Moore-Cunningham House

This French chateau/ Queen Anne-style mansion was designed by James King and was completed in 1892 for Christopher W. Moore, one of Boise's richest men. Moore led the Boise Artesian Hot and Cold Water Company and his new house was the first in Boise to utilize geothermal heating supplied by artesian wells at the nearby hot springs. The well-preserved Moore-Cunningham House became a National Register of Historic Places listing in 1977 and was photo-documented by the Historic American Buildings Survey in 1974. The home stayed in the Moore family for over 120 years before being sold in 2018; the mansion, on a 1.5-acre lot, was renovated in 2021.

One of the most noticeable features of the design of the Moore-Cunningham House is the three-story square tower set at a 45-degree angle at one of the front corners. Others are a large, curving, wraparound porch and third-floor dormer windows. The architect of the 8.800-square-foot brick mansion was James King, who had recently designed the Boise City National Bank (also a Clio entry) and the Washington County, Idaho courthouse.

Christopher Wilkinson Moore was born in Toronto in Ontario, Canada in 1835; his father was a native of Ireland and his mother was born in Scotland. When he was seventeen, he and his parents migrated along the Oregon Trail to Oregon, where Moore raised and sold livestock. He moved to northern Idaho in 1862 and then to Boise in 1863 where he worked as a merchant. Around 1865, Moore married a West Virginia-born woman named Catherine Minear. In Boise in 1867, along with B.M. Durell, William Roberts, and D.W. Ballard, Moore organized the First National Bank of Idaho. Moore served as the bank's first cashier, became one of the directors in 1876, and was elected president in 1890. The following year, work was begun on Moore's new home. An 1899 book called the Moore home "one of the most commodious and beautiful homes in the county, surrounded by large and well-kept grounds which furnish a fitting setting to the palatial dwelling."

In 1900, Moore (age 64) and his wife Catherine (60) shared their Warm Springs Avenue home with daughter Annie L. (25); son Raymond (14); and an Irish-born servant named Margaret Magnu (28). The children were Idaho natives. Six of the seven children born to Christopher and Catherine were still alive in 1900: three sons and three daughters. Moore appeared in the Boise city directory through 1912, where he was listed as president of both the First National Bank and the Boise Artesian Hot and Cold Water Company. Son Raymond worked as an assistant cashier at First National Bank in 1912 but lived elsewhere (531 Warm Springs Ave.). Another son, Crawford, was the bank's vice president in 1912. Son Marion P. raised livestock. Moore's daughter Alice married Dr. H.L. Bettis.

Another of Moore's daughters, Laura Moore Cunningham, inherited the mansion around 1913 and lived there until she died in 1963. In 1920, Laura M. (46) and her husband, John W. Cunningham (60), lived in the Warm Springs Ave. mansion; the only other resident was their Chinese-born cook, Louie Hong (40). John was born in Oregon and worked as vice president of a bank. John (72) and Laura (58) shared the home in 1930 with nephew Larence Bettis (34) and a servant, Helena Moriarty (26). The house was valued at around $25,000. John still worked as a bank vice president and Larence was a "wool grower" in the sheep industry.

After Mrs. Cunningham's death in 1963, a caretaker lived in the ivy-covered home until the 1970s or later. Mrs. Cunningham left the home to descendants but also donated part of her estate to the community through the Laura Moore Cunningham Foundation. In 2017, Christopher W. Moore's great-great granddaughter, Laura Bettis, offered the mansion for sale for the first time ever. Geothermal heat was still in use at the house, heating the backyard swimming pool as well as the home.

Access Genealogy. Biography of Christopher W. Moore, Access Genealogy. January 1st, 1899. Accessed January 25th, 2023. https://accessgenealogy.com/idaho/biography-of-christopher-w-moore.htm.

Garrett, Duane. HABS photographs of Moore-Cunningham House. HABS ID-30. Washington, DC. U.S. Department of the Interior, 1974.

Hart, Arthur A. NRHP nomination of Moore-Cunningham House, Boise, Idaho. National Register. Washington, DC. National Park Service, 1975.

Miller, Tyson. Historic Warm Springs mansion on market for first time, KTVB7. May 30th, 2017. Accessed January 24th, 2023. https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/historic-warm-springs-mansion-on-market-for-first-time/444235016.

Redfin. 1109 E. Warm Springs Ave., Boise, ID 83712, Redfin. January 24th, 2023. Accessed January 24th, 2023. https://www.redfin.com/ID/Boise/1109-E-Warm-Springs-Ave-83712/home/168255146.

R.L. Polk & Co. Boise City and Ada County Directory 1912-1913. Volume VIII. Salt Lake City, UT. R.L. Polk & Company, 1912.

U.S. Census Bureau. Household of Christopher W. Moore on Warm Springs Ave., Boise District 1, Idaho, dwelling 237, family 279. Washington, DC. U.S. Government, 1900.

U.S. Census Bureau. Household of John W. Cunningham at 1109 Warm Springs Ave., Boise District 1, Idaho, dwelling 301, family 309. Washington, DC. U.S. Government, 1920.

U.S. Census Bureau. Household of John W. Cunningham at 1109 Warm Springs Ave., Boise District 1, Idaho, dwelling 22, family 22. Washington, DC. U.S. Government, 1930.

Unknown. Illustrated History of the State of Idaho.... Chicago, IL. The Lewis Publishing Company, 1899.