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The Infamous Black Bird Southern Oregon History, Revised


Thomas Homer Moore, "Father of the West Side,"
and Hotel Moore


    T. H. Moore, the gentleman who owns the old Clarenden hotel block, is having lumber hauled on the ground with which to erect a 16x40-foot frame building, with corrugated covering, the same to be used for mercantile purposes. The title to this property is still unsettled, and litigation is now on in the Jackson County courts. Whichever way the case is decided it is quite probable an appeal will be taken, and probably a year's time, perhaps more, will be required in getting the title straightened out. While this unsettled condition holds out no permanent structures will be erected thereon.
"City Happenings,"
Medford Mail, July 13, 1900, page 7


    T. H. Moore has his store building on the west side completed and ready for occupancy, and within the next couple or three weeks he expects to open for business with a stock of groceries, provisions and mill feed. Still there is a possibility that he will rent the building and himself go out in the hills on a prospecting tour. He has an opportunity to rent at a fairly good figure and may do so. The recent rich gold finds in the hills hereabouts has gotten many of our townspeople into a notion that prospecting is a profitable business--and the notion is all right--and the gold is unquestionably in the hills--waiting to be found.

"City Happenings,"
Medford Mail, August 3, 1900, page 7


    T. H. Moore, the west side grocer, has an ad elsewhere in this issue of The Mail. Mr. Moore carries groceries, flour and feed, provisions and school supplies.
"Additional Local Items," Medford Mail, September 14, 1900, page 6


    T. H. Moore has built a 16x16-foot addition to his West Side grocery store. He has also put in a stock of tin and granite ware.

"Additional Local Items," Medford Mail, October 19, 1900, page 6


    At the next session of the circuit court T. H. Moore, the west side groceryman, will acquire absolute title to the old Clarenden House property, on the West Side. When this mixup is straightened up there are good reasons for believing that Mr. Moore will put up some substantial buildings on the property.
"City Happenings," Medford Mail, October 19, 1900, page 7


    T. H. Moore last week purchased the old lumber office, which was standing near the Jacksonville-Medford railroad depot, and moved it to his vacant lot, corner F and Seventh streets. It will be for rent.

"City Happenings," Medford Mail, November 30, 1900, page 7


    Merchant T. H. Moore is having an addition built to the office building which he recently purchased.

"City Happenings," Medford Mail, December 7, 1900, page 7


    T. H. Moore, the West Side grocer, has sold his business to A. B. Ray, son of J. H. Ray, of this city, who has taken charge of the same. He expects to increase his stock of groceries at an early date and perhaps add new lines of goods to the business. Mr. Ray will be assisted in the business by his father, who has had eighteen years of experience in the mercantile business. Mr. Moore is contemplating erecting another building on his vacant lots on the site of the old Clarenden Hotel in the near future, and devote his time to looking after his property interests.
"City Happenings," Medford Mail, March 8, 1901, page 7


    T. H. Moore commenced the erection of a new frame building on his lots on the west side, formerly the site of the old Clarenden Hotel. It will be twenty by thirty-two feet in size.

"Additional Local," Medford Mail, March 22, 1901, page 6


    T. H. Moore has men at work this week tearing down the old Clarenden livery barn on the west side. He has not decided whether he will build a brick on the premises or not.

"Additional Local," Medford Mail, May 17, 1901, page 6


    T. H. Moore, the west side merchant, has been having his store building remodeled. He has had a partition removed, double doors put in, also a glass front. He is going to add a new line of goods to his stock--the nature of which he has not as yet given out. W. L. Halley did the carpenter work on the job.

"City Happenings," Medford Mail, August 2, 1901, page 7


    W. L. Orr has purchased T. H. Moore's stock of goods, consisting of boots and shoes, stationery and patent medicines, and is now in charge. Mr. Orr has rented Mr. Moore's store building, which is across the track, where once stood the Clarenden Hotel. He will add groceries to his present stock--and hopes to be able to get at least a goodly portion of Medford trade in his lines. Mr. Moore has rented store room in Klamath Falls and will put in a stock of groceries. Mr. Moore is a splendid gentleman, and the townspeople in the city beyond the mountains will never have cause to regret his coming.

    Klamath Falls Republican:--"T. H. Moore, a prominent merchant of Medford, was here last week and made arrangements to engage in the grocery business at this place. He will occupy a part of the new building of The Duffy Co. He expects to have his stock here and ready for business the forepart of next month."

"City Happenings," Medford Mail, September 27, 1901, page 7


    T. H. Moore and family left Tuesday for Klamath Falls, where Mr. Moore will engage in the grocery business.
    Mr. Darby has rented the T. H. Moore residence property in Southwest Medford, but will probably buy property later.
"Purely Personal," Medford Mail, October 11, 1901, page 6


    T. H. Moore, the gentleman who formerly conducted a grocery store in West Medford, now engaged in the mercantile business in Klamath Falls, is in Medford this week upon business. He reports a good trade in his new location and that he likes the country very much. Part of his business here is the disposal of his residence property in West Medford. He has not as yet closed any deal for it, but it is possible he will before he returns. It is a fine piece of property, and the man who buys it makes no mistake.

