John M. and Lottie D. Moore House

The John M. and Lottie D. Moore House is at 406 S. Fifth Street, in Richmond, Fort Bend County, in the U.S. state of Texas. It is currently part of the Fort Bend Museum complex.[2] It was added to the National Register of Historic Places listings in Fort Bend County, Texas in 2001, and became a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1962.[3]

John M. and Lottie D. Moore House
Moore House in 2008
John M. and Lottie D. Moore House
John M. and Lottie D. Moore House
Location406 S. Fifth St.,
Richmond, Texas
Coordinates29°34′51″N 95°45′39″W
Arealess than one acre
Built1883 (1883)
ArchitectThomas Culshaw, C.H. Page and Brothers
Architectural styleClassical Revival
NRHP reference No.01000104[1]
RTHL No.9011
Significant dates
Added to NRHPDecember 9, 2001
Designated RTHL1962

John and Lottie house

The home was built by John M. Moore (1862–1940) and his wife Lottie Dyer Moore (1865–1924) in 1883, the year they married. John Moore became Secretary of State of Texas in 1886, later serving in both the Texas House of Representatives and the United States House of Representatives.[4] Lottie's father J. Foster Dyer, who died a year before the wedding, was a wealthy rancher in Fort Bend County. Her maternal grandmother Nancy Gray Spencer Barnett was among the original colonists who came to Texas with Stephen F. Austin. In 1824, Austin granted Barnett land in Fort Bend County.[5] Lottie inherited acreage from the original grant her grandmother received. From her grandfather Thomas Barnett,[6] Lottie inherited the cattle on the ranch.[7]

The house was designed in 1883 by Thomas Culshaw, as a four-bedroom, two-story Victorian mansion with a center tower and cupola. The First Baptist Church of Richmond was founded in the Moore house, which served as its original meeting location. In 1889, the church moved to its own building. C.H. Page and Brothers of Austin designed the 1905 Classical Revival remodel of the house and connecting property. It was during this remodel that the heating system of the house was converted to seven coal-burning fireplaces. The front facade was remodeled in the Classic Revival porch and columns which now exist on the house. Interior improvements included new hardwood flooring, room expansions, front entry stairway, and a dining room remodel. The grape arbor and gazebo were constructed during this period.[8]

Present day

Lottie Moore died in 1924,[9] and John M. Moore died in 1940.[10] The house was passed down through successive heirs until 1975, when the last family member died. The house and property was then deeded over to the Fort Bend History Association (formerly the Fort Bend County Museum Association) and is currently a part of the Fort Bend Museum complex.[11] The association has upgraded the home to bring it up to code in accordance with state and local requirements.

See also

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. Guy-Halat, Andrea (2010). Historic Fort Bend County: An Illustrated History. Historical Publishing Network. p. 89. ISBN 978-1-935377-24-5.
  3. "RTHL Moore House". Texas Historical Commission. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  4. "John Matthew Moore". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  5. "Nancy Gray Spencer". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  6. Kemp, L. W. "Thomas Barnett". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  7. Cox, James (1895). Historical and Biographical Record of the Cattle Industry and the Cattlemen of Texas. St. Louis, Mo: Woodward & Tiernan Printing Company. p. 598.
  8. "NRHP Moore House". Texas Historical Commission. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  9. Lottie Dyer Moore at Find a Grave
  10. John Matthew Moore at Find a Grave
  11. "Fort Bend Museum". Fort Bend County Museum Association. Archived from the original on 20 March 2012. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
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