Thomas Moore Homestead

Thomas Moore Homestead


 Original Moore Homestead, a log cabin covered in siding. Rd.#659, Scott Co., Va. map
In June 1990, my sister, Sharon Gillespie, and I decided to go on an adventure to find where Celia Moore Smith lived and died, so long ago. We loaded up her two children, Jamie and Sissy, and drove to Scott County, Virginia. We took food, cooking utensils, and a tent. We camped at the Lover's Leap Campground, in the Natural Tunnel State Park, for two weeks.
After breakfast every morning, we went exploring. We spent a lot of time at the Scott County Library in Gate City. We found more information than we ever dreamed.
Sometimes we just drove around. We explored Dungannon, Virginia. Sharon spent time in the Scott County courthouse in Gate City and the Russell County courthouse in Lebanon looking up records.
One day while driving down a little gravel road, we found Moore's Greenhouse. We stopped and talked to the owners, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Moore.
I still can hardly believe what we found out. We had accidentally tripped into the Moore Plantation where Celia Moore Smith was born and raised.
They very graciously allowed us to go inside and see part of the house. Thomas Moore told us some stories about the Moores. We got some pictures. It was amazing.
Mr. Moore told us how his ancestor, Thomas Moore moved there when it was just a wilderness. He had some slaves with him. First they built a small log cabin to live in. Across from the log cabin, they dug up clay from the yard, shaped it into bricks, then baked them. Those bricks were used to build the the plantation house.
The little log house was turned into a store. They sold Molasses and peach brandy in the store, legally. They made the brandy from the peaches grown in their own peach orchard on the plantation.

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