"Purely Personal," Medford Mail, February 28, 1902, page 6


    L. B. Brown:--"I received a postal from T. H. Moore, formerly of Medford, now in business at Klamath Falls, stating that he is parent to a new boy baby which came to his home on Sunday, August 24, 1902."

"City Happenings," Medford Mail, August 29, 1902, page 7


WEST SIDE NEW BUILDINGS.
    Mr. T. H. Moore is turning himself loose on building construction on the west side, and the plans he has now mapped out, upon which work has actually commenced, will prove a great boost for business in that part of town.
    Last week these columns told that he was to erect a 50x80, two-story brick building on lots he owns adjoining the White-Thomas building. At the time this mention was made arrangements were not advanced far enough to warrant a detailed account. At this time, however, we are prepared to state that this building will positively be erected, as before stated; that it will be 50x80 feet in size; that a 20x80-foot store building will be part of the new structure, and that a 30x80 livery stable office and carriage room will be the rest of it. The stables for horses will be at the rear of these buildings, upon lots which Mr. Moore recently purchased from G. W. Bashford. Excavation for the foundation of this building is now being made.
    These are not the only buildings Mr. Moore is going to erect. Across the alley from the building above mentioned he will put up a 42x70-foot building, three stories high. The first story will be used as a restaurant and office, while the two upper stories will be made into sleeping apartments. Work on this has already commenced. As a matter of fact this structure is but the commencement of what will eventually be a large three-story hotel on the corner where, in days agone, stood the old wooden structure, the "Clarendon" hotel. This hotel proposition, however, is not definitely determined upon, and Mr. Moore is not saying just when it will take shape, but that it will eventually be built, he says, there is no doubt. This much may be said, however, that when built it will be a structure which will do credit to the prominent corner which it will occupy--and there will be a space left at the front for a cool, shady lawn.
Medford Mail, August 4, 1905, page 1


    "Shorty" Hamilton:--"Well, I'll tell you. If anyone has purchased the Union Livery Stable property I do not know of it. Seems to me that I, a renter of the property, would have known if there had been a sale. Oh, you can hear any old thing you want to these days. Yes, I have rented the Moore livery stables on the west side and will move over just as soon as the buildings are completed. I will also keep the stables where I now am--going to use them for feed stables."
"Street Echoes," Medford Mail, January 26, 1906, page 4


BUILDINGS TO BE FINISHED SOON
    The brick buildings being erected by T. H. Moore on the West Side are slowly nearing completion, and by the first of July Mr. Moore expects to have the structures all completed. The work has not been done so fast as it possibly could have been done, but Mr. Moore believed, as he told a Mail representative, in "making haste slowly."
    "I promised myself," he said, "when I commenced this work that I wasn't going to worry about rapid progress. That I was just going to work along until I was through, and that when the buildings were completed they would be finished in every sense of the word. It takes a little bit of time to erect buildings the size of these and quite a lot of material, but I expect by the first of July to have them all completed."
    The buildings under construction include a three-story hotel building, 100 feet deep and fifty-foot front, the two store-rooms 25x100, with sleeping rooms in the second story, which rooms are connected with the main hotel building by a bridge across the alley between, and a brick livery stable 50x100, with the necessary corrals and sheds.
    The hotel will contain fifty-one sleeping rooms, with every modern convenience. They will be large, light and airy, and the hotel will be one of the largest and best finished in Southern Oregon. People are waiting now for the finishing of the store rooms in order to occupy them.
    The stable will be finished like a dwelling house, with a solid concrete floor through the center, and everything convenient for carrying on the business.
    "I don't care about saying a great deal at this time," said Mr. Moore in conclusion, "but I will say this much. When completed these buildings won't stand empty, if I am compelled to run the whole thing myself, and from the applications I have had I don't think that will be necessary."
Medford Mail, March 23, 1906, page 1


    T. H. Moore has broken ground on a lot which he owns opposite his new structures, on West Seventh Street. It is to be of brick and will be for business use, but further than that Mr. Moore is not saying a word. He is also preparing to erect a one-story brick addition east from the rear of his new hotel building to F Street. This is to be used as a store room for the hotel.
"City Happenings," Medford Mail, May 11, 1906, page 5



WEST SIDE IMPROVEMENTS
    The most active builder in this part of the city this year has been Mr. T. H. Moore, whose property abuts the railroad. As a monument to his faith in the future of Medford stands here a three-story brick, erected to meet the demands of a modern hostelry. He has a 42-foot frontage, which is divided between dining room and office, giving spacious  accommodation to both. The brick work on this building is all completed, and three carpenters are now at work rushing the interior finish. Mr. Moore expects to have the building ready for occupancy in September. The kitchen and basement are erected separately from the main building, the former in direct connection by double swinging doors with the dining room. The hotel will have 51 bedrooms, four bath rooms, and parlors and all other conveniences of a first-class hotel.
    Across the alley Mr. Moore has erected another brick of two stories,with a front of 50 feet, the whole floor devoted to two store rooms, and the upper to be used as an annex to the hotel, with which it will be connected by a covered passage between the second stories.
"Medford Leads All Other Coast Towns in Building Activity," Medford Daily Tribune, June 29, 1906, page 1


