Moody, Texas

Everything Moody is known for

1 song mention this city 1 artist from here

Music in Moody

Songs About Moody

Those Feat’ll Steer Ya Wrong Sometimes
Little Feat
5%
"Moody, Beaumont, Edinburgh, Lubbock"

Artists From Moody

D
Dustin Brown
country Pop: 10

Rivers & Roads in Song near Moody

Songs written about the waterways and highways that run near Moody.

Interstate 35 27 songs Brazos River 16 songs

History of Moody

Bruceville-Eddy, TX RoadyGoat

Bruceville-Eddy might seem like just another blur of highway signs along I-35, easily missed between Waco and Temple. But it’s got a story, like every place does, and a few interesting characters have called it home.

6.5 mi away

Bruceville-Eddy, TX RoadyGoat

Bruceville-Eddy isn't a place you stumble upon by accident. It's tucked right along I-35, but you have to *want* to be here. Drive too fast, and you'll miss it entirely. The Brazos River, though now mostly tamed, shaped everything around here. Those devastating floods in the early 1900s, they cut deep, both into the land and into the memories of the folks who stayed. That bluff overlooking the river? Beautiful, now, but it tells a story of resilience. Agriculture is the lifeblood, same as it ever was, and you'll still see plenty of folks working cattle. What keeps Bruceville-Eddy… Bruceville-Eddy? It's that small-town feeling, that peace. People come here to get away from the city, to find a bit of breathing room. But ask any local, and they'll tell you the real reason people stay is the community. Friday night football against Marlin? That's bigger than any plane crash or highway. That's tradition, that's family, that's Bruceville-Eddy.

6.5 mi away

Bruceville-Eddy, TX RoadyGoat

Bruceville-Eddy, that name itself tells a story of two communities becoming one. You see, back in 1953, Bruceville and Eddy decided to join forces, and the new name was a simple combination of the two. But both towns had their own histories before that. Bruceville likely got its name from an early settler, a man named Bruce, who was important enough to have the place named after him. Eddy, on the other hand, might refer to the swirling currents along the nearby Brazos River, especially where that bluff overlooks the water. I’ve always pictured the name “Eddy” as a little nod to the river’s power, something folks around here know well, especially after those devastating floods in the early 1900s. The merger makes sense when you consider the way things are here. It’s a small place, and I-35 runs right through it, connecting us to everything, but also kind of bisecting the town. Even though it’s one name, Bruceville-Eddy, you still get that feeling of two distinct sides of the interstate. But whether you’re closer to Bruceville or Eddy, you're part of the same community. Bruceville-Eddy might be a small name on the map, but it carries a lot of history and heart.

6.5 mi away

Stampede Creek

1839

Stampede Creek takes its name from a horse stampede that occurred near this site in 1839. On May 26 of that year, Capt. John Bird and a Ranger force of 34 men encountered more than 200 Caddo, Kickapoo and Comanche Indians at what became known as the Battle of Bird's Creek. The Rangers returned to Bird's Creek a week later to bury their dead and then headed west in pursuit of the Indians. The horse stampede took place on the evening of June 4 while the Ranger force camped along the nearby creek, later named for the incident. On July 4, 1876, the stream was the site of another stampede, this time of cattle being driven north from South Texas. (2002)

Historical Marker → · 3.8 mi away

Moody

1881

The town of Moody can trace its history ot the pre-civil war settlement of Perry (2 mi. N). In 1881, the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railroad bypassed Perry, and a new town was platted on the land of early settler William Naler. Col. W.L. Moody of Galveston who supervised the laying of track in the area, named the town in honor of his family. Incorporated in 1901, the Moody community has thrived over the years and is the home of various fraternal, educational, commercial, religious, and medical institutions and organizations.

Historical Marker →

The Howard House

1900

A resident of Moody when the town was founded in 1881, Charles Howard (1862-1915) operated a general store and became a prosperous businessman. He built this elegant residence for his family in 1900. A St. Louis architectural firm drew the house plans and local contractor Elmo Routh supervised the construction. The Queen Anne detailing includes a turret and decorative fish scale shingling. The Howard family owned the property until 1973. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1978

Historical Marker →

Acree, Robert Fred

1892

Fred Acree, businessman and collector of rare books and Texas memorabilia, was born to George Wren and Elizabeth Virginia (Grimes) Acree on March 26, 1878, at Cross Roads, Navarro County, Texas. He attended McGregor High School, Toby's Business College, and the University of Texas. He worked in a dry-goods store at Moody, then later formed a partnership, under the name Johnson and Acree, with another mercantile owner there. He also at one time owned a grocery store in Chilton with Clay Gilmore. Acree was mayor of Moody for several terms and also served as president of the local school board. He married Anna Byrd McLeod on September 19, 1906; they had three children. Acree moved his family to Waco on January 1, 1927, and established a real estate business there. In 1892, at age fourteen, he had begun his book collecting when he purchased a pine bookcase filled with rare books. He preferred Texas, religious, and poetry books, and by the early 1940s his collection comprised some 5,000 volumes. He was also noted for about fifty drawings that he had done from photographs of famous people. Acree was a Baptist, a Mason, an Elk, and a member of the Democratic party , which he served for many years as the Moody precinct chairman. He was also a supporter of prohibition . Acree had memberships in various historical and literary organizations, including the McLennan County Historical Society, the Texas Poetical Society, and the Sons of the Republic of Texas . He died on August 29, 1945, and was buried at McGregor. After his death, much of his book collection was given to Baylor University, while many of his papers went to the University of Texas at Austin.

