Site of Moore Hotel

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the site of the Moore Hotel in Lavaca County. Now settle in, because this one starts long before there was a hotel, or a railroad, or even a town. It starts with a family and a whole lot of land.

William J. and Mary O'Daniel Moore packed up their family in Alabama and moved to Texas in 1845. They kept moving until 1853, when they finally put down roots in Lavaca County, five hundred acres of it. William farmed.

He raised livestock. And he raised a son named Samuel B. Moore, who turned out to have the same instincts, farming and ranching running right through him.

Samuel and his brother William, the next generation now, looked out at the land between what would become the towns of Moulton and Shiner, and in the 1860s they bought twelve thousand acres of it. Twelve thousand. That is a considerable amount of Texas, even by Texas standards.

Now here's where the story picks up speed. In 1887, the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railroad needed a path through that country, and the Moore brothers granted the right-of-way out of their own land. A townsite was platted.

The new town of Moulton was established. And the very next year, in 1888, the Moore Hotel went up right there east of the railroad depot, thirty-two rooms, built to accommodate travelers rolling in and out on that new line. But they didn't stop at plain lodging.

There was a large room set aside specifically for traveling salesmen to display their wares. The dining room and the parlor became the social center of the whole area, the place people gathered. Then in 1890, the hotel was sold to a man named Christian Kotzbue, and he wasn't content to leave well enough alone.

He added ten more guest rooms and a wine cellar. The Kotzbue family ran that hotel for several decades. But gradually, as these things go, the business faded.

The Moore Hotel was razed in 1940. A grocery store went up in its place, and by 1942 even that had been converted into a cafe. From twelve thousand acres of open land, to a railroad, to a thirty-two-room hotel with a wine cellar and a room full of salesmen's goods, and finally, a cafe.

That's the whole arc of a place, right there on one piece of ground in Lavaca County.

What the marker says

William J. and Mary O'Daniel Moore moved to Texas from Alabama with their family in 1845, and settled in Lavaca County in 1853 on 500 acres. Moore was a farmer and raised livestock. Their son Samuel B. Moore also became a farmer and rancher. In the 1860s, Samuel and his brother William Moore bought 12,000 acres of land now lying between the towns of Moulton and Shiner. The Moore brothers granted right-of-way out of their land to the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railroad in 1887. A townsite was platted, and the new town of Moulton was established. The Moore Hotel was built in 1888 to accommodate travelers. Constructed here east of the railroad depot, the 32-room hotel included a large room built for traveling salesmen to display their wares. The dining room and parlor in the hotel became a gathering place and the social center of the area. The Moore Hotel was sold to Christian Kotzbue in 1890. He added 10 more guest rooms and a wine cellar. The hotel was operated by the Kotzbue family for several decades, but gradually went out of business and was razed in 1940. A grocery store built in its place was converted into a cafe in 1942.