    T. H. Moore has commenced work on the kitchen annex to his hotel building, on the west side. One of the features will be a cement-lined cellar ten feet deep and twelve by fourteen feet in size.
"City Happenings," Medford Mail, June 29, 1906, page 5


    E. F. Hays and J. E. Deveny, lately of Grants Pass, have leased the new brick stable of T. H. Moore, on the west side, and will open a feed and sale stable therein. Later on they will perhaps branch out in the livery business. They have had much experience in the line of business they intend following, and are withal genial, pleasant gentlemen to meet.
    T. H. Moore has two of the store rooms in his brick on the west side fitted up for occupancy. One will be occupied by W. Stringer, the West Side grocer, and the other by the Waschau Brothers. Work is also being steadily pushed on the hotel part of the building, and it will not be long until the whole is completed.
"City Happenings," Medford Mail, August 31, 1906, page 5


    Another good-sized real estate sale was made on the west side this week, it being the sale of two lots on the corner of Seventh and G streets, opposite the Medford Hotel, by Young & Hall, to T. H. Moore for $5500. Mr. Moore isn't saying in language audible further than across a couple of blocks as to what he intends doing with this property, but the fact that he has joined with John F. White and the two are having a heavy brick partition wall built would seem to indicate that he intends putting up a substantial building and a reasonably high one. If Moore follows out the lines he has pursued in the construction of other buildings on that side this new one will be all right.
"City Happenings," Medford Mail, December 7, 1906, page 5


    T. H. Moore is, to all intent and purpose, endeavoring to become the possessor of all adjoining land on the west side, he having this week purchased from D. G. Karnes a tract of land, 50x100 feet in size, on South G Street, just north from the Karnes residence. The price paid was $500, and Mr. Moore will erect thereon a wooden structure 32x28 feet in size, to be used as a sample room for his hotel.
"City Happenings," Medford Mail, December 21, 1906, page 5


    T. H. Moore of the west side, who has built so many substantial buildings in West Medford, returned to our city this week from an extended trip throughout the East. While in Grand Rapids, Michigan he purchased furniture and fittings for his new hotel here. These will arrive about the first of April. He has secured the services of a Mr. Summerlin, of Carlton, Oregon, to take charge of the hotel when it is ready for occupancy. Mr. Moore has decided to delay work for a few weeks on the new building which he is putting up near Weeks & Baker's furniture store. He has decided to make it two stories high instead of one, as was first contemplated, and he is now having plans made.
"City Happenings," Medford Mail, March 1, 1907, page 5

Thomas H. Moore, April 26, 1907 Medford Mail
HOTEL MOORE
    The traveling public will soon be enabled to stop at the new hostelry which is to be known as "Hotel Moore," of which T. H. Moore is the proprietor and S. J. Summerville manager.
    A representative of the Mail had a look through the new house, and he found everything neat and clean and right up-to-date. The fine furnishings are being placed, and they indicate very clearly that everything about the place is to be only of the best. These articles were obtained at the eastern factory and shipped here in carload lots. There is a large, cool office and commodious dining room, with all the latest conveniences for caring for the wants of the inner man. Splendid large, cool sample rooms, a hotel bar, with an experienced mixologist, nice bath rooms and the like are among the many things provided for the comfort and convenience of the public.
    Manager Summerville is an adept at catering to the wants of the people who travel, having had such experience in conducting summer resorts and hotels, having been in charge of many such places in Colorado, as well as having the Alta Club, of Salt Lake City, and being associated for some time with Pope & Talbot, the well-known San Francisco hotel men.
    This new hotel is centrally located, being near the depot and on the main business street of the city. The growth of Medford necessitated having another good hotel, and now the people of this place have one of which they may justly be proud.
Medford Mail, April 26, 1907, page 3


    Ye Mail newsgatherer had occasion to visit the big, new Hotel Moore property over on the West Side and found everything moving along nicely. Several carloads of handsome furniture have arrived direct from the factory, a mammoth steel range, the like of which has never before been seen in this locality, is being built into the large kitchen, and everywhere there were indications that this big hostelry will be well furnished and a decided credit to the city. Messrs. Moore and Summerlin, the proprietors, were both busily engaged in getting things in shape for the formal opening, which will occur in the near future. These gentlemen have both had large experience in this line of business, and it goes without the saying that they are going to meet and receive a very generous share of the patronage of the traveling public.
Medford Mail, April 26, 1907, page 5


