Martin Kritser moved to the Independence area in 1838, becoming one of the early settlers in the county. He worked as a merchant and grocer (he also took up cabinet making), eventually earning enough money to&nbsp;buy the property on which the home stands and also&nbsp;farmland around the community of Raytown. He apparently continued to buy farmland until 1858, which around the time&nbsp;he sold the house to a local Blacksmith. Kritser's time in Independence coincided with the city's emergence as an important stop of&nbsp;the Santa Fe Trail, which led settlers to territories in the West. He therefore contributed to the city's growth during this period.

The Kritser House is a typical example of houses in Independence built in the city's early period.

"Kritser House." National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form

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Built around 1850, this small but historic home is the Kritser House. It is named after its first owner and builder, Martin U. Kritser, who played an important role in the city's early development. The home is also a typical example of mid-1880s Victorian middle-class architecture. A historical marker is located in front of the house and a modern addition was built in the rear. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. 

Kritser House

This five-mile tour makes a loop and includes historic sites and museums in the heart of downtown Independence as well as a few additional landmarks and museums that can be reached within a relatively short walk. The tour starts at one of the oldest homes in the city and moves on to the first courthouse in the region, a building that was constructed in 1827. The tour then makes its way through the center of downtown before moving west to include sites related to President Harry S. Truman. The tour turns south and includes several sites of importance to the history of the LDS church before heading further south and east to the National Frontier Trails Museum. Highlights of the tour include the Truman Presidential Library & Museum the Bingham-Waggoner Estate, and numerous historic markers and buildings associated with the early history of Independence. 

Independence Missouri Heritage Trail

Independence Missouri was established in 1827; and the historic 1827 Log Courthouse is structurally all that dates from the city’s founding. There are numerous other structures that are historically relevant to the early history of Independence, but none are as old as this structure. This log structure has an interesting history, that according to chroniclers of the Mormon Church is intertwined with church history in Jackson County. This log building originally was constructed by Algernon Sidney(A.S.) Gilbert, (1789-1834) who was an early convert to Mormonism and was an instrumental figure in the early Mormon church in the Independence area. This Log-building was constructed in 1827 and served as both Gilbert’s home and store, which later provisioned freighters for their journey on the Santa Fe Trail.  In 1833, the citizens of Jackson County decided to forcibly evict the Mormons and confiscate all their property. There are historical records of the formal declaration that banishes all Mormons from Jackson County in July of 1833. The Expulsion of Mormons resulted in the forced removal of members of the Mormon faith group. The order occurred among increasing violence between non-Mormon vigilantes and Mormon.Many Mormons resisted this order and some were tarred-and-feathered when they protested their removal. A.S. Gilbert was not one of them, but he did try to receive compensation for his log-house and store, but in response, a mob destroyed a portion of the building and “threw(sic) his goods into the street”(History of the Church, 2:118n). Thus marked the end of A.S. Gilbert in Jackson County as he fled north to Clay County where he set up another store. It was here in 1834 that he denounced Joseph Smith and according to a Mormon church historian, A.S. Gilbert was killed, “struck down by the Lord as a consequence of Abrahamic sacrifice, as he was a dissenter”(History of the Church, 2:118n &amp; Missouri Mormon Frontier Foundation). It’s difficult to ascertain the truth of why he decided to denounce Joseph Smith. After leaving Jackson County, A.S. Gilberts Log-cabin became the first courthouse in Jackson County in 1832. The 1827 Log Courthouse in Independence, Mo. played a critical role in the early years of Jackson County governance. This courthouse would have provided the earliest forms of government service and would be the last of civilization that many would see for years to come. It’s estimated that between 300,000 to 500,000 settlers over a period of six-decades began their overland route here in Independence and thereby populated (1846-1869) the western territories that would become eventually states that comprise the western United States. This log courthouse was used by President Harry S. Truman where he presided as a judge until 1932 and is one of few remaining structures dating from the earliest years of Jackson County’s founding.

The 1827 Log Courthouse in Independence, Mo. played a critical role in the early years of Jackson County governance. This courthouse provided the earliest forms of government service and was the last of American settlement that many would see for years to come. It’s estimated that between 300,000 to 500,000 settlers over a period of six-decades began their overland route here in Independence and thereby populated (1846-1869) the western territories that would become eventually states that comprise the western United States. This log courthouse was used by President Harry S. Truman where he presided as a judge until 1932 and is one of few remaining structures dating from the earliest years of Jackson County’s founding.

