Howardsville

Mosheim, formerly Live Oak, is at the junction of Farm roads 217 and 215, 7½ miles west of Valley Mills and twenty-three miles northwest of Waco in southwestern Bosque County. The first settler in the area was probably Jonathan Dansby, who arrived in the 1850s. Jeff Howard built the first store in 1886 and established a post office in it the next year; at this time the town received the name Mosheim from the United States postal authorities. By 1896 Mosheim had an estimated population of fifty, a school, a Methodist church, and several businesses. The number of residents grew to 171 by 1904, fell to 100 by 1925, then rose to 200 by 1941. Estimates remained at 200 until the late 1960s, then remained stable at seventy-five from the 1970s through 1990. The post office closed around 1976.

Adapted from the official Handbook of Texas, a state encyclopedia developed by the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). It is an authoritative source of trusted historical records.