Ransom Barbee Moore, or Ranse Moore, (January 29, 1827November 18, 1904) was an American cattle rancher, local politician and Arizona territorial legislator in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was one of the earliest settlers of

El Monte, California El Monte is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city lies in the San Gabriel Valley, east of the city of Los Angeles. El Monte's slogan is "Welcome to Friendly El Monte" and is historically known as "The End of the San ...

, and was the primary founder of

Banning, California Banning is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. Its population was 29,505 as of the 2020 census, down from 29,603 at the 2010 census. It is situated in the San Gorgonio Pass, also known as ''Banning Pass''. It is named for ...

, which he initially named Moore City. Within a year the town was renamed in honor of his friend

Phineas Banning Phineas Banning (August 19, 1830 – March 8, 1885) was an American businessperson, businessman, financier and entrepreneur. Known as "The Father of the Port of Los Angeles," he was one of the founders of the town of Wilmington, Los Angeles, Ca ...

, the "Father of the Port of Los Angeles".

Early years

Moore was born to John Moore and Anna Rickman in 1827, the oldest of 12 children. Throughout most of his life he claimed to have been born in

St. Joseph, Missouri St. Joseph is a city in and county seat of Buchanan County, Missouri, Buchanan County, Missouri, United States. A small portion of the city extends north into Andrew County, Missouri, Andrew County. Located on the Missouri River, it is the princ ...

, but researchers have concluded he more likely was born in

Lawrence County, Arkansas Lawrence County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 16,216. The county seat is Walnut Ridge. Lawrence County is Arkansas's second county, formed on January 15, 1815, and named for Capt ...

. Moore's family relocated to

Blanco County, Texas Blanco County (Spanish: "white", ) is a United States county located in the U.S. state of Texas. It is located in Central Texas and its county seat is Johnson City. As of the 2020 census, the population was 11,374. The county is named for ...

in 1852. Moore joined a wagon train led by MacCager Johnston and traveled to California. It was the first wagon train to travel to California via

Yuma, Arizona Yuma is a city in and the county seat of Yuma County, Arizona, United States. The city's population was 95,548 at the 2020 census, up from the 2010 census population of 93,064. Yuma is the principal city of the Yuma, Arizona, Metropolitan ...

on the

Southern Emigrant Trail :''The Southern Emigrant Trail should not be confused with the Applegate Trail, which is part of the Emigrant Trail, Northern Emigrant Trails.'' The Southern Emigrant Trail, also known as the Gila Trail, the Kearny Trail, the Southern Trail and ...

. In 1852 he arrived at "the end of the Santa Fe Trail" in

, then called Lick-Skillet, where he involved himself in farming. Two years later he married Lidia Johnston, the daughter of MacCager, who had arrived in California on the same wagon train. Moore served as a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in 1860, but by 1864 the couple had moved to

San Bernardino San Bernardino ( ) is a city in and the county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 census, making it the List of ...

San Gorgonio Pass

In 1865 Moore purchased a ranch in the

San Gorgonio Pass The San Gorgonio Pass, or Banning Pass, is a elevation Gap (landform), gap on the rim of the Great Basin between the San Bernardino Mountains to the north and the San Jacinto Mountains to the south. The pass was formed by the San Andreas Faul ...

. During his stay in the pass, his holdings increased to several hundred acres, and it included the water rights to the mountains north of his land. In 1877 he began the development of a new town, Moore City, where his land met the newly constructed

Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Railroad classes#Class I, Class I Rail transport, railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was oper ...

. The town was renamed in the same year to Banning, California. For part of his stay in the Banning area, Moore was a Justice of the Peace. When his son John, a Deputy Sheriff in San Bernardino, married Georgia May Brown in 1880, Moore officiated their wedding. In April, 1882, '' The Los Angeles Herald'' reported that Ransom Moore had been arrested in Banning, and brought to Los Angeles by Deputy U.S. Marshal Dunlap, on charges of "furnishing liquor to Indians". After the

Indian Agent In United States history, an Indian agent was an individual authorized to interact with American Indian tribes on behalf of the U.S. government. Agents established in Nonintercourse Act of 1793 The federal regulation of Indian affairs in the Un ...

stationed in San Bernardino, Samuel S. Lawson, testified that he did not think Moore was a habitual offender, the charges were dropped. In 1883 Moore sold his land and water rights in the Pass and moved to Arizona.

Arizona

After arriving in the

Arizona Territory The Territory of Arizona, commonly known as the Arizona Territory, was a territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863, until February 14, 1912, when the remaining extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the ...

, Moore established a new cattle ranch on land that was once part of Camp Reno, which had served as an outpost for Fort McDowell from 1866 to 1868. The Camp was a departure point for U.S. troops fighting the

Tonto Tonto is a fictional character; he is the Native Americans in the United States, Native American (either Tonto Apache, Comanche, or Potawatomi) Friendship, companion of the Lone Ranger, a popular American Western (genre), Western character crea ...

and Pinaleño Indians during the

Apache Wars The Apache Wars were a series of armed conflicts between the United States Army and various Apache tribal confederations fought in the Southwestern United States, southwest between 1849 and 1886, though minor hostilities continued until as l ...

. After Moore took possession of the land, Camp Reno became known as Reno Ranch. Two of Moore's sons, Thomas and William, also relocated to Arizona along with their wives and children. William eventually became a Deputy Sheriff, but Thomas was killed in 1884 while being pursued for the murder of man named Charles Hyde. Thomas and Charles had a dispute at a local bar which ended in Thomas shooting Charles. In 1891 Ransom Moore served one term in the

16th Arizona Territorial Legislature The 16th Arizona Territorial Legislative Assembly was a session of the Arizona Territorial Legislature which convened in Phoenix, Arizona. The session began on January 19, 1891. Background John N. Irwin had been appointed to replace Lewis Wol ...

. He died in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

on November 18, 1904. Earlier that same year had joined several others to form the ''Golden Star Mining and Milling Company''. The corporation was initially capitalized with $1 million. Moore, as one of the primary investors, was also appointed to the Corporate Board. Ransom and his wife divorced prior to the relocation to Arizona. She later remarried and died 20 years later, May 1924, in San Bernardino, California as Mrs. Lydia Bowers.

References

Footnotes

Citations