Christopher W. Moore was one of the most prominent men in Boise. Although born in Toronto, Canada in 1835, Boise would be the place he came to know as his hometown. Moore moved with his family from Canada to Oregon in 1851. His family business was ranching and they continued to ranch in Oregon. But Moore wanted something different with his life, so he left his family in 1862 and headed to Idaho to try his luck at mining. This path led him to the large mining areas of Ruby City and Silver City. Once here Moore used his entrepreneurial skills to develop and run general stores in the mining communities. His stores supplied the miners with groceries, mining needs and served as the post office and bank for the towns. Life in Ruby City was good for Moore. In the summer of 1865, he married his wife Catherine and they set out to San Francisco for their honeymoon while their home was built in Ruby City. They returned to Ruby City to start their family, but would not remain for long. Given his success in banking in the mining towns, Moore decided to move his young family to Boise in 1867. It was here that he and his partners established the First National Bank of Idaho. After buying out his partners in 1872, Moore served as the bank president until his death. As one of the leading families in Boise, Moore’s first grand home was built on 8th and Grove, amongst other mansions of city. The Moore’s lived there until 1891, when they relocated to Warm Springs Avenue. Also in 1891, Moore embarked on a new business venture and created the Boise Artesian Hot & Cold Water Company. It was his imaginative idea to heat a home using the natural hot springs that ran under Boise’s streets. His home was the first house to be heated using Geothermal heating in the United States and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as such. C.W. Moore lived a full business life, serving as president of the First National Bank of Idaho, founder of the Boise Artesian Hot & Cold Water Company, founder of the Children’s Home on Warm Springs Avenue and the director of Capital Electric Light, Motor &Gas Company. He was an exceptional businessman that gave generously to Boise. Moore’s concern about the welfare of children in Boise led him to deed two lots of land upon his death in 1916 to be used to create a children’s park and playground. One of the lots has now been made into a park in his honor. The C.W. Moore Park on the corner of 5th and Grove houses several architectural elements that were salvaged from the demolitions of several downtown buildings at the hands of the Boise Redevelopment Agency. It is a fitting memorial to a man who helped build Boise into an urban oasis.

http://library.boisestate.edu/special/FindingAids/fa100a.shtm