Samuel Moore, Founder of Mooresville, Indiana

Town Plat of Mooresville, Indiana (1825)

(Click Image to Enlarge)

Mooresville, Indiana was founded in 1824 by Samuel Moore (1799-1889), whose Quaker family moved from North Carolina in 1818 to Washington County, Indiana, settling near the town of Salem. The Moore family found slavery inconsistent with their religious beliefs and moved north to escape the practice. Samuel moved away from his family and settled in Brown Township, Morgan County, Indiana, in 1822.

Samuel Moore was not the first European-descended settler to homestead in Morgan County or Brown Township. Jacob Wetzel became the first white settler in Morgan County (1818), and William Ballard settled in Brown Township in 1820. Moore established the first trading post in Brown Township in 1822. It was situated atop a hill approximately where today's V.F.W. Post #1111 now stands on South Indiana Street, a few hundred feet east of White Lick Creek. Moore made no distinctions based on color, race, or national creed; he traded with Native and European-descended Americans alike. Customers paid for his goods in silver, as well as barter items (primarily deer and raccoon skins, ginseng, bees wax, and buck horn).

As his business flourished, in 1823 Samuel Moore purchased 20 acres of land (at $2 per acre) atop a hill east of White Lick Creek and about a half-mile north of his trading post. He platted the town in 1824, which consisted of four five-acre blocks, with each block containing 16 lots (see original plat at the top of this blog; click-on the image to enlarge it). The plat was recorded on Feb. 21, 1825. The town, however, dates its origin to 1824, and this is the historically accepted date.

Asa Bales constructed the first cabin in Mooresville, and the first wood-frame business structure was built by Samuel Moore on the northeast corner to the intersection of Main and Indiana Streets. Moore conducted business there for 44 years. His goods travelled by wagon and boat across southern Indiana and even as far away as Boston and New Orleans.

In 1828, Samuel Moore married Eliza Worthington, who later founded the Methodist Episcopal (M.E.) Church in Mooresville.  The library has portraits of the couple on display.

Samuel Moore & Eliza Moore (circa 1850)

(Click Images to Enlarge)

Click here to see a flashcard about the couple (photographed in their golden years).

Eliza Moore passed over on December 10, 1873 (see obituary record), and Samuel Moore joined her on March 1, 1889 (see obituary record). We have the original copy of Samuel Moore’s last will and testament, executed July 21, 1888, and filed for probate in Morgan County Circuit Court on March 15, 1889. For “moore” information about Samuel & Eliza (and town history generally), see this handout and another handout. For a brief “family tree” of Samuel & Eliza and their descendants, click here. This handout explores the various homes in which Samuel & Eliza (and their family) lived in Mooresville.

What would Samuel Moore think of the town he founded if he could see it today? He would be pleased to find hard-working, conscientious people committed to providing a good life for their families.

Visit the Indiana Room at Mooresville Public Library to learn more about Samuel and Eliza Moore and the pioneers with whom they settled, lived, worked, and socialized.

P.S.  As a bonus feature, we've included an historical reenactment of Samuel Moore's "narration" at the Old Settlers Picnic in August, 1885.  This “narration” has been assembled from various historical records available in the MPL Indiana Room collections. Although Samuel Moore did not actually give this speech, it is based upon accurate, authentic historical records.  (It is likely that Samuel made brief--emphasis upon brief, as he was not prone to long-winded speeches--opening remarks at the 1885 Old Settlers Picnic, and probably at previous gatherings from 1870 onward until declining health marked his last attendance in August, 1888.)

Restoring Downtown History

The Mooresville Redevelopment Commission (RDC) has restored a vital aspect of Mooresville's history downtown and plans to restore further historical tributes to this consequential site.

In Mooresville's Bicentennial Park, currently under construction downtown on the northeast corner of Main and Indiana Streets, the RDC has incorporated into a side wall the capstone of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows (I.O.O.F.) buildings, which memorialized the organization's founding of local Morgan Lodge #211 on July 7, 1859.  The I.O.O.F. buildings stood on this site from 1869 to 1989.  The first, three-story structure (built in 1869) was destroyed by fire in 1881, but was replaced by a second building (1881) that was partially demolished in 1964, with the remnant of the first floor finally being removed in 1989.  (The capstone had been stored in the Mooresville Academy School on Monroe Street for many years.)  The I.O.O.F. buildings housed generations of local family businesses.