Hotel Moore Opening.
    Hotel Moore was thrown open to the public Monday evening, and a large number of our townspeople took advantage of the fact to take dinner there and afterward to inspect the furnishings and fittings of the house.
    A Mail reporter was fortunate enough to make a personally conducted tour through the house in company with Mr. S. J. Summerlin, the genial manager of the hostelry.
    To begin with, the kitchen is [a] model of cleanliness and convenience, from the big, specially built range to the dish washing department, all in charge of chef Davidson, whom Mr. Summerlin declares cannot be beaten anywhere in his line.
    The dining room is roomy, with lofty ceilings, and furnished with taste and elegance. One feature of this room is excellent--that is the stairway leading from the rear of the room to the upper stories. By this means patrons may enter the dining room from either end or from the office by a door near the center of the room.
    The sleeping rooms are all en suite, there being several of three and four rooms, and the furniture is of mahogany, birdseye maple and oak, with heavy brass bedsteads, and the best and latest of springs and bed clothing. A feature of the furnishings of several of the rooms are the individual baths. There are nine of the rooms equipped with bathtubs, so that the occupant need not leave the room in order to bathe. Besides there are four other bathrooms for the accommodation of the guests.
    Velvet carpets cover the floors, stairways and halls throughout the house. One thing that strikes the observer is the complete harmony of the colors in paper, furniture and carpets in all the fifty rooms. The color tones blend perfectly and enhance the general appearance of the arrangement greatly. Large closets are provided in nearly every suite, and there is nothing lacking for the comfort and well-being of the guests. In fact, Mr. Summerlin says that he has never seen a more perfectly arranged house than this--all of which is to be placed to the credit of Mr. Moore, who might be said to have ate and slept with it since the first spadeful of earth was turned in digging the foundation to its final completion.
    In connection with the hotel a bar handsomely fitted up and presided over by genial and accommodating employees. Where travelers from arid districts can find suitable refreshments. Altogether Hotel Moore is a credit to the city, and to its builder and manager.
Medford Mail, June 7, 1907, page 1


    S. J. Summerlin--"Haven't anything to kick about at all. The Hotel Moore is doing better than we figured on at the first start. The rooms are filling up rapidly, and everything looks good to me. A fellow can't help feeling pretty good to be in business in a city like Medford. One that's growing all the time. New people coming in, new buildings going up. Everything and everybody moving all the time. It makes one feel like moving a little himself."
"Things Told on the Street," Medford Mail, June 21, 1907, page 8


Medford Man Takes Bride.
    Miss Nellie McIntyre, of Michigan, and Thomas H. Moore, of Medford, Or., were married last night in the parlors of the Hotel Oregon. The ceremony was performed by Rev. W. F. Shields, of Medford, and among those present were Mrs. R. M. Whiteside and Fred Weeks, of the same place. After a trip to Puget Sound, Mr. and Mrs. Moore will go to reside at Medford, where he is the proprietor of the Moore Hotel.
Sunday Oregonian, Portland, July 14, 1907, page 3


    MOORE-McINTYRE--Thomas H. Moore, 48, Medford; Nellie P. McIntyre, 30, city.
"Marriage Licenses,"
Sunday Oregonian, Portland, July 14, 1907, page 4


The Sketch, Portland, Oregon, September 14-21, 1907


    T. E. Moore, owner and manager of Hotel Moore, is right at this time laying plans for the erection of a new brick building at the corner of West Seventh and F streets. This building will cover the entire corner and will be put up with the idea of making it the main part of the hotel. A basement will be put in and over it will be built a two-story brick structure. The wall of this building will be sufficiently heavy to carry two additional stories should Mr. Moore later decide to build them. No building which has been built on West Seventh Street during the past couple of years has added so much to the appearance of that part of the city as this structure will have added when it is built.
"City Happenings," Medford Mail, January 31, 1908, page 5


DEATH OF MRS. T. H. MOORE
    Mrs. Nellie B. Moore, wife of T. H. Moore, died at the family residence on G Street, at an early hour Sunday morning of blood poisoning, following childbirth. Funeral services were held at the Presbyterian Church Monday afternoon at 3:30 o'clock, Rev. W. F. Shields officiating.
    Mrs. Moore was born at Roseburg, Mich., May 27, 1877, and died at Medford, Or., July 26, 1908, aged 31 years and two months. She was educated at Stratford, Ontario, in the high school, where her father was United States custom house officer during her high school days. After her return to Roseburg, Mich., she assisted her father in the mercantile business until she was married to T. H. Moore, July 13, 1907, at Portland, Or. Her baby, William Homer Moore, was born July 12, and still survives her. Mrs. Moore's life was one of quiet, unassuming devotion to high ideals of right and duty. She was held in highest esteem by all who came under her influence, and those who knew her best loved her most. She was a believer in Christ and wished to be received into the church and have her baby baptized, and these rites were conformed with the day before her death.
    The remains were taken to her former home at Roseburg, Mich. last evening, Mr. Moore, accompanied by a nurse, taking the baby to her parents, who will give it parental care. Two little boys, John and Martin, by a former marriage, were also taken east to be kept with their mother's people. Theodore will remain with his father.
    Mr. Moore has the sympathy of the entire community in this sad breaking up of a happy home.
Medford Mail, July 31, 1908, page 1


BOUGHT LAND TO BUILD ON.
    Another bit of Medford real estate has changed hands at an advanced price. Yesterday T. H. Moore purchased the vacant lots--two of them--at the corner of West Seventh and G streets, paying $9000 for the same. The property was owned by R. J. Barter of Stillwater, Minn., and was bought by him a couple of years ago for $4500.
    The ground purchased covers 50 feet fronting on Seventh Street, and extends back 120 feet on G Streets, and includes the little brick residence now on the lots and fronting on G Street.
    Mr. Moore expects to soon erect a one-story brick building covering the entire space. He will put in three store buildings fronting on Seventh Street and two on G Street.
Medford Mail, October 16, 1908, page 1