1827 Log Courthouse 

The courtroom is significant because of its connection to Truman who made his name in politics while serving as judge of Jackson County. As a county administrator, Truman improved county finances, built a county road system, and oversaw the construction of a county hospital.1 Truman’s tenure as county judge provided the foundation for his future political career as a U.S. Senator, Vice-President, and later as President.According to Edgar Hinde, Truman friend and former postmaster for the City of Independence, Truman, “was a power in politics around here. Because everybody respected Truman. They knew he was absolutely honest and everybody had a lot of respect for him. He ran the county in the proper manner and he conducted himself in the same way. He had a lot of power, I'll tell you. He had a lot of followers.”2 This quote shows the importance and success of Truman at home and beyond and it sums up some of the strengths of his character. For these reasons and more, the courthouse has also become a symbol for many politicians trying to associate themselves with Truman. Many presidents have also given speeches on the courthouse steps.

The courthouse located at 112 West Lexington Avenue in Independence served as one of the two sites that Truman worked at while serving first as eastern district judge from 1922-24, and then as presiding judge from 1926-34 in Jackson County. The first courthouse was constructed in 1836 and has been remodeled multiple times since. Truman oversaw the 1933 remodeling of the courthouse in the colonial revival style. Today the courthouse serves as the home of the Jackson County Historical Society. They provide guided tours and historical interpretation. In addition to that, they also operate a History Center, an Archives and Research Center, the Old Jail, a gallery of George Caleb Bingham paintings, and Harry S. Truman's office and courtroom. The courthouse also now houses offices for Jackson County’s Assessment, Collections and Recorder of Deeds Departments, as well as the Independence Tourism Department.Listen to the audio to learn more about Harry S. Truman's early political life!

Historic Truman Courthouse

Avard Tennyson Fairbanks sculpted the Old Oregon Trail medallion in 1924 while teaching art at the University of Oregon. It depicts the hardships that the artist's ancestors and nearly 500,000 others experienced while traveling westward on the overland trail by covered wagon in the mid-19th century.One 1852 migrant, Ezra Meeker, traveled back eastward along the trail in 1906 to seek the preservation of the Oregon Trail route. His efforts inspired Avard Fairbanks to sculpt a covered wagon drawn by oxen on the trail. In 1923 the Old Oregon Trail Association (OOTA) commissioned Fairbanks to design the organization's logo. That design was then cast as this 36-inch bronze medallion.The medallion depicts a man driving the team of oxen that pull the covered wagon over rocky terrain. His wife rides inside the wagon, holding their infant child. Fairbanks placed a pioneer mother and baby inside the wagon at the top and center of the design to commemorate his grandmother. But Fairbanks' depiction of the trail experience was shaped as much by popular culture at the time of its sculpting as by historical reality. In fact, women and children typically walked along beside the wagons to spare their teams, particularly on rough terrain.Fairbanks' depiction of trail life appears to have been influenced by W.H.D. Koerner's famous 1921 illustration Madonna of the Prairie. Koerner’s illustration was used as the cover image for Emerson Hough’s popular novel The Covered Wagon. Koerner’s instantly popular illustration portrayed the beautiful young heroine seated on a wagon box with the opening of the wagon cover forming a halo around her face. Koerner’s illustrations inspired the costuming for a silent film adaptation of Hough’s novel, which became the first western “epic” film. In the year before The Covered Wagon movie was released, only fifty identifiable western films had been made; in the year following its release, 150 westerns were made – and the industry maintained that level of production until it was eclipsed by television in the 1950s. Adaptations of Koerner’s covered wagon imagery pervaded the massive advertising for the movie. This gave Madonna of the Prairie a significant role in shaping public perceptions of settler women. It also appears to have shaped Avard Fairbanks’ conception of pioneer women in this medallion and in other pioneer monuments that he sculpted over the next 50 years.The OOTA originally planned to use Fairbanks' Fairbanks’ design to mark the Oregon Trail route from Independence, Missouri, to Seaside, Oregon. An Old Oregon Trail medallion was soon cast in bronze and installed in historic Broadway Bridge in Seaside, near a Fairbanks medallion depicting the Lewis and Clark Salt Works. A copy of that medallion was placed in this Oregon Trail monument in Baker City, Oregon, the hometown of OOTA founder Walter Meacham. Fairbanks also reproduced the scene, renamed The Pioneer Mothers, for installation on the reverse of his 1928 Pioneer Mother statue for Vancouver, Washington.Fairbanks' covered wagon design also was selected to print on a series of metal signs marking the Oregon Trail route. The states of Oregon and Idaho both ordered copies of the markers. But these smaller highway signs were not durable enough for highway use, and apparently were never installed.In more recent years, Fairbanks' descendants have recast Old Oregon Trail for various sites along the Oregon Trail. The artist’s son, David Fairbanks, donated this casting of the medallion to the Independence-based Oregon-California Trails Association (OCTA). Two decades later, the OCTA and Jackson County, Missouri, installed the medallion on the lawn of the Historic Truman Courthouse on June 7, 2016. It was placed on the reverse of a stone marker first installed in 1948 marking the starting point of the Oregon Trail. The medallion's dedication ceremony also honored the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service.

