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Artie Bolick remembered well J. Oliver Moore and the ferry he owned and operated during the turn of the century. Prior to 1911, the ferry was the only means of connecting Alexander and Catawba counties. Bolick recalled, as a child, raising before 4:00 A.M. to "catch the ferry" and waiting sometimes for 2 hours before she, her father, and their horse-drawn buggy would be taken across the Catawba River for the price of 10 cents. "We wrapped up in blankets and heated large rocks to warm ourselves," said Bolick. "I remember Oliver Moore and his family well. My daddy worked for Mr. Moore's daddy for 25 cents a day. Oliver Moore was a stout-built man, taller than average, and he owned a lot of land." J. Oliver Moore was truly an entrepreneur and he did "own a lot of land".
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preserved a prime piece of heavily wooded Alexander County,
apparently never cutting its timber. And now, following in Moore's
tradition, development continues to take residents to the north side
of the river- just like Moore did- and put them in a residential
lakefront golfcourse community called Oliver's Landing.
"The property has an interesting history. It was in the Moore family since the late 1700's, so everything was in its natural state when acquired. The entire site changed hands in 1932 when it was conveyed by the Alexander County sheriff for $200 to a U.L. Hafer for unpaid taxes. Exercising her redemption rights, Oliver Moore's daughter, Miss Elizabeth Moore, reacquired the property in 1938 for $350. "I think Oliver Moore would be pleased, " says Rick Stroupe. "We have gone to much effort and expense to make Oliver's Landing a quality community. I can understand why the Moore family held onto this property. I'm not aware of any other place where an individual can get a view of the lake and the mountains from one of the premier golf course lots." |
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