PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE
The Foundation's Life and Legacy
The Claude Moore Charitable Foundation was established in 1987 by Dr. Claude Moore, a successful physician and Northern Virginia landowner who left most of his fortune in trust for the purpose of enhancing educational opportunities throughout the Commonwealth and beyond. Dr. Moore left his estate to the Foundation to increase its capacity for philanthropy.
The bulk of his estate consisted of real estate, most of which was in Loudoun County, Virginia. To further the Foundation’s ability to carry out Dr. Moore’s philanthropic vision, the Foundation has sold portions of his real estate holdings in Loudoun County, while at the same time establishing Moorefield, a transit and trail oriented community that offers urban-style living with easy access to the DC Metrorail’s new Silver Line.
OUR FOUNDER
About Dr. Moore
Dr. Claude Moore was born in Danville, Virginia in 1892. He described his childhood in the Southwest Virginia towns of Radford and Roanoke as one of poverty, steeped in the values of hard work and thrift. As a young boy, he was a member of the first Boy Scout Troop in Roanoke.
Dr. Moore received a scholarship to the University of Virginia Medical School and graduated in 1916. He then volunteered for the U.S. Army and served in France during World War I. After his service, Dr. Moore returned to Roanoke, where he practiced medicine for seven years before joining the staff of the Mayo Clinic to study radiology. In 1930, he moved to the District of Columbia and taught at George Washington University, eventually becoming the first Chairman of the University’s radiology department. He later established an independent practice.
Dr. Moore began investing in undeveloped Northern Virginia land in 1931, acquiring many of his holdings at public auctions. He typically stocked these properties with cattle or sheep or leased them to tenants for farming. When he retired in 1956, Dr. Moore turned his full attention to land investments and established the Claude Moore Charitable Foundation in 1987. Creating an enduring and far-reaching philanthropic legacy.