Moffat reunion marks 50 years since school was open

Apr 26, 2023

David Coufal, a former student at Moffat School, reads letters from other students while sitting at a desk inside the building, which now is known as Moffat Community Center. A reunion marking the 50 anniversary of the last Moffat School classes will be from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on May 6. Courtesy photo

DAVID STONE | OUR TOWN TEMPLE

It’s been 50 years since students last roamed the halls of Moffat School, and that final graduating class will be honored May 6 during a reunion celebration.

Now known as the Moffat Community Center, students who graduated in the Class of 1974 will be honored at the homecoming from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., said Cheryl Hinckley, a member of the Moffat Community Center Association board.

“We’re asking families to bring side dishes, casseroles, snacks or desserts to supplement the fried chicken meal,” she said. “We want anyone who went to the school or who has lived in the Moffat area to attend this reunion to reconnect with old friends and make new ones.”

“We encourage people to bring photos, scrapbooks, artifacts and memorabilia to share and document Moffat’s rich history,” she said.

David Coufal, who attended Moffat School from 1965 to 1971, said the original structure opened to students in 1881 and was not located at the same site as the current Community Center.

“The original Moffat School was in a different location, and the frame structure burned down in the early 1900s,” Coufal said. “The best we can tell, the current building was constructed in 1909 and dedicated the following year. We think classes were held in a local church for about three years before the new school was built.”

The number of grades the school offered varied over the years, but at one time it housed students in first through 12th grade.

“1929 likely was the last year students graduated from high school at Moffat,” Coufal said. “For a time the school served students through eighth grade, and later sixth grade was the last year. After their sixth-grade year, most students went to Belton but some went to Gatesville, Temple, Moody or a few other places.”

Like the number of grades, the student population of Moffat School fluctuated over the years.

“Usually 40 or 50 kids went to Moffat School, but there were years where we had 60 or more,” Coufal added. “Schools in Bland and Owl Creek closed after Lake Belton was created, so Moffat grew.”

Belton Independent School District annexed Moffat and its school during the 1973-74 school year, then conveyed the property to the Moffat Community Center Association at the end of the year, according to Hinckley.

“The old building was vacant for nearly 40 years, but we replaced the roof in 2006 by taking donations from the community,” Coufal said. “People had an interest in preserving the old school. It’s an important piece of Moffat history.”

In June 2010, under the leadership of Edgar Bounds and a band of dedicated volunteers, efforts to renovate Moffat School got under way.

“We upgraded electrical wiring, installed central heat and air, cleaned out decades of debris, repainted and rebuilt the old BBQ stand,” Hinckley said. “We spruced up the outside, renovated restrooms, removed very smelly carpet and replaced the pavilion. We also added a building to store equipment.”

Today, the renovated school is the Moffat Community Center, and it once again serves as a hub of activity for one of the oldest communities in Bell County.

“The center is well used,” Hinckley said. “It hosts weddings, birthday parties, family reunions, memorial services, baby showers and fundraisers for the Moffat Community Center Association.”