I.O.O.F. Buildings Capstone

(courtesy of the Mooresville-Decatur Times)
(click photos to enlarge)

Second I.O.O.F. Building (ca. 1885)

(Photo by J. P. Calvert)

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

(Photo by Manley Brown)

Remnant of the First Floor of the Second I.O.O.F.

Building, Demolished in April, 1989

(Photo by Jack Broyer)

Recently, the "Founder Stone," a historical commemorative plaque affixed to a boulder honoring Samuel Moore (1799-1889), founder of Mooresville, was removed during construction of the new park.  Before the I.O.O.F. buildings, this was the site of Samuel Moore's first wood-frame business building (the first of its kind in Mooresville, built in 1824).  In 1989 plans were made to convert the property into a small park commemorating Paul Hadley (1880-1971), designer of the Indiana State Flag.  That park is now becoming Bicentennial Park.

The "Founder Stone"

(Photo by Shawn Stewart, February, 1998)

Janet (Griffin) Buckley with the "Founder Stone"
(October 29, 2007)

(Photo by William R. Buckley)

In addition to the "Founder Stone" and the I.O.O.F. capstone, the northeast corner of Main and Indiana Streets was the site of an official state historical marker honoring the state flag and its designer.  This marker, too, has been removed during construction but will be relocated on-site when the project is completed.

Paul Hadley/Indiana State Flag Historical Marker

(Dedicated August 6, 2016)

(Photos by William R. Buckley)

The citizens of Mooresville placed the Samuel Moore stone and plaque downtown in 1924 as part of the town's centennial celebration.  Samuel and Eliza Moore's granddaughter, Mary Ida Fogleman, was instrumental in the creation and placement of this historical tribute.

Samuel & Eliza Moore with their daughter,

Margaret Fogleman, and their granddaughter,

(Mary) Ida Fogleman (from A Brief History of the

First Methodist Church in Mooresville, Indiana [1950])

According to reporter Lauren Carpenter, "the RDC [Mooresville Redevelopment Commission] also plans to place the Samuel Moore plaque at the corner of the park as well. [. . .]  As of right now, there are no plans on where to place the stone."  ("Odd Fellows Sign Restored," Mooresville-Decatur Times, Saturday, October 21, 2017, page A6.)

This is indeed good news.  Restoration of the "Founder plaque" to its original location preserves important historical information about the origins of the town and its early pioneer days.  It is fitting that the new bicentennial park, which is designed to commemorate Mooresville's 200th anniversary in 2024, should be situated in such a significant historical location.  As to the stone itself, that's not nearly as important--it's just a boulder left in the glacial moraine that was salvaged from a nearby field--but the plaque is historically critical.

Small communities such as Mooresville need to preserve a sense of history--of continuity--connecting current residents with their predecessors.  Those who live here now stand upon the shoulders of all those who came before, including the town's progenitor.  Without Samuel Moore, there would have been no Mooresville that so many of us now call home.

Saluting Samuel Moore at the site of his first wood-frame business, as the "Founder plaque" has done for nearly a century, emphasizes the significance of the place and what has stood there.  When Samuel Moore built that wood-frame structure for his general store among the handful of surrounding log cabins, he was saying that Mooresville would become an established town, lasting long into the future.  The wood-frame business was unlike other places where log cabins were temporary abodes later abandoned.  It was at the center--the very heart--of the community Moore had established, and he wanted everyone to see that this town would endure.  And so it has, for nearly 200 years.

Original Plat of Mooresville, Indiana (1824)

(Recorded February 21, 1825, Morgan County Recorder)

What better way to honor the pioneer who created our hometown, and all the pioneers and settlers who came thereafter, than by the "Founder plaque" placed at the core of our community?  The plaque belongs on the northeast corner of Indiana and Main Streets downtown, and I salute the Mooresville RDC in its plan to restore it to its central location so that it may continue its part in our town's historical narrative.

