Moore, R. T., House
a.k.a. Sweet Onion
LA Alt. 2, N side, about 2 mi. W of US 167, Bernice, LAThe R. T. Moore House is of local significance in the area of architecture as an early and important example of residential architecture within the context of Union Parish.
Union Parish was created by an act of the legislature in 1839 from a portion of Ouachita Parish. As northern rural hill parishes go, Union was apparently reasonably well settled by the eve of the Civil War. However, according to a comprehensive historic structures survey, most of the extant older buildings in the parish represent the industrial age -- i. e., the time following the coming of railroads and sawmills in the 1880s. Indeed, of the 371 structures over fifty years old identified, only eleven can be said to represent the pre-Queen Anne Revival era. Most of these are relatively plain, mid-nineteenth century, small to medium size cottages with front and rear galleries. Most are plain while some feature hesitant touches of the Greek Revival.
Taken as a whole, these buildings (all residences) represent Union Parish's earliest architectural patrimony. The Moore House is a member of this distinctive group. In addition, it is conspicuous among the group because of its very unusual decoratively cut boards ornamenting the gallery and the old dogtrot entrance, the sawtooth decorated mantels, and the sawtooth cornice in one room. The mantels are particularly well ornamented and important. Indeed, the State Historic Preservation Office staff is unaware of any comparable mantels in the region.
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1994.
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.