenville on his application
for a post office. It was rejected. The name was changed to Moscow in 1853,
although no explanation is listed in the Handbook of Texas. (The 1858
Polk County map. Note spelling of Moscow..)
Moscow soon became a
center for farm trade. It incorporated in 1856 and was well on its way of becoming
a major city. The Moscow Masonic Male and Female Academy opened its doors in 1857and
besides the essential businesses of a developing town, Moscow also had several
cotton gins and sawmills.
The railroad reached Moscow in 1880 (The Houston,
East and West Texas Railway) and in 1899 a second line ( the Moscow, Camden and
San Augustine) was constructed from Moscow to Camden,
Texas. Moscow even had a streetcar linking the town to the depot.
Magnolia trees were once havested throughout the Southern U.S. for their soft
wood and straight trunks. Moscow added a column factory and a cannery to its already
diversified businesses.
A newspaper The East Texas Pinery was
published weekly, beginning in 1885.
With its population estimated to
be 228 in 1880, Moscow was Polk County's largest town. As the pine forests disappeared,
Moscow suffered along with hundreds of other East
Texas towns. The construction of highway 59 probably prevented Moscow from
joining the long list of East
Texas ghost towns, nevertheless, it's still a shadow of its former self. |
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Polk
County TX 1858 Map showing "Moskow" NE of Livingston
(Above
"K" in "POLK")
Courtesy Texas General Land Office |
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