We took a drive with my brother-in-law and his wife who had some items to donate to the Mississippi County Historical Society. The home is located on Main Street in Charleston. The Society was formed in the mid-1960s. But in 1977, the Joe Hunter Moore family gifted this beautiful house to the Society. The house was built in 1899 by James Handy Moore and Mary Hunter Moore, early settlers in the Charleston area.
The house has 17 rooms, 7 fireplaces and still contains the original dining room furniture. It always had running water and indoor plumbing. It was designed by J.B Legg, a well known St. Louis architect. The displays on the second floor tell so much history of the region and are very well done. They have a lot of period clothing that includes the dresses and accessories of a second generation Moore-Margaret Stephens which date from 1895-1925.
We were able to roam the house and given this great information and a lot more. One thing I found fascinating was the idea that the Native American who lived here were great mound builders. Perhaps, the mounds provided sanctuary from the flooding. Charleston is not far from the Mississippi River. When this area was settled, it was all a swamp which had to be drained. There is no native rock in Mississippi County.