Having the I.O.O.F. capstone in the new bicentennial park is likewise crucial to preserving Mooresville's downtown heritage.  Once the State Flag/Paul Hadley marker is also restored, we will have strong reminders of the importance of Mooresville's past in the development of it present (and future). 

Celebrate Mooresville's Heritage Program #1: Samuel Moore, Town Founder

This afternoon (Saturday, February 20, 2016) we held our first Celebrate Mooresville's Heritage program, featuring town founder Samuel Moore.  Below are some photos from today's event.  We also have digitized handouts distributed at the program (click the following links):

 

• The Homes of Samuel & Eliza Moore
• "Moore" Facts About Mooresville & Samuel & Eliza Moore
• Miscellaneous Notes on Samuel Moore
• Immediate Family Tree of Samuel & Eliza Moore
• Self-Guided Walking Tour of Historic Downtown Mooresville
• Old Settlers Picnic, Parade, and Festival

 

There is more information about Samuel and Eliza Moore available on Mooresville Public Library's famous Mooresvillians web page.  Just scroll down until you see the Moores' section.

At the program we featured a dramatic portrayal of Samuel Moore addressing the Old Settlers Picnic in August, 1885.

"Narration" of Samuel Moore at the Old Settlers Picnic (August, 1885)

(Dramatic Reenactment)

There was cake, sherbet punch, souvenirs, and everything!  Click the photos to enlarge.

Thanks to everybody who attended!  Hope you got some cake and punch!  It was delicious.

Samuel Moore Parkway (Old State Road 67)

Recently I saw a street sign at Old State Road 67 and Indianapolis Road in Mooresville, Indiana, which announced that I was driving along Samuel Moore Parkway. Historically, this was State Road 67 (now, "old" because the "new" S.R. 67 bypass had been opened in 1959 and became dual lane south of Mooresville in 1964-65). "Old" 67 entered town, not surprisingly, as it still does, becoming Main Street and running up to the Indiana Street intersection, when the "old" state road turned left and moved south toward Brooklyn and Martinsville.

This was the main artery moving traffic through and into Mooresville. According to the local newspaper, last July (2010) the Mooresville Town Council voted not to rename Old S.R. 67 as Samuel Moore Parkway. The article says "Sammy Moore Parkway," which may be accurate as far as the council's discussion was concerned, but nobody familiar with the town founder would have called him Sammy. "There was nothing Sammy about Samuel Moore," concluded Wanda Potts, Mooresville historian and Indiana Room Librarian at Mooresville Public Library (1966-2002). Now, Sammy is a fine nickname (just ask my daughter), and I think it quite descriptive of some famous, courageous Mooresvillians (e.g., Sammy L. Davis, Congressional Medal of Honor recipient), but it is too informal to capture the austerity, formality, and reservation of Samuel Moore.

Renaming the old stretch of state highway after the town founder makes sense. Moore platted the village in 1824, and the town bearing his name still expresses the mark he made on its geography, business development, social structure, growth, and historical significance. The first frame construction business was Moore's general store, which stood where Hadley mini-park is located today. The heart of Mooresville was Samuel Moore; therefore, it seems logical to rename the original heart of the town's transportation network, Old S.R. 67 (before it joins Indianapolis Road), after him.

There is, of course, the perfectly valid argument that "Old 67" is so entrenched in the public consciousness that renaming it would be more symbolic than practicable. There, too, is considerable history behind the old state road designation, and this should not be lightly discarded.

Perhaps I missed mention in the Mooresville-Decatur Times of the renaming in the latter half of last year, but if it were done, it is certainly a welcome historical tribute to a man whose vision launched the town many of us call "home."



SOURCES:

Blevins, Aaron. "Old Ind. 67 stays Old Ind. 67 for now," Mooresville-Decatur Times, July 10, 2010, p. A1.

"Rd 67 dual lane set for 1964-65," The [Mooresville] Times, March 7, 1963.

"Rd. 67 bypass ribbon cutting at Rd. 144 cross scheduled today," The [Mooresville] Times, Dec. 10, 1959, p. 1.

