Mooresville (Indiana) Local History Treasure Trove: Northeast Corner Changes

Monday, December 18, 2017

Northeast Corner Changes

In 1824, Samuel Moore constructed his general store on the northeast corner of the intersection of Indiana and Main Streets in downtown Mooresville. Let's see how that corner has changed over the years.

Situated on the northeast corner were the following:

Samuel Moore's general store (1824-1869);
First I.O.O.F. building (1869-1881);
Second I.O.O.F. building (1881-1989);
Paul Hadley memorial park (1990-2017);
Mooresville Bicentennial Park (2017- )

Let's see some images, courtesy of the Indiana Room at Mooresville Public Library.

Original Plat of Mooresville, Indiana (1824)

(showing the northeast corner of Indiana and Main Streets)
(Section B4, Lots 1-2 & 15-16)

(Recorded February 21, 1825, Morgan County Recorder's Office)

After the fire (July 8, 1881) that destroyed

the first I.O.O.F. building (photo by J. P. Calvert)

(photo donated to MPL by Ernest L. Hadley [1891-1972])

Back of 1881 photo

MPL photo report for 1881 picture

I.O.O.F. Morgan Lodge #211 members parade in front of

the second I.O.O.F. building (circa 1885)

(photo by J. P. Calvert)

Second I.O.O.F. building is in the upper center

of this photo (circa 1885) by J. P. Calvert

East Main Street (circa 1890)

(Second I.O.O.F. building is at front left)

(photo by J. P. Calvert)

Second I.O.O.F. building (July 18, 1920)

(photo by Manley Brown)

2-22-22 celebration

(second I.O.O.F. building in background)

from the Mooresville Times, January 22, 1976)

2-22-22 celebration

(original photograph by Manley Brown)

Demolition of Hundley building

(just east of the second I.O.O.F. building)

(Mooresville Times, October 24, 1963)

Removal of top floor of second I.O.O.F. building

(Mooresville Times, July 23, 1964)

The second I.O.O.F. building's demolition began in 1964, with the top floor being removed; the entire second floor was removed, leaving a first-floor "sliver" remaining, so that Citizens Bank could extend its new building's parking lot in 1965-66. The article headline (above) declares the Odd Fellows building to be 105 years old (in 1964), but that's mistaken. The second I.O.O.F. building (built 1881) was 83 years old in 1964. Even if the reporter had been dating to the first I.O.O.F. building (built 1869, burned down in 1881), the age would only have been 95 years old. The reporter's error arose from the I.O.O.F. capstone (dated 1859), which was installed atop the first Odd Fellows building in 1869, and subsequently placed upon the second Odd Fellows building in 1881. The capstone commemorated the establishment of Mooresville's I.O.O.F. chapter (Morgan Lodge #211), which was founded on July 7, 1859. The capstone was being removed during the 1964 upper-story dismantlement, and the reporter had incorrectly assumed that the capstone's 1859 date corresponded with the building's age.

After the Odd Fellows capstone was removed in 1964, it was housed at Citizens Bank for a number of years. Some time later, it was kept at the Academy School Museum on North Monroe Street. Since 2017, the capstone has been part of a wall in Mooresville Bicentennial Park (on the site of the Odd Fellows buildings).