On March 3rd 1873, the small village known as "Moore's Siding" was incorporated into the Town of Mooresville. Much of the land for initial development and also given for civic use came from John Franklin Moore. John Robert McNeely, Moore's son-in-law, was appointed as the 1st Mayor of Mooresville. Esther Jane "Jennie" Moore and John Robert McNeely were Mooresville's first couple, and several grandchildren and great grandchildren of this couple still live locally. The oldest known photograph of Mooresville shows the Atlantic, Tennessee, and Ohio Railroad train depot, where flatbed railroad cars were loaded with cotton. Today the building is the Depot Visual Arts Center just a few blocks away at the corner of N. Main St. and W. Center St. The cotton weighing platform was at the corner of N. Broad St. and Iredell Ave. about 100 yards from here. A similar platform stood next to the train depot where John Franklin Moore Park is located today.