Samuel Moore's Last Will & Testament

Click image to see Samuel Moore's last will & testament

The MPL Indiana Room has the original copy of Samuel Moore’s last will and testament, which is in our vertical files.  The will was executed on July 21, 1888, and filed for probate in Morgan County Circuit Court on March 15, 1889.  The will execution was witnessed by George W. Bass and William H. Ray, and Bass filed the will for probate.

Samuel Moore (1799-1889) founded the town of Mooresville, Indiana, in 1824. The original plat (below) was recorded on February 21, 1825 in the Morgan County Recorder's Office (in Martinsville, Indiana).

Original Plat of Mooresville, Indiana (1824)

Recorded February 21, 1825

(Click image to enlarge)

The MPL Indiana Room has several of Samuel Moore's artifacts on permanent display. Drop by the library to see them sometime.  The Indiana Room is located next to the adult nonfiction stacks, adjacent to the outdoor courtyard.

Founder Stone Back Where It Belongs

Sometime in late December, 2019, Mooresville's "Founder Stone" was returned to its rightful place on the northeast corner of Indiana and Main Streets downtown.  The stone had stood at this location from its placement in 1924 until 2017.

Mooresville-Decatur Times
Tuesday, December 31, 2019, page A1
Click Image Above to Enlarge, or
Click Here to See PDF

The Founder Stone was removed in 2017 during construction of Mooresville's Bicentennial Park, which had been the site of Paul Hadley Memorial Park, and, before that, of the I.O.O.F. building, and, before that, of town founder Samuel Moore's general store, built in 1824.  The Founder Stone was stored in the Mooresville Street Department's facilities until January, 2018, when it was relocated further northeast on what had once been Samuel Moore's residential lot, but was (in 2018) part of the northeast corner of Bicentennial Park, next to Citizens Bank's parking lot.

The Founder Stone's original (and, now restored) position is historically more appropriate, since it commemorates Samuel Moore's general store, the first wood-frame structure in Mooresville.  The building survived the Great Fire of 1842, which destroyed all of Mooresville except Samuel Moore's home and business, and the structure was replaced in 1869 by the first I.O.O.F. brick-and-masonry building.  The stone once again sits in front of what once had been Samuel Moore's foundational business in the heart of town.

If you have not visited Bicentennial Park and seen the Founder Stone, drop by one day when the weather is nice.  You will be standing at the very root of Mooresville's history.

Mooresville, Indiana Local History Links

---

VINTAGE MHS YEARBOOKS (DIGITAL PHOTOS)

To see digitized MHS yearbooks from 1946-2017, please visit the Mooresville Public Library website.

Click the links below to see digitized vintage Mooresville High School (MHS) yearbooks, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons:

• 1909 Senior Annual
• 1911 ‘Levenite
• 1914 The Argos
• 1917 The ’17 Packet
• 1920 The Cauldron
• 1923 White Lick Review
• 1925 White Lick Review
• 1930 Arch Wisdom

The Wikimedia scans are of the images that appear in the yearbooks, with original text from the yearbooks extracted from the original scans and typed out (like ordinary text) for easier reading.

These yearbooks were also digitally scanned (showing the entire pages as they originally appeared in print) and stored on the Mooresville High School Alumni Association Facebook page, but access might be restricted to their authorized FB group members.  You can check those links, too, to see if you can access them (click below):

• 1909 Senior Annual
• 1911 'Levenite
• 1914 The Argos
• 1917 The '17 Packet
• 1920 The Cauldron
• 1923 White Lick Review
• 1925 White Lick Review
• 1930 Arch Wisdom

MEMORIES OF MOORESVILLE (VIDEO)

The Mooresville High School Alumni Association has uploaded the complete video, Memories of Mooresville (2011), to YouTube.  Click the player (below) to watch the entire video, or visit Mooresville Public Library to checkout a physical copy on DVD (learn more from this blog post).

