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  • MOSCOW, TEXAS

    Polk County, East Texas
    Highway 59 and FM 350
    NE of Livingston

    90 miles N of Houston
    30 miles S of Lufkin
    50 miles S of Nacogdoches

    Population: Est. 170 (2000)

    Book Area Hotel Here > Livingston Hotels
    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.
    Polk County TX 1858 Map
    Polk County TX 1858 Map showing "Moskow" NE of Livingston
    (Above "K" in "POLK")
    Courtesy Texas General Land Office
    Texas Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories, or vintage/historic photos, please contact us.

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    Livingston
    Houston
    Lufkin
    Nacogdoches

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