Muldoon Community

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Muldoon Community in Fayette County. Now settle in, because this one's got a priest, a land deal, a railroad, and a courthouse that just refuses to quit. The Muldoon area sits in southwest Fayette County, and it got its start in the 1830s, when the first settlers came through.

The community carries the name of Father Miguel Muldoon, a man of Irish heritage who was educated in Spain and made his way to Mexico in 1821 when he entered the priesthood. Now here's where the story gets interesting. In Mexico, Father Muldoon crossed paths with Stephen F.

Austin. Austin, apparently a man who understood the value of a good minister to a growing colony, gave Muldoon eleven leagues of land in return for his ministry to the colonists. The land itself came through a Spanish land grant acquired in 1831.

Four of those eleven leagues fell right here in Fayette County. Four leagues. That's a lot of Texas to carry around in a man's name.

Then came 1887, and with it the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railroad, laid right through the area. The town grew quickly around it, the way towns do when iron rails show up and start promising connection to everywhere else. By January of 1888, James Kerr had established the first post office.

And within a decade, Muldoon was not just surviving, it was boasting. A physician. General merchandise stores.

Churches. A barber shop, a saloon, a meat market, a blacksmith shop, a hotel, a woodworking shop, a lumberyard, a cotton gin, a railroad depot, and a school. That is a town that means business.

Then there's the Muldoon courthouse building, and this one deserves its own moment. Constructed in 1890, it is one of only six justice precinct courthouses built in Fayette County. Six.

And this one is still standing. Over the years that building has been a mattress factory, a canning kitchen, a site for quilting bees, a voting location, a community meeting place, and a museum. It has worn more hats than most buildings twice its size.

And Muldoon had one more thing worth knowing about. That blue sandstone. Muldoon blue sandstone, taken from the A.

B. Kerr quarry, found its way into the construction of courthouses, a jail, churches, and later into the coastal jetties at Galveston and beyond. Stone from this quiet southwest Fayette County community, holding back the Gulf of Mexico.

The marker tells it straight at the end: Muldoon was once a thriving community, but declined as the railroad industry became less relevant. The railroad that built it up eventually faded, and the town faded with it. But that courthouse is still standing.

And that blue sandstone is still holding the coast.

What the marker says

Located in southwest Fayette County, the Muldoon area was first settled in the 1830s. The community was named in honor of Father Miguel Muldoon and is situated on land acquired in 1831 through a Spanish land grant from Stephen F. Austin. Father Muldoon was of Irish heritage, educated in Spain and moved to Mexico in 1821 when he entered the priesthood. In Mexico, he met Stephen F. Austin, who gave eleven leagues of land to Muldoon in return for his ministry to the colonists. Four of these leagues were located in Fayette County. The San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railroad was built through the area in 1887 and the town grew quickly around it. James Kerr established the first post office in January 1888. Within a decade, Muldoon boasted its own physician, general merchandise stores, churches, a barber shop, saloon, meat market, blacksmith shop, hotel, woodworking shop, lumberyard, cotton gin, railroad depot and a school. The Muldoon courthouse building is a rarity. Constructed in 1890, it is one of six justice precinct courthouses that were built in Fayette County. Over the years, it has been used as a mattress factory, canning kitchen, site for quilting bees, voting location, community meeting place and a museum. Muldoon is also known for its Muldoon blue sandstone. Taken from the A. B. Kerr quarry, the sandstone was used in the construction of several sites in Texas, including courthouses, a jail, churches and later in the construction of Galveston and other coastal jetties. Muldoon was once a thriving community, but declined as the railroad industry became less relevant. (2014)