MOULTON, TEXAS

Lavaca County, Central Texas South

42°34'26"N 97°8'47"W (29.573903, -97.146254)
Highway 95 and FM 532
12 Miles N of Shiner
16 Miles NW of Hallettsville the county seat
21 Miles E of Gonzales
Population: 907 Est. (2016)
886 (2010) 944 (2000) 923 (1990)

Book Hotel Here › Hallettsville Hotels

A. Baur Building in downtown Moulton
TE photo, 2003

History in a Pecan Shell

The town was originally two miles NW of its present location. It was founded in the mid-1850s and was either named for settler E. L. Moulton or another town by that name in Alabama or Kentucky.

A post office was open as early as 1855 and the community had a log cabin school (private). In 1874 the Moulton Male and Female Institute was opened. By 1875 the community had stores, a blacksmith and an Odd Fellows hall. The San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway built through the area in 1887 and the town moved for the advantages a rail connection offered. The railroad named their station Topeka for some reason, but in time Moulton won out.

The former town became known as Old Moulton and retained an Anglo population while "New" Moulton became primarily Czech and German. By the late 1890s Old Moulton was nearly forgotten and the new location was, for all intents and purposes, Moulton, Texas.

By 1896 Moulton had a population over 500 and it's own school, Catholic church, and hotel in addition to gins and gristmills. By 1900 the population was over 700, declining a little to reach 643 in 1940. Moulton's population remained there for years, but growth returned in the late 1960s. By 1970 there were nearly 1,000 residents and the population has remained between 900-1,000.

See Moulton Stories & People ›

Moulton Masonic Lodge and marker
TE photos, 2003

More Texas Lodges

Zion Lutheran Church in Moulton
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, August 2005
More Texas Churches

Moulton school building
TE photos, 2002
More Pitted Dates

Moulton - Moore Ave. Bridge
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, August 2005

Moore Ave. Bridge
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, August 2005

Moore Ave. Bridge
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, August 2005
More Texas Bridges

Moulton City Limit
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, August 2005

Moulton Welcome sign
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, August 2005
Moe Texas Signs

People:

Thomas Lenz by Murray Montgomery
"All three of the high-school pals saw action in Vietnam – two survived and one, Tommy Lenz, would die a month after his 21st birthday and just a week before he was due to come home. He had volunteered to go on a mission to replace a man who was ill..."

Richard Gaertner's Story by Murray Montgomery

Moulton Chronicles:

The great flood of 1940 hits Moulton by Murray Montgomery

Growing Up in Moulton, Texas by Olga Lueke Wagner Smothers

Moulton, TX - Fritz and Emma Lueke 's home

Growing Up in Moulton, Texas ›
By Olga Lueke Wagner Smothers

Photo courtesy John J. Germann, May 2016

Baursville Cemetery ›

Take a road trip

Moulton, Texas Nearby Towns:
Hallettsville the county seat
Old Moulton
Shiner
Gonzales
See Lavaca County

Book Hotel Here:
Hallettsville Hotels | More Hotels

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