HOTEL MOORE LEASED.
Will Be Known As the Moore Rooming House--Restaurant Separate.
    Hotel Moore has been leased to George Lindley and Donaldson Selby, and on and after November 2 it will be known as the "Moore Rooming House," the gentlemen having leased only the rooms. What is now the hotel office and dining room will be made over into storerooms and will be for rent. The restaurant will be run separately from the rooming house.
Medford Mail, October 29, 1908, page 6


ANOTHER GARAGE IN MEDFORD
Will Be in Rear of Hotel Moore and Will Be Built at Once.
    The Medford Brick Company yesterday commenced the erection of a one-story brick building, 40x50 feet in size, in the rear of Hotel Moore, for C. W. Palm. The building is being built by Mr. Palm for an automobile garage and has been leased to California parties.
Medford Mail, November 13, 1908, page 1


    Messrs. H. D. and F. C. Edmeads, recent arrivals in Medford from Greenburg, Ind., have leased what is now the Hotel Moore dining room, and between the middle of December and the first of January will open a boot and shoe store therein. These gentlemen are experienced men in this line of business, and they expect to carry a large stock.

"Local and Personal," Medford Mail, November 13, 1908, page 5


    T. H. Moore will soon commence the building 30x50 feet in size along the alley in the rear of the store room occupied by Hussey's store, to be used for general storage or warehouse purposes by himself and tenants.
    G. L. Schermerhorn yesterday had men to commence excavating the basement for the Moore building, corner of G and Main streets, but found the ground too wet. There will be a space 60x60 feet and 9 feet of depth to take out. Work will be resumed just as soon as possible to work to advantage.

"Local and Personal," Medford Mail, February 5, 1909, page 5


BUYS THREE CORNERS ON 6TH STREET
T. H. Moore Pays $14,000 for Land on West Side of Track--Business Property of the Future
    Prospective business activity on the West Side is foreshadowed by the purchase by T. H. Moore, proprietor of the Hotel Moore, of three corners at Sixth and H streets at a total cost of $14,500. Mr. Moore, who might be called the father of the West Side, as he was the first business man to make heavy investments there, is still firm in his faith that the West Side is the coming business district of Medford, and he does not hesitate to back his judgment with his money. When West Seventh Street is built up, Sixth Street will have to be utilized, unless East Side owners do something in the building line other than talk. From the new buildings planned already, West Seventh promises to pass Central Avenue as a prospective retail center, for not a new building has been constructed on the latter street for over a year.
    The land purchased by Mr. Moore consists of the Howard property, 110 by 140 feet, on the northeast corner, $6000; the Soliss property, 100x150, on the southwest corner, $5000, and the Bellinger property, 100x125, on the southeast corner, $3500.
Medford Daily Tribune, February 27, 1909, page 1


BIG DEAL CLOSED.
Block of Medford Real Estate Sold for $14,500.
    The biggest deal in Medford realty for some time was consummated Friday when T. H. Moore, proprietor of the Moore Hotel, closed deals for three quarter blocks on the corner of Sixth and H streets. The three properties passed into the hands of Mr. Moore for a consideration of $14,500.
    One of the three parcels of property is known as the Howard property and comprises the quarter block on the northwest corner of the street intersection. This property is 110 feet by 140 feet in size. The consideration for this piece was $6000.
    The second purchase was the quarter block on the southwest corner. This property is 100 by 150 feet in size, and was formerly owned by D. B. Soliss. The consideration was $5000.
    The third quarter block was purchased from J. H. Bellinger and is the southeast corner. The consideration for this property was $3500. This block is 100 by 125 feet in size.
    When asked as to what his plans were in regard to the use he would put his recently purchased property, Mr. Moore stated that he had no definite plans that he could announce at this time.
    "I bought the property," continued Mr. Moore, "because I thought that it was a good buy and because I believe that it is cheaper now than it will ever be. I have the greatest confidence in the growth of the town. Medford simply cannot help but grow. I am simply getting in on the ground floor, for I have no doubt of the future of the town."
    That is boosting talk, but even boosting talk is cheap when compared with the real noise that cash makes when it comes to showing confidence in a town. This deal is but a beginning of what may be expected, and the indications are that Medford property will change hands at a livelier rate than ever before this summer.

Medford Mail, March 5, 1909, page 1


    The number of strangers seen about the lobby of the Hotel Moore is convincing evidence of the growing popularity of that hostelry. The Moore is centrally located, is first-class in every particular, and its guests are treated with every courtesy and convenience possible. It's a good place to direct your acquaintances to. The excellent Louvre Cafe adjoining is an added attraction to this splendid and honestly conducted hotel.

"Local and Personal," Medford Mail, March 12, 1909, page 6


MOORE BUYS AGAIN.
    T. H. Moore, proprietor of the Moore Hotel, has been investing more of his ready cash in Medford real estate. This time it is the I. W. Thomas property, corner West Sixth and I streets, which he has purchased, and the price paid was $1750. The property has a frontage of 50 feet on Sixth Street and 100 feet on I Street, and is north and east from the Christian church.
Medford Mail, March 12, 1909, page 6


    The Medford Brick Company has commenced laying brick on a building for T. H. Moore. This building is being put up at the rear of Hussey's cash store, is to be two stories high and 30x50 feet in size. The first story will be used for commercial travelers' sample rooms, and the second story for a storage room.

