Historic Thomas Moore House in Poplar Bluff, Missouri was built in 1896

Thomas Moore House, 435 Lester St., Poplar Bluff, Missouri taken in 2014.Photo bySkye Marthaler, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

About Thomas Hugh Moore

Thomas Moore acquired the lot for the house on March 29, 1895, and his house was constructed the following year. Moore, a successful businessman in the late 1800s, served as mayor for one term in 1887. Governor William Stone had appointed Moore the Butler County Collector in 1896.

Moore owned and operated a mercantile store called T.H. Moore Company that was in downtown Poplar Bluff. The Queen Anne style was commonly used for other homes from the 1880s to the early 1900s. Moore and his wife, Jennie, moved into the home with their two sons and two daughters. Moore's wife was originally from New York.

In 1899, after Moore died at age 52, the property went to his wife. It is curiously interesting that none of their four children married and lived with their mother in the house until she died. When Jennie died in May 1933 at the age of 81, the home and furnishings were bequeathed to her daughters, Mattie and Almarene. Out of all the children, Almarene was supposedly the outgoing one. She had a job at the Bank of Poplar Bluff and she was a Sunday School teacher. She was also the last sibling to live in the house. She died in December 1974.

Almarene left the property to the First United Methodist Church which sold the house in 1975. In 1996, it sold again.

The historic home of Thomas Moore

The Thomas Moore House was built in Poplar Bluff in 1896. It's a two-and-a-half-story home displaying the architectural style of Queen Anne including some details of Colonial Revival. It also has a two-story bay window. In 1998, this home was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).

The house is in a residential neighborhood north of downtown Poplar Bluff. It's on a grassy lot that is steep facing Lester Street. It has a limestone retaining wall. The house has a stone foundation and weatherboard siding. When the house was nominated for the NRHP, it still had the original floor plan and decorative woodwork in the interior which included an ornate staircase like so many other historic homes have. The house was also privately owned in 1997.

Poplar Bluff

Poplar Bluff, Missouri is a city in Butler County. According to the 2020 census, the population was 15,505. Poplar Bluff is ranked the 45th largest city in Missouri. Located in southeastern Missouri, it has been called The Gateway to the Ozarks.

There are several buildings and homes in Poplar Bluff that are listed on the NRHP including the Butler County Courthouse, railroad depots, historic districts, and the Alfred W. Greer House.

Poplar Bluff is located along the Black River and part of its name is taken from the bluff overlooking the river.

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