Moores Park

J. HENRY MOORES is one of the prominent older residents of the city of Lansing having located here in July, 1865. His parents, Robert Baxter and Caroline (Ball) Moores, were natives of Newark, N.J., where they were married in 1831, and two years later removed to a farm near Croton, Licking County, Ohio where the subject of this sketch was born April 2, 1846, and was the youngest of seven children. His father died in 1848, but the mother lived to enjoy her children's society until January 1, 1891 dying at the age of eighty-seven years.

When but sixteen years old Henry commenced work for himself by hiring out as a farm hand. This he continued for four years, when he came to Michigan to take advantage of the course of study offered by the Agricultural College. At the close of his Sophomore year he left college, and engaged in market gardening on a piece of land in the eastern part of the city. Two years later, in 1871, deciding that gardening was not his forte, he engaged with Charles W. Butler in the real estate business. He soon, however, branched off for himself, and selecting pine timber as offering the best returns for labor and capital invested, he soon became one of the best known pine dealers of the State. In 1881 he established the village of Moorestown in Missaukee County, this State. He built a railroad fifteen miles in length, and engaged extensively in logging his timber in that region, floating his logs down the river and having them manufactured into lumber at Muskegon. He sold out his logging operations in 1885 in order to give his attention to his increasing interests in the city. Mr. Moores was one of the original five stockholders of the Lansing Wheelbarrow Company, and at the close of its second year became its president, which position he still holds. This is one of the strong and successful institutions of the city, and owes much of its success to his guiding hand. He has done much toward the upbuilding of the city, having built many tasty homes in various locations during the last eight years, his houses being noted for the best quality of material and completeness of detail in their interior arrangements. The home occupied by himself, at the corner of Allegan and Townsend Streets, was built in 1886, and is still admitted to be the handsomest wooden residence in the city. He is a member of the Plymouth Congregational Church, which he served for many years as Chairman of its Board of Trustees, and is one of its best known and active supporters.

Mr. Moores' first marriage took place at Concord, Mich., December 17, 1873, to Sarah Lois Stevens, who died in March, 1886, leaving one daughter--Miss Josephine F. In April, 1877, he married his present wife, Mrs. S. Frances Goodman, at Oak Park, Ill. Since 1887 his attention (802) has been given largely to the yellow pine lands of the South, selecting southeastern Mississippi as his field of operations. He has become interested in many thousand acres, and is enthusiastic as to the outcome of investments made in that State.

Moores Park is open from dawn to dusk, there is parking on the street and in the parking lot at the west end of the park. Handicap parking is available close to the pool.