Archives West Finding Aid

Miles C. Moore, born in 1845 in Ohio, migrated to Walla Walla, Washington in 1863 where he began his career with a grain dealing firm. In 1873, Moore married Mary E. Baker, daughter of Dorsey S. Baker, a prominent Walla Walla resident and co-founder of Baker-Boyer Bank. Moore later became president of Baker-Boyer Bank but left the bank in 1878 to establish M.C. Moore and Sons Loans and Investments, passing the company on to his sons, Frank A. and Robert L. just before his death on December 18, 1919. Moore was mayor of Walla Walla from 1877 to 1878. In 1884, he was chairman of the Republican Territorial Convention. In March 1889, Moore was named Territorial Governor of Washington, a position he held until Washington was admitted to statehood on November 13, 1889. In 1903 he was elected president of the Washington State Bankers' association. Moore also served as a Whitman College trustee and on the board of overseers.