The town was the primary filming location for Disney's live action production of Tom and Huck (1995).

It was named for early settlers, Robert and William Moore who located on land which became the site of Mooresville.

Andrew Johnson, later to become to 17th president of the United States, lived in Mooresville as an apprentice tailor when he was a young man.

[5] The Union Army occupied Mooresville several times during the Civil War, and a few skirmishes were fought in the vicinity.

Future U.S. president James Garfield, then a Union general camped in the area, delivered a sermon at the Mooresville Church of Christ in 1863.

[6] The entire town, described as a picturesque early 19th century village, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.