Temple, Texas: Not a Church, a Railroad Engineer
Temple, Texas, has nothing to do with a house of worship: the name belongs to Bernard Moore Temple, the chief engineer of the railroad that built the town. If you drive in expecting a story about a church, you’ll find a story about a construction camp instead.
A camp called Temple Junction
In 1880 a landowner named Jonathan E. Moore sold 187 acres to the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway, which wanted the spot for a construction camp. According to the Handbook of Texas, “the site was called Temple Junction by the railroad company, in honor of Bernard Moore Temple,” its chief engineer.
The people who actually lived there had their own names for it. The Handbook says locals called the community Mud Town or Tanglefoot. Neither name lasted. When a post office opened in January 1881, the official name became plain Temple, and the “Junction” dropped away.
The engineer, briefly
In 1905 Henry Gannett, writing for the federal government, needed just one line for this one: Temple, “city in Bell County, Texas, named for Major B. M. Temple.” B. M. are Bernard Moore’s initials, and Gannett gives him the title Major. Both sources agree on whom the town honors, and none of the sources here offers a rival version.
Two railroads, one town
The Santa Fe held its sale of town lots in June 1881, and the next year the Missouri, Kansas and Texas built through Temple too, as the Handbook tells it. Temple incorporated in 1882. The 1892 map at the top of this page shows that crossing: a line labeled “Railway” comes in from the west and meets tracks running north and south, right at the edge of the town’s few blocks.
By 1940 the WPA guide to Texas was describing a city with “several important railroad shops, two trunkline railroads,” and a hospital the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe had built in 1891 just for its own employees. The camp named for the engineer had turned into a railroad city.
Quick answers
Is Temple, Texas, named after a church or temple?
No. It’s named for Bernard Moore Temple, chief engineer of the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway, according to the Handbook of Texas.
What was Temple, Texas, originally called?
The railroad called it Temple Junction. Local residents called it Mud Town or Tanglefoot, and the name became Temple once the post office was running, in January 1881.
When was Temple, Texas, founded?
The railroad bought the land for its construction camp in 1880, sold town lots in June 1881, and Temple incorporated in 1882.
Key dates
- 1880Jonathan E. Moore sells 187 acres to the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe for a construction camp called Temple Junction.
- 1881A post office opens in January under the name Temple; the railroad sells town lots in June.
- 1882The Missouri, Kansas and Texas line is built through Temple, and the town incorporates.
Getting there
Open Temple in Google Maps
Opens in a new tab. The pin is the center of Temple in the USGS place-name record.
The closest airports, Amtrak stations and intercity bus stops, measured in a straight line from the center of Temple.
Airports
- Robert Gray AAF (GRK) Killeen 29 mi 46 km
- Waco Regional (ACT) 36 mi 58 km
- Austin-Bergstrom International (AUS) 65 mi 105 km
Amtrak trains
- Temple station (TPL) under 1 mi 0.4 km
- McGregor station (MCG) 24 mi 39 km
Intercity buses
- Arrow Trailways Amtrak Connecting Service · Temple under 1 mi 0.4 km
- FlixBus Temple 1 mi 2 km
- Greyhound Belton E Avenue C 8 mi 12 km
Distances are as the crow flies, not by road. We don't list schedules or fares because they change; check with the airline, Amtrak or the bus company before you go. Official data (FAA commercial service airports (2025), FAA airport locations, Amtrak stations and Intercity Bus Atlas) from the FAA and the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics, checked Nov 6, 2026.
Sponsored
Staying in Temple?
Compare hotels in Temple, Texas, on Expedia.
See hotels in TempleWe may earn a commission if you buy through this link. It never changes what we write. Read our affiliate disclosure
Historical Sources & References
- Vivian Elizabeth Smyrl, “Temple, TX,” Handbook of Texas Online (TSHA). Moore’s 1880 sale, Temple Junction “in honor of Bernard Moore Temple,” Mud Town and Tanglefoot, the January 1881 post office, the June 1881 lot sale, the Katy in 1882 and the 1882 incorporation.
- Henry Gannett, The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States (1905), p. 298. “Temple; city in Bell County, Texas, named for Major B. M. Temple.”
- Federal Writers’ Project, Texas: A Guide to the Lone Star State (1940), p. 441. Railroad shops, two trunk lines and the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railroad Hospital of 1891.
- GNIS feature 1369696 (U.S. Geological Survey). The national gazetteer record for Temple, in Bell County.
Spot something wrong, or know more? Tell us here. You can also email us or use our contact page. Corrections are noted here with their date, never made silently.
