Moscow

By 1880 Moscow, with about 228 people, was the largest town in Polk County, and since the later 1850s it had been a trading center for county farmers, with cotton gins, sawmills and shops. David and Matilda Green were the earliest recorded settlers, in the 1840s. Postal authorities rejected the name Greenville before the town became Moscow in 1853. A cannery and a column factory joined the economy, and a streetcar line linked the depot to the business district. The population stood at 263 in 1900 and 170 in 2000, as lumbering and farming declined.

What the plaque says

Moscow Settled by David Green, during era of the Republic of Texas. First post office established under name of Green's in 1847. Changed to Moscow in 1853. Incorporated in 1856. Was stage stop on the Nacogdoches- Liberty Road. Site of several famous schools. Has had free school system since 1851. A cannery for vegetables and fruit and Bible column factory (making architectural pillars) were early industries. In 1881 became important railroad town. Its seven-mile Moscow, Camden & San Augustine is one of the shortest railroads in Texas. (1967)

Where it stands

More markers nearby

• Texas Statesman William Pettus Hobby — steps away
• William Barnett Hardin — 3.9 mi
• Near Boyhood Home of John Wesley Hardin — 3.9 mi
• Moscow, Camden & San Augustine Railroad — 5.2 mi