"Local and Personal," Medford Mail, March 12, 1909, page 8


    "The Moore is doing a record business," states "the father of the West Side" [T. H. Moore]. "People are crowding us for accommodations, and we have not the room. Prosperity is surely here. I am surprised at the large number of newcomers."
    All the other men in this line of business have the same story to tell. People are coming by every train and must be cared for. The local business men are reaping a harvest.
    A new hotel for Medford is among the probabilities of the near future. Plans have been drawn, and part of the stock subscribed on a tentative proposition to erect a complete modern hostelry to accommodate the increased business. Both present structures are turning away people, and neither shows any indication of building the needed accommodations. The Nash some time since planned the erection of an addition [to] the "L" in the interior, providing 16 additional suites, with baths, but there has been no sign of building as yet. Neither has the Hotel Moore extended to the corner as once contemplated, the owner holding it more valuable for business purposes than for hotel. Mr. Moore, however, will provide a suitable site for a fine hotel on the West Side, and is understood to be figuring along these lines with capitalists.
Excerpt, "Hotels Jammed with Newcomers," Medford Daily Tribune, April 1, 1909, page 1


MOORE HOTEL SOLD
    Negotiations which were closed yesterday resulted in the transfer of the Moore Hotel corner, comprising the hotel, the frame structure on Main Street and the brick building in the rear to a syndicate composed of Gelroy Getchell, Dr. E. B. Pickel, Reginald H. Parsons and Lewis E. Wakeman. The buildings occupy a site 75 by 100 feet. An additional 50-foot strip is now being negotiated for and will adjoin the property on the south.
    No plans for buildings have yet been made, but it is understood that a modern hotel may be erected in the near future. For the present, however, the Moore Hotel will continue to be conducted as usual, and the leases of the other parts of the buildings will be left as they are.
Medford Mail, April 23, 1909, page 5


HOTEL CHANGES HANDS
Nephew of T. H. Moore Takes Charge of Moore Hostelry
    A change took place yesterday in the management of the Moore Hotel, and it is understood that there will be some changes and improvements made which will make this popular hotel a greater favorite than it has been in the past with the traveling public.
    The new manager is Victor Moore, who has been attending to the day work in the office for nearly a year and is thoroughly conversant with the needs of the guests of the house. He is very popular and is well liked by all who have been in the habit of putting up at the Moore Hotel.
    Victor Moore is a nephew of T. H. Moore, the former proprietor of the hotel, and the one who it was named after. He will leave in a few days for Southern Oregon and expects to make his home at Ontario, Or., which is east of Pendleton. He has already purchased some land there and will have with him his three sons. Two of the youngest are there now, awaiting him, and the eldest will go there with his father.

Medford Mail, July 23, 1909, page 2

Hotel Moore Luggage Tag
MOORE HOTEL LEASED
W. F. Rau of New York Will Make Many Improvements
    Mr. W. F. Rau, the gentleman who has leased Hotel Moore, is planning to make a great many changes about that popular hostelry. Mr. Rau, being a hotel man of years of experience, he sees many places wherein the service of the house may be improved. Mr. Rau is but recently from New York City, and previous to that he was engaged in a like business for seven years in Clarksburg and Parkerville, West Virginia, where he at one time was in charge of three large hotels.
    Among the improvements and added conveniences to the hotel will be a three-chair barber shop, new furniture and fixtures for the office, new lavatories and many changes in the room furnishings.
    Besides the 60-odd rooms in the present hotel, Mr. Rau has leased 26 rooms and four baths in the new Palm-Niedermeyer block, these to be furnished and put to use as soon as that building is completed, which will be within a couple of weeks. This addition will give the hotel over 90 rooms--which, by the way, will not be enough at the pace the Moore has been going for several months past. There are lots of people boosting for the Moore--not with trumpets and cymbals, but they are quietly suggesting to their friends that "it's a good place to stop."
    When the lease shall have expired on the building adjoining this hotel on the east, which will be next June, the owners will erect a new three-story building on the ground, and this will then be the hotel proper and the building now in use will be the annex. This will be the one thing most desired in Medford--a first-class, well-equipped and well-managed hotel, and Mr. Rau has been promised a lease for this new structure.
Medford Mail, July 30, 1909, page 1



    W. V. Moore, who has served Hotel Moore so ably as clerk for several months, has purchased a one-third interest in the  C. H. Pierce & Co. real estate firm. Mr. Moore is one of the finest, best-natured and genial gentlemen in this city and the Morning Mail wishes him success.
"Local and Personal," Medford Mail, August 13, 1909, page 2


    T. H. Moore, formerly proprietor and owner of Hotel Moore in this city, arrived Sunday from his present home in Ontario, Oregon. Mr. Moore still owns considerable property in Medford, and it is not altogether improbable that he will do some building on some of his possessions this fall. He will remain in Medford this time about two weeks, and unless the Morning Mail is a very poor guesser he will be back here for keeps within a few months.
"Local and Personal," Medford Mail, October 15, 1909, page 5


