Moore House (Yorktown, Virginia)

Moore House
U.S. National Historic Landmark
U.S. Historic district Contributing property
Virginia Landmarks Register
File:Moore House (7744073134).jpg
Nearest city	Jamestown, Virginia
Coordinates
VLR #	047-0002
Designated VLR	See individual properties

The Moore House is a historic home located within the Colonial National Historical Park in York County, Virginia. The house, owned by Augustine Moore at the time, is best known as the site where the Articles of Capitulation following the 1781 Battle of Yorktown were negotiated and drafted.

History

The home was erected around 1725 on a 500 acre parcel of land called Temple Farm which also included a dam and grist mill.

The land was originally granted to the Crown Governor of Virginia, John Harvey in the 1630s and was known as the York Plantation at this time. Lawrence Smith II later built the Moore House on Temple Farm and the home stayed within the family until 1754 when his son, Robert, sold it to his brother-in-law Augustine Moore to avoid financial woes. During the Battle of Yorktown in 1781, Augustine and his family fled to Richmond. While the family was away, the home was selected by defeated General Charles Cornwallis on 18 October 1781 as the site for surrender negotiations, likely due to its neutral and convenient location.

The House passed to Hugh Nelson in 1797 following the deaths of Augustine and his wife. It had several owners over the years and was significantly damaged during the 1862 Siege of Yorktown. Later the house's wood was pilfered by soldiers for fire fuel. The house was not repaired until the advent of the Battle of Yorktown Centennial Celebration in 1881. The National Park Service restored the house between 1931 and 1934 using historic photos. It was dedicated on 18–19 October 1934. The restoration work was the first of its kind undertaken by the National Park Service.

References

Attribution

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Park Service.