Moscow, Texas
Unincorporated community in Polk County · Not an incorporated municipality
About Moscow
Moscow is an unincorporated community in Polk County, Texas, United States. As of the 2000 United States census, the community had about 170 residents.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How Moscow is governed
Moscow appears to be an unincorporated community or a census-designated place, so it may have no city government of its own — services usually come from Polk County and its elected officials. The chart below is a generic template; readers can correct it if Moscow does have local officials.
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0 of 14 positions listed. Gray dashed boxes are placeholders waiting for a name.
Residents of Moscow
Registered voters elect the officials below.
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Mayor
Executive
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The city's chief elected official. Presides over the executive branch, proposes the budget and represents the city.
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City Manager / Administrator
Executive
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The professional administrator who runs day-to-day operations (in some cities appointed by the council instead of the mayor).
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Police Chief
Administration & departments
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Leads the police department.
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Fire Chief
Administration & departments
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Leads the fire and emergency services department.
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Public Works Director
Administration & departments
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Streets, water, sewer, and city buildings.
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Finance Director
Administration & departments
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The budget, taxes, and city accounts.
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Planning & Zoning Director
Administration & departments
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Land use, zoning, building permits.
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Parks & Recreation Director
Administration & departments
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Parks, programs, and public facilities.
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City Council
Legislative
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The elected body that passes ordinances, sets the tax rate and approves the budget.
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City Clerk
Administration & departments
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Keeps the official records, runs meeting agendas and, often, local elections.
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City Attorney
Administration & departments
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The city's lawyer; advises officials and prosecutes ordinance violations.
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Boards & Commissions
Legislative
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Citizen advisory bodies, such as planning, zoning appeals and library boards.
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Municipal Court
Judicial
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Hears traffic, ordinance and other minor cases.
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Municipal Judge
Judicial
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Presides over the municipal court.
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History
David and Matilda Green first settled the area in the 1840s. The first post office was established in 1847 under Green's name. The community's name was changed to Moscow, after Moscow, Russia, in 1853, as the postal authorities deemed the proposed name of Greenville as being too similar to Greensboro, Texas. The First Baptist Church was established in 1849. Moscow became a trading center for Polk County farmers during the latter 1850s and a stage stop on the Liberty-Nacogdoches Road, with cotton gins, shops, saloons, and a hotel.
The town was noted for its school, the Moscow Masonic Academy (or Moscow Masonic High School, depending on source). Built in 1853 as the Moscow Masonic Male and Female Academy, the institution served the community under its latter name from 1857. Future Texas Governor William P. Hobby attended the school. The school burned down around 1935.
The Houston, East and West Texas Railway reached the town in 1880 followed by the seven-mile-long Moscow, Camden and San Augustine Railroad in 1899, one of the shortest railroads in Texas. A mule-drawn streetcar line linked the train station with the business district.
Sawmills in Moscow supported the burgeoning logging industry. A cannery for vegetables and fruit and a column factory (making architectural columns) were early industries in the town that helped diversify Moscow's economy.
In 1880, with an estimated 228 residents, Moscow was the largest town in Polk County. By 1900, its population had reached 263. By the 1920s, the lumber supply in East Texas began to dwindle due to overharvesting. During the Great Depression, many farmers went bankrupt and lumber companies left the area due to the economic conditions. With the decline of logging and agriculture, Moscow's population began to decline, also, and per the 2000 census, the population was 170.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.