JURY AWARDS MOORE $43 IN SUIT AGAINST TULL
    The second trial of the case of T. H. Moore vs. C. E. Tull was held in Justice Canon's court Monday morning, and the jury brought in a verdit for the plaintiff for $43.30.
    The plaintiff asked in the original complaint for $143.30, due for rent from the defendant. Tull entered a counter for commission as agent in the sale of certain property which more than counterbalanced this claim. In the evidences it was brought out that Moore had one time said to Tull that he would give him $100 to sell the property. The verdict was rendered in accordance with this. The claim of the defendant was reduced by $100.
Medford Mail Tribune, November 8, 1909, page 4



    The Moore Hotel was built in 1910 and 1911 by prominent Ontario businessman T. H. Moore just as Ontario was beginning to take its shape as a regional hub for Eastern Oregon and Western Idaho.
"Moore Hotel Goes Up in Flames," Argus Observer, Ontario, Oregon, special section of October 5, 2008, page 48


HOTEL MOORE
    If a city is judged by its hotel accommodations, Medford must rank as progressive and up to date and a notable instance of a model hostelry is found in the Hotel Moore. This hotel contains every modern convenience, rooms may be obtained singly or en suite, public and private baths are provided, the building is lighted by electricity and heated. It is the only fireproof hotel in the city, has large sample rooms and in fact every modern facility is provided for the comfort of guests, while the sanitary conditions are perfect. All these accessories may exist, and yet the hotel not be perfect, for the soul of a hotel is its proprietor and manager, and in Mr. Walter F. Rau the Moore finds its perfection. He came here from New York City six months ago and values his investment in this property at $30,000, giving employment to twenty people. Upon entering the lobby one cannot but be impressed with the mission settees and fine cane seat rockers. There is a finely furnished and stocked cigar stand, and the most elegant buffet in the city is found in the rear, its finish and fittings being of beautiful richness, and a full stock of the best liquors and cigars are kept on hand at all times. The Moore caters to commercial as well as tourist trade and has large sample rooms for the use of commercial men, with whom it is a favorite hostelry.
    Mr. Rau is a hotel man of lifelong experience. He lived at one time in Clarksburg. W. Va., where he was the mayor and member of the city council and had charge of three hotels. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias, the Elks, Eagles and Commercial Club. He has thoroughly identified himself with the city's interests, having bought city property and taken an active interest in all public questions.
Medford Mail Tribune, January 2, 1910, page B5


MOORE ANNEX IS SOLD, $24,000
T. E. Pottenger and F. M. Amy Purchase Block West of Moore Hotel, on the West Side.
    T. H. Moore has sold the brick building on Main Street, West, known as the Moore Hotel annex, to T. E. Pottenger and F. M. Amy for a consideration of $24,000.
    The building is two stories high and fronts fifty feet on Main Street. The lower floor is occupied by stores and the upper is used by the Moore Hotel as lodging rooms.
    Messrs. Pottenger and Amy are not forming any plans for the future in regard to the property, having purchased it as an investment and being pretty well satisfied with it as it is.
Medford Mail Tribune, January 12, 1910, page 1


EMERICK EXPLAINS HOTEL MOORE BAR OPPOSITION
    Opposition to the Hotel Moore [liquor] license, states Councilman Emerick, is based upon the fact that the bar is not operated in connection with the hotel, but separately, in another building, and that there is but a far-fetched connection between the two.
    "If the bar was in the same building and run as an orderly high-class hotel bar, there would be no opposition," states Mr. Emerick. "Nor would there be opposition if the bar got rid of the disorderly element that frequents it and annoys the neighborhood. This city cannot afford to police this place alone, and if ten cents was the minimum price of drinks there it would probably bar this hobo element. I voted for another saloon alongside because the additional license would provide funds for policing the west side."
Medford Mail Tribune, May 17, 1910, page 8


Medford Hotel Acquired.
    MEDFORD, Or., May 3.--(Special.)--Arrangements were completed today whereby the Hotel Holland, one of Medford's newest and finest hotels, will be taken over on a two-year lease by E. Mohr, manager of the Hotel Medford, and Sheridan and Bell, proprietors of the Hotel Nash. The Holland will be closed for the present to allow inventory, after which it will be thrown open for the I.O.O.F. convention in this city the latter part of May. By this arrangement all four hotels in Medford, the Nash, Medford, Moore and Holland, will be under the control of Messrs. Bell, Mohr and Sheridan.
Sunday Oregonian, Portland, May 4, 1913, page 2


    FOR SALE--The one-half block known as the Red Front Barn property $7500 cash, or $4000 cash and balance on time at 10%. Address or call on owner, T. H. Moore, Ontario, Oregon.
Malheur Enterprise, Vale, Oregon, June 14, 1913, page 3


    Interesting history for a few who still remember the days of gaiety which accompanied the westward migration of many young blades, attracted by the fruit boom, is revived by another permit issued to the late Delroy Getchell, Medford banker. It was for construction of a cement business building on the south side of West Main Street between Fir and Grape. The $10,000 cost included the wrecking of two upper stories of the Moore Hotel building, where social life had centered.
"Look into First Building Permits of City Shows Cost Differences," Medford Mail Tribune, March 26, 1967, page D1