Memories of Mooresville (2011)

by Andrew Marine Video Productions

(courtesy of the Mooresville Alumni YouTube channel)

---

TAKE THE DOWNTOWN TOUR

Take our "virtual" walking tour (click link below) of historic downtown Mooresville, Indiana.  Then, using this handout, walk the self-guided route yourself.

• "Virtual" Walking Tour of Historic Downtown Mooresville, Indiana
• "Virtual" Walking Tour (Video)
  
• Self-Guided Walking Tour of Historic Downtown Mooresville, Indiana
• Handout
  

 

---

FAMOUS MOORESVILLIANS

Do you recognize these famous folks who hailed from Mooresville, Indiana? Find out here.

 

---

Samuel Moore Program

On Saturday, February 20, 2016, at 1 pm in the MPL community room, we will be having a program about Samuel Moore, founder of Mooresville, Indiana.   In the video (below), we re-create a “narrative” of Moore at the Old Settlers Picnic (August, 1885). This “narration” has been assembled from various historical records available in the MPL Indiana Room collections. Although Samuel Moore did not actually give this speech, it is based upon accurate, authentic historical records.

"Narration" of Samuel Moore at the

Old Settlers Picnic (1885)

by Mooresville Public Library

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.

Samuel, Meet Samuel

Recently, our Library's Youth Services Department conducted our annual chick hatching experiment, about which you may have read in our hatching chicks blog.  A record number of chicks hatched this year, and each hatchling received its own special name.  One chick was called Samuel, after Samuel Moore, the founder of Mooresville, Indiana.  (You may read more about founder Samuel in past postings on this blog.  Use the search line in the upper left-hand corner of the screen.)

Recently, Suzanne Walker, M.L.S., MPL Youth Services Librarian and Head of the YS Department, posted an update about Samuel (the chick).  In one of the photos, Samuel (again, the chick) held himself with great dignity and self-assurance.  Along with the white feathers under his chin and on his chest, the picture reminded me of Samuel Moore's photograph in our Indiana Room Collection, in terms of posture and dignified manner.  Compare for yourself.

Samuel (the founder) had a sense of humor, despite the seriousness of his expression in the photograph, so I think he would have been amused at the similarities with Samuel (the chick).  

Mooresville's Great Fire of 1842 (Mooresville Moments #16)

Learn about the Great Fire of 1842 that consumed nearly all of Mooresville, Indiana, and the amazing acts of generosity that assured the town's resurrection.

Mooresville's Great Fire of 1842

(Mooresville Moments #16)

by Mooresville Public Library

The fire occurred on Tuesday night, November 22, 1842.  According to the New York Tribune, the blaze began in the home of James G. Slocum, in which an unidentified woman and three unidentified children were sleeping, and all four tragically died in the inferno.  Slocum was apparently away at the time.

The New York Tribune, Friday, December 16, 1842, page 2

(Click images to enlarge)

The New York Tribune article was repeated verbatim in several newspapers, including the following:

The Schenectady (N.Y.) Cabinet, Tuesday, December 20, 1842, page 2

 The Boston (MA) Trumpet and Universalist Magazine, Saturday, December 24, 1842, page 3

The Montpelier (VT) Watchman, Friday, December 23, 1842, page 3

The New York Spectator, Wednesday, December 28, 1842, page 46

The identification of Slocum's residence as the start of the conflagration is an amazingly precise detail for a New York City newspaper to relate about a small Indiana village, especially when one considers the following:

• Mooresville historian Clara S. Richardson stated that the 1842 fire was "of unknown origin," and she does not mention the Slocums nor any deaths from the fire (page 24 of A Brief History of Mooresville, Indiana, 1824-1974.  [1974].  Mooresville, IN: Dickinson Publishing Company--available online here);

• No one named Slocum (or with variant spellings, such as Slocumb or Slocom) is buried in any cemeteries in Morgan County, Indiana;

• No one named Slocum (or with variant spellings, such as Slocumb or Slocom) was listed as living in Mooresville or Morgan County, Indiana, in the 1840 Federal Census, although a James Slocumb was shown to reside in Monroe County, Indiana in the 1840 and 1850 Federal Censuses and was extensively discussed (spelled as both Slocumb and Slocum) in Charles Blanchard's 1884 historical and biographical sketches of Morgan, Monroe, and Brown Counties (available online here). 

