Moore Store
a.k.a. Moore Brothers General Store
14770 Oak St., Magnolia Springs, ALThe Moore Store is eligible for the National Register under Criteria A for its commercial associations to the town of Magnolia Springs.
The Moore Store is eligible for the National Register under Criteria A for its commercial associations to the town of Magnolia Springs. The Moore Store is the oldest and lone survivor of a series of small general stores operated for the rural community of Magnolia Springs. Following a flood in 1914, the store was relocated from the River by the owners Arthur and George Holk. At the end of 1922, the new store was destroyed by fire and immediately rebuilt. Soon afterward, the Moore Brothers purchased it and operated the business well into the 1960s. With the spread of the automobile and the growing importance of the City of Foley, that town's supermarkets and dime stores replaced the need for the small rural general store, and it closed with the death of the last owner. The building went through a series of hands including an owner who used it as a motorcycle repair shop. The demise of that business left the building vacant and deterioration began.
Located at the main intersection before crossing the Magnolia River Bridge, the building along with the adjacent post office (closed) and the neighboring school (demolished) served as the nexus for the community. With the nearby churches and Community Center that have survived, the Moore Store has been, and is the most identifiable resource in Magnolia Springs. Its strategic location and importance in daily life were major factors in the development of the area away from the residences on the River, and contributed to the expansion of the community.
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 2001.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.