NEW BLOCK TO REPLACE SHACKS AND OLD HOTEL
Three-Story Moore Hotel and Collection of Odds and Ends of Buildings
Adjoining To Be Wrecked and Modern Structure Erected, 70x100 Feet--
White Enameled Brick.
    The Moore Hotel building will be wrecked and removed, together with all of the buildings and shacks on West Main Street between that structure and Fir, and a new modern business block erected thereon.
    Architect Frank C. Clark has perfected plans for a structure to cover the space thus cleared, 70x100 feet. This building will contain seven store rooms, five of which will face Main Street and two on Fir. This business structure, to be one story for the present, will extend from the corner of Main and Fir to the alley west on Main.
    The Moore Hotel, three stories in height, is an old type of architecture and cannot be sufficiently modernized for the purposes designed in the proposed structure. The old shacks on the corner have long since been an eyesore on one of the most prominent business corners in the city. Their removal will be hailed with delight.
White Brick and Marble.
    The owners of the properties involved are Dr. E. B. Pickel, Reginald Parsons, L. Niedermeyer and Delroy Getchell. They realize that a new era of growth and development is dawning in the Rogue River Valley and Medford, its principal business center. They are, therefore, erecting this structure with a view to making it eventually a modern office building, the first-story walls being built of sufficient weight and strength to hold as many additional stories as future business may suggest.
    The front of the new business structure will be of marble, white enameled brick and terra cotta. The ornamentation will be peculiarly modern and substantially attractive, being of the polychrome type, including the various colors of the several materials used.
    This noteworthy improvement will probably suggest to other owners of prominent business locations similar improvements. In fact, others are now being considered.
Excerpt, Medford Mail Tribune, February 24, 1916, page 1


NEW BUSINESS BLOCK ON MAIN
MOORE HOTEL AND BUILDINGS TO BE DISMANTLED
Plans Drawn for Extensive Changes at Fir and Main Corner
    Structures at the corner of Fir and Main Street and the Moore Hotel will be dismantled for the erection of a modern store building 70x100 feet, according to an announcement made Thursday by architect Frank Clark acting for the owners, Delroy Getchell, Reginald S. Parsons, L. Niedermeyer and Dr. E. B. Pickel. The proposed structure will extend from the Court Hall garage on Fir Street to the alley west of the Moore Hotel. The buildings now occupied by the "Eats," Binns' meat market, Gus the Tailor, and the old Hotel Moore bar will be torn down.
    The buildings will be built of white pressed brick, terra cotta, and marble and will be one story for the present with provisions for future enlargement at an early date. When complete it will be one of the most substantial and attractive business blocks in the city. A definite date for the beginning of work has not been decided upon, probably the first of April. Seven store rooms will be provided.
Medford Sun, February 25, 1916, page 2



    S. Childers, a well-known local contractor and builder, was the successful bidder for the contract to build the business block on West Main and Fir streets. Work will soon be begun in tearing down the Moore Hotel structure and other buildings in the site, which is 75x100 feet, followed by excavations for the walls of the new structure. Work on the block will be pushed to early completion.
"Local and Personal," Medford Mail Tribune, March 2, 1916, page 2


    The Hotel Moore, a three-story structure, is being dismantled in the initial work of cleaning up the northeast corner of the block on West Main and Fir streets, for the proposed business block to be erected thereon at once.
"Local and Personal," Medford Mail Tribune, March 8, 1916, page 2    It was replaced by the Getchell Building.

T. H. Moore, Ontario's Entrepreneur
Developer Built Famous Moore Hotel
    By Casey Clark Ney

Argus Observer
T. H. Moore 2008-10-5p2ArgusObserver    Known as a pioneer and Ontario developer, Thomas Homer (T. H.) Moore was born in Michigan. Prior to landing in Ontario, Moore gained a formal education where he studied law and mathematics. Moore moved from his birthplace to Washington and later Oregon. He resided in Medford for many years, where he raised a family with his wife, Lillian Simmons. The couple had three sons, Theo, John and Martin. Simmons died at a young age, and Moore remarried to a woman named Nellie McIntyre. They had a son, Homer. Moore also married Mary Morris of Weiser, and the couple had two sons, Paul and Bill.
    Following McIntyre's death in 1909, Moore moved to Ontario, where he began building businesses. Most notably, he founded the Moore Hotel, which was built in 1910-1911. Moore also had a hand in the construction of the Peterson's Furniture building.
    Moore also operated the Sugar Bowl and various other restaurants throughout town.
    In all, it is estimated he built 20 buildings in the Oregon Street area of town.
    Moore also had an interest in agriculture. In all, he developed five ranches and was most active at his ranch near Vale.
    According to an article in the Mid-Century Edition of the Ontario Argus Observer, "He lived to operate, to expand, and to improve, and to his goal he remained faithful."
    Moore died Feb. 16, 1943, in Ontario.
Argus Observer, Ontario, Oregon, special section of October 5, 2008, page 2





Last revised February 8, 2020