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MOSCOW, TEXASPolk County,
East Texas
Highway 59 and FM 350
90 miles N of Houston
30 miles S of Lufkin
50 miles S of Nacogdoches
Population:
Est. 170 (2000)
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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.
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 coton 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, begining
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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