Mooresville Bicentennial Promo Trailer

2024 UPDATE:  Here's another video commemorating Mooresville's bicentennial.

Mooresville Moments 30, by Mooresville Public Library

Mooresville, Indiana Bicentennial (1824-2024)

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Mooresville, Indiana celebrates the bicentennial of its founding in 2024 (having been established in 1824 by Samuel Moore), and Mooresville Public Library has a promo trailer for the event.  Click the video (below) to watch.

Mooresville (Indiana) Bicentennial Promo Trailer,

by Mooresville Public Library

 

There are also a couple of books (just published in January, 2023) celebrating the town's bicentennial:

• A children's book written by Cauli Le Chat, MPL feline roving reporter (digitized version available below; print copy available for checkout at Mooresville Public Library; paperback and Kindle editions available to buy from Amazon);
•  Complete PDF
  

and

• A grown-up's book written by some author you've never heard of (digitized version available below; print copy available for checkout at Mooresville Public Library)
  
• PDF Part One
• PDF Part Two
• PDF Part Three
• PDF Part Four
• PDF Part Five
• PDF Part Six
• PDF Part Seven

Watch our book trailers (below) to learn more about these two books.  (Click the boxes below to play videos.)

 

 

MPL Book Trailer #865
 

MPL Book Trailer #869

 

The Mooresville200 group is planning a big bicentennial celebration during 2024.  It should be great fun!  The library created a couple of promo trailers for Mooresville200 (click players below to watch the videos).

Mooresville200 Promo Trailer 1, by Mooresville Public Library

Mooresville200 Promo Trailer 2, by Mooresville Public Library

Mooresville's Bicentennial Park: A Historical Perspective

Folks driving through downtown Mooresville have likely noticed the new Bicentennial Park located on the northeast corner of Main and Indiana Streets.

Mooresville Bicentennial Park (complete with traffic noise)

(December 5, 2017 video by the author)

(click video to play--it's in focus, really)

I've been asked a few times to explain the meaning of the sculpture.  I'm no art critic, but I'll have a go at interpretation.

Mooresville Bicentennial Park Sculpture

(December 5, 2017 photo by the author)

(Click pictures to enlarge)

The sculpture represents the flames atop the torch on the Indiana State Flag.

Indiana State Flag

(designed by Paul Hadley in 1916; adopted in 1917)

The town's motto is "Home of the [Indiana] State Flag," because Paul Hadley designed the flag, and spent much of his life, here.  So the sculpture commemorates that event.

From a historical perspective, the torch flame sculpture represents more than just the flag.  It symbolizes the eternal flame of human hope and progress, as demonstrated through one's hometown.  Mooresville's pioneers laid down roots here because they saw the potential of a bright, shining future, filled with prosperity, community spirit, social diversity, and the pursuit of happiness.  That future has been transpiring since 1824, and it continues to blossom, as the torch is passed from generation to generation of Mooresvillians.  The sculpture is an invitation to everyone living and working here to keep building upon what our forebearers created and established.  After all, future generations will look back upon us as part of their history, and we want to shine on brightly to them, as our predecessors shone.  We may now be facing 21st century challenges, but our pioneering spirit is the same as those who came before.

Bicentennial Park incorporates other aspects of Mooresville history, as we discussed previously in this blog.

Historical commemorations like Bicentennial Park are important because we need a sense of continuity, of belonging to something bigger than ourselves.  Each person who calls Mooresville home, whether in a residential or a business sense, contributes another brick in our historical edifice, which grows progressively taller and more majestic.  Bicentennial Park honors all of us by showing that the light of Mooresville cannot be extinguished--not by hard times or environmental disasters--so long as we are willing to make a stand to support our community.

Mooresville, Indiana Local History Links

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VINTAGE MHS YEARBOOKS (DIGITAL PHOTOS)

Click the links below to see vintage Mooresville High School (MHS) yearbook digital photos, courtesy of the Mooresville High School Alumni Association Facebook page.

• 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

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

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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)

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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
  

 

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FAMOUS MOORESVILLIANS

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

 

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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.

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). 

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).

I.O.O.F. Capstone

Mooresville-Decatur Times

October 21, 2017

Last day of the second I.O.O.F. remnant (April, 1989)

(photo by Jack Broyer)

Planning Paul Hadley mini-park (1989)

(Mooresville Times, July 21, 1999)

Janet (Griffin) Buckley sits atop the

"founder's stone" in Paul Hadley mini-park

with "Flat" Cauli Le Chat & "Flat" Dovydas

during Mooresville's Victorian Christmas

(December 3, 2011)

(photo by William R. Buckley)

State historical marker commemorating Paul Hadley

& the Indiana State Flag being unveiled

(August 6, 2016)

(photo by William R. Buckley)

Mooresville Bicentennial Park

(December 5, 2017)

(photo by William R. Buckley)

Mooresville's Movie Mogul

Did you know Mooresville, Indiana had its own movie mogul?  Longtime Mooresville business owner Leon Adler (1906-1986) produced and distributed educational motion pictures for nearly a quarter century.

Adler purchased the National Motion Pictures Company in 1931, producing and distributing industrial and educational films until he sold the business in 1954 to Institutional Cinema Services of New York.  Adler maintained offices in the Holliday Building in Indianapolis but probably also corresponded from his Mooresville residence or business addresses.

