Moore & Pearce's Pool Hall in Downtown Mooresville

Moore & Pearce ad from the

1923 Mooresville High School

yearbook, White Lick Review

(click image to enlarge)

In the 1920s, Moore & Pearce operated a pool hall in the basement of the Lindley Block at One West Main Street in downtown Mooresville, Indiana.  (The Lindley Block burned down on December 27, 1925.)  It was there that John Dillinger appeared following his aborted holdup of Frank Morgan, owner of the West End Grocery on West High Street. During the robbery attempt, Dillinger had struck Morgan with an iron rod, severely injuring him.  Later, at Moore & Pearce's pool hall, Dillinger asked about Morgan's condition, before news of the assault had reached there.  This made listeners suspicious, some of whom repeated Dillinger's comments to Mooresville Town Marshall Greeson.  This lead to Dillinger's arrest.

Some sources suggest that, prior to the robbery attempt, Dillinger was at Moore & Pearce's drinking with his cousin, Edgar Singleton, with whom he hatched the robbery plot.  According to some researchers, it was Singleton who persuaded Dillinger to commit the crime.

Watch the video below to learn more about Dillinger's attempted holdup.

John Dillinger's Hometown Holdup

(Mooresville Moments #7)

by Mooresville Public Library