The Return of the Native (Founder Stone)

Mooresville's "Founder Stone" has returned downtown to Bicentennial Park, as reported in today's edition of the Mooresville-Decatur Times.

Mooresville Bicentennial Park & the

new location of the "Founder Stone"

(January 27, 2018 photos by the author)

(click photos to enlarge)

According to Times reporter Anthony Woodside, the founder stone has been placed at the back of the park closer to Citizens Bank's parking lot.  Originally, the stone (and affixed plaque) were situated on the northeast corner of Indiana and Main Streets closer to the intersection.

The "Founder Stone" at its original location

Northeast corner of Indiana & Main Streets

Downtown Mooresville

(October 29, 2007 photo by the author)

As we mentioned in a previous blog post, the stone and plaque were removed last year during construction of Bicentennial Park and had been stored in the town's highway department garage.

The founder stone (and plaque) were originally placed downtown as part of Mooresville's centennial celebration (in 1924).  The project was directed by Samuel Moore's granddaughter, Mary Ida Fogleman, to celebrate the town's founding and her grandfather's first wood-frame business built on the site in 1824.

Samuel Moore's Plat of Mooresville

(1824, recorded February 21, 1825)

There has been some talk around town (with which I personally agree) that the stone should have been returned closer to the front of the property, where it had originally sat for decades. That precise location is most historically accurate, since Moore's business building was situated at the front of the lot.  A commemorative marker should be placed as close to the actual historical site as possible to correctly document what the marker is memorializing.  In any event, that's where the town (and Miss Ida) intended the founder stone to rest when they placed it in 1924.

At least the stone's new location is on land Moore owned.  Samuel Moore originally owned all of the land upon which Bicentennial Park (and Citizens Bank) stand--in fact, he owned all the land originally platted for the town in 1824.

Originally, the stone and plaque were placed close to the intersection because pedestrian traffic would best see it at the front of the lot.  Putting it in the rear area of Bicentennial Park is probably intended to encourage folks to saunter through the park and leisurely absorb the historical components.  History is best absorbed at a strolls-pace.  Whether or not people will actually do the walking and see the stone and plaque--that's another thing altogether.  When it was in front, it was easily visible to both walkers and drivers from the Main/Indiana Street intersection.  So front clearly reaches a larger audience.

I'm pleased to see the "Founder Stone" return to its native turf, even if the new location is not historically ideal.  Local historical markers are essential reminders of a community's past accomplishments.  That history offers current residents a common heritage, which has a unifying effect upon townspeople.  Regardless of our diversity (and that diversity should be honored, too), we share in common the town's past stories.  We should be proud of them, because we're living our own historical tales here right now, which future residents will look back upon with (hopefully) approval (or at least bemused curiosity).  We are a direct continuation of Mooresville's collective historical experience.  As the town's bicentennial approaches (2024), Bicentennial Park (and the founder stone) remind us that our community's greatness is measured by what has been, what is now, and what will be.