Tsha Handbook →

Moody, TX

1881

Moody is an incorporated community at the intersection of State Highway 317 and Farm Road 107, ten miles from McGregor in McLennan County. It was established in 1881, when the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway built the section of track between Temple and Fort Worth; the community was named in honor of William Lewis Moody , a director of the railroad company. The Moody community grew rapidly, drawing many of its early residents and business interests from nearby Perry, which had been bypassed by the railroad. The Moody post office was established in November 1881 with J. H. Morrison as postmaster. The first newspaper in the community, the weekly Monitor , began publication in 1883. By 1884 Moody had four churches, four cotton gins, two steam gristmills, a school, and 250 residents. It became the focus of an independent school district in 1889. By the early 1890s its population had increased to 800, and it had a variety of businesses, including a private bank (established in 1893). Residents of Moody voted to incorporate in 1901, choosing a mayor-council form of city government . The community population was reported at 848 in 1900 and at 943 in 1910; estimates were as high as 1,800 by the late 1920s. The number of residents began to decline during the Great Depression and had fallen to 931 by the 1940s. In the 1950s the population began slowly to increase. Topographic maps of the area dating from the 1970s showed a community with a substantial business district, seven churches, two schools, and several residential areas. Moody had a population of 1,385 in the 1980s and 1,329 in 1990. By 2000 the population was 1,400.

Tsha Handbook →

Gaines, James Taylor

1836

James Taylor Gaines, a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence , was born on November 14, 1776, in Culpeper County, Virginia, the son of Thomas and Susanah (Strother) Gaines and a descendant of the distinguished Pendleton family. He was a double first cousin to United States Army general Edmund Pendleton Gaines , with whom he worked in 1803–04 by order of President Thomas Jefferson to survey lands along the Natchez Trace. He was christened Robert Thomas but changed his name to James around 1810. Gaines operated a Sabine River ferry by 1812. He raised and commanded troops in the Gutiérrez-Magee expedition , an effort to wrest Texas from Spain. Tall, red-haired, and red-faced, he was "Captain Colorado" to the Alabama and Coushatta Indians he commanded. After defeat in San Antonio, Gaines went to Virginia and fought against the British in the War of 1812. In 1819 he bought the long-established ferry on El Camino Real, and with his sons and employees operated the facility over twenty years, bringing (it was said) four-fifths of the colonists across from the United States to Texas. He served as alcalde for the Sabine District of the Municipality of Nacogdoches in 1824, sheriff in Nacogdoches in 1828, and postmaster for years. Beside the ferry, he operated an inn and mercantile store and forwarded mail across the boundary into the United States. He later founded the town of Pendleton on this site. In 1826–27 Gaines was a decisive leader in the forces opposing Haden Edwards in the Fredonian Rebellion , and by his stand on behalf of the old settlers made enemies who injured his reputation in later years. However, he retained the respect and loyalty of the electorate and represented the Sabine region in Washington-on-the-Brazos in March at the Convention of 1836 . Here he served on the drafting committee for the Declaration of Independence, signed the declaration, and helped write the Constitution of the Republic of Texas . In the republic he served as a senator in the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth congresses, representing Shelby, Sabine, and Harrison counties. In February 1843 Gaines sold his ferry and moved to Nacogdoches, where he led campaigns to obtain annexation for Texas. He soon moved to Bastrop in Central Texas, where he owned and operated a hotel. With news of the California gold rush, his sons Edmund and John B. went with other East Texans along the Gila Trail to the mines to make their fortunes, and James Gaines himself arrived on the steamer Ecuador in San Francisco on August 23, 1850. He was instrumental in imposing law and order in the mine fields and held office for years in Mariposa County. He and his sons discovered the rich Gaines Ledge of gold and established the Mount Gaines Mine, which still exists. Although his sons returned to Texas, Gaines remained at the mine, as his wife had died and he had no home in Texas. Gaines was married three times. He and his first wife, Isabella Christian of Tennessee, had a daughter; he and his second wife, Katherine Vincent of Indiana, had two sons; he and his third wife, Susanah Norris of the Nacogdoches municipality, had six children. Enemies charged Gaines committed bigamy when he married for the second time, but proof is lacking. Gaines died on November 12, 1856, and is buried near Oakland, California.

Tsha Handbook → · 8.1 mi away

Things to Do in Moody

food 20.9 mi away
Magnolia Market at the Silos

Chip and Joanna Gaines' Fixer Upper empire. Shopping food trucks and shiplap everything.
food 20.2 mi away
Health Camp Burgers & Shakes

Mid-century burger-and-custard stand on the Waco Traffic Circle, open since 1949. The neon sign and the carhop layout are untouched roadside Americana.
historical 21.6 mi away
Waco, Texas - 1953 Tornado Aftermath

Everything Near Moody

324 stories, landmarks & places within ~20 miles — the same local lore RoadyGoat plays as you drive through.

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