Figure 1:  Leon Adler wrote this letter to the DuPont Company offering film distribution services from the National Motion Pictures Company, Adler's film production/distribution business.  Letter courtesy of the Hagley Museum & Library (Wilmington, Delaware) and Martin Louis Johnson, Assistant Professor of English & Comparative Literature, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The National Motion Pictures Company specialized in educational and industrial films.  One offering was the 1939 short film, Told By a Tooth, which promoted dental hygiene.  The movie is available to watch from the Prelinger Archives, although the digitized copy was derived from somewhat degraded film stock.  There were splices and edits made to the original copy (for example, the end credits have been removed), and the recording is darker than it would have been when originally made and shown.

Told By a Tooth (1939)

Produced by Leon Adler's National Motion Pictures Company

Adler used Mooresville and Morgan County talent and locations to appear in his movies.  Longtime Mooresville resident Barbara Ann Nevins (Barlow) was about seven years old when she appeared in Told By a Tooth (1939), as well as in Why Willy Was Willing to Wash (ca. 1940) and another Adler film (sorry--don't know the title).  She was paid, as were the other actors and actresses appearing in the features, in free merchandise from Adler's Mooresville department store.  In Told By a Tooth, the scene in which a girl purchases a toothbrush was shot in Adler's Department store at 10 West Main Street in downtown Mooresville.  Barbara Barlow mentioned that, many years later, her children saw the films when they were attending school and were "mortified" that their mother appeared in the movies.  Apparently, she had never mentioned to them that she was a "movie star."  Parents embarrass their kids in so many ways.

 

Barbara Ann Nevins (about age 7) in Told by a Tooth (1939) and Barbara in 2024

Adler also used famous Hollywood personnel to produce his movies, such as Academy Award-winning cinematographer Floyd Crosby (father of musician David Crosby), as mentioned in an Indianapolis Star article.

Figure 2:  Floyd Crosby came from Hollywood to Mooresville to film two health and education movies for Leon Adler in 1935.  (The Indianapolis Star, Wednesday, May 1, 1935, page 11.)

Figure 3:  Leon Adler presented an NMPC film about George Washington at Noblesville High School in 1932.  The movie was sponsored by the National Bicentennial Commission.  (The Noblesville [Indiana] Ledger, Wednesday, March 9, 1932, page 3.)

Figure 4:  Mr. and Mrs. Leon Adler entertained friends with a preview of a new NMPC movie filmed in the Martinsville area.  (Martinsville [Indiana] Reporter-Times, Thursday, October 27, 1938, page 5.)

Besides producing and distributing movies, Adler was a successful Morgan County business owner.  In 1933, Adler purchased Ad Sellars' dry goods store and operated Adler's Department Store at 10 West Main Street in downtown Mooresville until 1967, when he closed both his Mooresville and Martinsville stores.

Figure 5:  Leon Adler's department store was featured by the Mooresville Chamber of Commerce, which he helped establish in the 1950s, in an article appearing in the June 10, 1965 edition of the Mooresville Times (clipping courtesy of Mooresville Public Library).

Figure 6.  An advertisement for Adler's Department Store in the September 1964 issues of the Mooresville Times (clipping courtesy of Mooresville Public Library).

The Adler family lived in Mooresville from 1933-1955, but they also had a residence in Indianapolis and were active in several charities and organizations.  Adler served as president of the Mooresville Chamber of Commerce and the Mooresville Lions Club, and he served on the board of Mooresville's Citizens Bank.  He helped establish the Mooresville Development Commission and was instrumental in constructing new homes west of Newby Elementary School in Mooresville, which were vital in easing a housing shortage as the town's population steadily grew during the 1960s and 1970s.

Adler's pursuits often had a national, even international, reach.  He was a member of the Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation and Labor Zionists of America and served as chairman of the Southeastern Indiana Jewish Welfare Federation.  In 1963 the State of Israel issued Adler a prestigious award for meritorious service.  He supported organized labor, civil rights, and Zionism, speaking and writing about these and other subjects.  He also promoted oratorical contests to encourage improvement in public speaking skills.

In January, 1959, Adler was selected Mooresvillian of the Year for 1958, an honor bestowed annually by the Mooresville Chamber of Commerce in recognition of local civic leaders whose efforts enhanced the Mooresville community.  Adler was extremely popular with townspeople.  "If Leon Adler said he would do something, it was as good as done," reflected longtime Mooresville resident Beth Hensley, who owned and operated a "Jack and Jill" children's clothing store near Adler's department store in downtown Mooresville during the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Figure 7.  Leon Adler was selected the 1958 Mooresvillian of the Year (Mooresville Times, January 15, 1959) (image courtesy of Mooresville Public Library).  Several of Adler's obituaries incorrectly stated that he received this award in 1954.

Figure 8.  Leon Adler's senior picture from The Arsenal Cannon, 1923 Indianapolis Arsenal Technical High School Yearbook (courtesy of Ancestry Library Edition).

Born in Shelbyville, Indiana in 1906, Adler graduated from Indianapolis Arsenal Technical High School in 1923.  Adler passed away at St. Vincent Hospital in 1986 at the age of 80 years.  Learn more about him from Mooresville Public Library's digitized vertical files, as well as from these obituaries below.

 Figures 9 & 10.  Leon Adler's obituaries from the Jewish Post, July 16 & 23, 1986.

We've prepared a local history video featuring Leon Adler (click below to watch).  We also have this slideshow.