History
Moulton, located at the intersection of Texas State Highway 95 and Farm to Market 532, was founded in the mid 1850’s two miles northwest of its present location. The origins of the town name are unclear with some sources claiming that the township was named after another “Moulton” which was located in Kentucky or Alabama. Another possibility is that it was named for E.L. Moulton, a pioneer settler, yet others assert that it was named by a traveler that was reminded of home by the oak trees prevalent in the Moulton area.
The town’s first official post office opened in 1855. Also, a private school was established in the 1850’s with classes being held in an old Church. M. H. Allis opened the Moulton Male and Female Institute which had an excellent reputation within the county and assisted in community growth until 1892. In addition to these organizations, the community also consisted of several stores, a church, a wagon shop and an Old Fellows hall in 1875.
In 1887, the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway built railroad tracks Southeast of Moulton. A railway station was built at this locale and named “Topeka.” This development led to the migration of townspeople toward the rail station, thus leaving the original town site of Moulton relatively abandoned. The new community along the railroad tracks adopted the name of “Moulton,” and remained its permanent location.
In the 1890’s, significant numbers of Czech and German immigrants settled into the community. By 1896, the town had an estimated 550 inhabitants, a Catholic Church, a hotel, cotton gins, and gristmills. In the 1900 census, the population conveyed 733 townsfolk. At this time, Moulton had a Catholic and Lutheran congregation, a bank, an opera house, telephone service, and a newspaper called the “Eagle,” which is still in circulation to this day. The town became incorporated in the 1940’s with a population of 643 and the number of community businesses rising to 60. Moulton remained this size until the 1960’s when it started to grow, reaching 968 residents in 1970 and 1009 in 1980. The trend seemed to decline somewhat in the 1990’s with the population figure of 923 from the 1990 census, and 20 businesses.
Today, Moulton is prospering as much as ever. Area businesses provide a basis to make a living and live comfortably. The school is providing our youth with an unsurpassed education and the attitude of the whole community expresses that there is no other place in the world quite like Moulton.