THE MOORE HOTEL (1883)

Side One: The Moore Hotel is the first hotel and oldest existing business in Hawthorne. In 1882, William Shepard (W.S.) and Virginia McCraw Moore moved to Hawthorne from Braden, Tennessee, and bought a railroad house on Johnson Street to use as their home. They added two more railroad buildings in 1883, and established the Moore Hotel. A model of Folk Victorian architecture, the hotel featured a two-tiered, full facade, wrap-around veranda. The style, popular in small towns following Reconstruction, captured the culture and beauty of early Hawthorne. A south wing was erected by Moore circa 1900. The northeast wing, formerly an early 1870s schoolhouse and Masonic Lodge, was moved from across the street using mules and logs. Walkways and porches with jigsaw-cut balusters and post brackets linked the buildings. In 1923, Moore’s 6-year-old grandson, Francis, walked barefoot across a wet cement sidewalk section in front of the hotel. Those impressions still remain. The Moore Hotel was the first in the region to provide bathtubs with running water, via a tank and windmill in the backyard, and carbide gas lighting. The center lobby was used for guest registration, socializing, and Saturday night bridge games. Side Two: Wealthy men and women from all over the country wintered here, and the Moore Hotel was regarded as one of the best in Florida. W.S. Moore and Chester Shell, a local black man experienced in hunting and training bird dogs, led guests on hunting excursions. Over 2,500 game birds were served at the hotel in a season. Virginia (Jennie) Moore managed hotel duties. Room rates were $2 a day or $10 per week. When W.S. died in 1925, Jennie sold the hotel to a Jacksonville company. The new owners were unable to maintain the hotel and defaulted after seven years. Jennie reclaimed the property and rented 23 rooms to overnight travelers until her death in 1934. The dining room was closed in 1948, and Moore’s son, Glenn Sr., converted all but six rooms into apartments. After the death of Glenn’s wife, May, in 1964, sons Glenn Jr. and Francis converted the apartments into ten spacious units. The hotel was then renamed Hawthorne Apartments and managed first by Mary Moore, then by Glenn Jr. In 2000, W.S. Moore’s great-grandson, Richard, inherited the apartments. The Moore Hotel has been maintained by four generations of the Moore family, and they have been a part of the history and development of Hawthorne for over a hundred years.