• No one named Slocum (or with variant spellings, such as Slocumb or Slocom) was mentioned in Almira Harvey Hadley's A Brief History of Mooresville and Vicinity (1918) (available online here) or in Margaret W. Fogleman's Early Mooresville (1884) (available online here) or in John Matthews' Ye Early Pioneers (1875) (available online here) or in The Pioneers of Morgan County:  Memoirs of Noah J. Major (1915) (available to checkout from Mooresville Public Library).

So, did the 1842 fire start in James Slocum's home and kill four people?  There is no local evidence to support the New York Tribune's claim, but it can't be completely ruled out.  The deceased woman and children could have had a different surname (or surnames) than Slocum, and they might have been visiting from another community (to which their remains could have been returned and interred).  Thus, looking for Slocums in the county cemeteries or federal censuses would not have identified the fire victims, if they were not named Slocum or came from out-of-town.  Nonetheless, the absence of James G. Slocum from the local historical record and U.S. censuses weighs against the Tribune's account, as does the paper's failure to identify the victims.

Let's quote from Clara Richardson's Mooresville history:

"In 1842 a fire of unknown origin hit Mooresville.  Before the fire, there were eleven stores and houses in this wooded area; next morning only the Moore Store and house were left.  Trees were cut, burned, houses and shops were deliberately torn apart to try to check the blaze on both sides of the street.  Work to construct new homes and stores started immediately, so the story goes."  (Page 24 of A Brief History of Mooresville, Indiana, 1824-1974.  [1974].  Mooresville, IN: Dickinson Publishing Company--available online here).

Quoting from Margaret W. Fogleman's Early Mooresville:

"About 1842 Mooresville was visited by the greatest fire it has ever known.  Beginning with Pa's [Samuel Moore's] store there were ten houses and shops before the fire.  Next morning there was Pa's store and our house left.  The Dr's [doctor's] shop at the west and a dwelling house at the east were torn down to check the fire."   (Early Mooresville [1884] [available online here]).  Margaret Fogleman was the daughter of town founder Samuel Moore (and his wife, Eliza Moore).

I'm inclined to give the local sources greater credence than the New York Tribune's account.  Perhaps Horace Greeley's reporters enlivened the tale to make for more interesting reading.  Clearly, the eastern newspapers that reprinted the story didn't check the facts further.

During December 1842 news of the Mooresville catastrophe was related in several papers across the United States as well as one in England (click images below to enlarge).

 

The Bristol (England) Mercury & Daily Post, Saturday, 31 December 1842, page 4

The Philadelphia (PA) Saturday Courier, December 17, 1842, page 3,

reprinting the Iowa mistake from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle (see below)
 

 

The Brooklyn (N.Y.) Daily Eagle, Monday, December 12, 1842, page 2,

which incorrectly placed Mooresville in Iowa 

 The Charleston (S.C.) Mercury, Tuesday, December 13, 1842, page 2,

 reprinting the Iowa mistake from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle (see above)

 The New York Tribune, Thursday, December 15, 1842, page 1

 

The Niles National Register, St. Louis, Missouri, Saturday, December 17, 1842, page 16

Some of the accounts quoted the original story that appeared in the Indiana State Sentinel, November 29, 1842, without adjusting for the time delay in printing.  For instance, the New York Tribune on December 15, 1842, incorrectly stated that the fire took place "Tuesday night of last week," which would have been December 6, two weeks after it happened.  This mistake was repeated in the Charleston (S.C.) Mercury, The Philadelphia (PA) Saturday Courier, and the Brooklyn (N.Y.) Daily Eagle.   The Niles National Register was only a week off (reporting November 29 as the fire date, when it was actually the Tuesday before, November 22).

Indiana State Sentinel, November 29, 1842

The fire consumed nearly all of the town, sparing only Samuel Moore's general store and residence on the northeast corner of Main and Indiana Streets in downtown Mooresville.  Moore supplied lumber and labor free-of-charge to help citizens rebuild their homes and businesses.