Avard Fairbanks sculpted this covered wagon scene in 1924. Plans to use Fairbanks' image to mark the route of the Oregon Trail from Independence, Missouri, to Seaside, Oregon, floundered in the 1920s, resulting in only two markers in Oregon. But in the 21st century, Fairbanks' descendants have worked to erect additional castings of the bronze medallion, including this one in the jumping-off point of Independence. The medallion was installed on a stone marker first installed in 1948.

Old Oregon Trail medallion (Independence, Missouri)

The Ott building may have been
built by Christian Ott Sr., who moved to the area as a pioneer. In his life,
Ott was known as a civic leader and a philanthropist, at one point serving as
mayor.
The building was constructed in 1887 with two stories and bricks on the
interior and exterior and large windows. There are three storefronts, each has
its own address and front door. The building has
housed multiple different businesses over the years. In 1911, it was the home for a
fruit shop, the Kansas City Home Telephone Company, and the Independence Water
Works. The second story was used as offices for doctors, lawyers, and a chiropractor.

Eventually, the building fell into
the hands of Albert Mohr Ott, son of Christian Ott Sr. While under his ownership, the building suffered
damage from a fire in February 1915. It was practically destroyed as
the only thing left without damage were the walls. Due to the fire, part of the
layout was altered; for example, the display windows on the ground floor were
changed.
&nbsp;

Harry S. Truman and two other
men took over the Community Savings and Loan Association in 1925. During that
time, Harry worked as the manager. In 1926, Truman became President of the
institution and moved its location to 204 North Liberty Street. The business did not succeed as Truman had hoped, stating, “My private business
had gone to pot.” Besides
working in the building, Mr. Truman had another connection to the building. He was
also related to the Ott’s through marriage. Albert Ott was the father of
Natalie Ott, who married Bess’ brother, Frank.

The Community Savings and Loan Association was a part of the Ott Building which was built ca. 1887. The building, which is a contributing property of the Harry S. Truman National Historic District, housed multiple commercial businesses throughout the late 19th and early 20th century. Most notably, Harry S. Truman served as the manager of the Community Savings and Loan Association during the 1920s. In addition, the building also featured a restaurant and the Independence Waterworks Company. Today the building is occupied by an upholstery store, an American Family Insurance office, and is home to the Jackson County Election Board.

Community Savings and Loan Association

As a fourteen-year-old teenager, Harry S. Truman began working at Clinton's Drug Store. Truman recalls the job fondly: <blockquote>"I can remember the first $3.00 I received for working a week-seven days from seven o'clock until school time and from four o'clock until ten at night, all day Saturday and Sunday. I had to wipe off bottles, mop the floor every morning, make ice cream for sodas, and wait on the customers…. The three silver dollars looked like three million and meant a lot more. I bought a present for Mamma and tried to give the rest of it to my dad and he wouldn't take it. It was as I say a great day all around when I got the $3.00. I've never had as much or as big a payday since."</blockquote>Clinton's Drug Store was located at 100 West Maple Street, in a building that was a part of the Independence town square. The original structure was built as a wood-frame housing the Noland House which served those traveling over the emigrant trails. The house was destroyed by a fire and was rebuilt with brick and was ran as a hotel between the 1880s and 1890s. However, George Clinton bought the building and opened a drug store on the first floor during the mid-1890s. Clinton also created spaces for businesses and city offices within the structure. In 1906, the entire block caught on fire, again, and was destroyed. In response, James Clinton, the brother of George Clinton, bought the badly damaged building and quickly planned to build a new building on the same lot.President Truman worked at Clinton's Drug Store in 1898 under the direction of George Clinton. His time there helped shape how Harry S. Truman viewed the importance of hard work. His dedication to hard work would continue to shape him throughout his young adult years and his time in the military. Ultimately, his hard-work ethic played a role in his elections and later years.

This building is most notable for a teenage employee who worked at Clinton's Drug Store and went on to become President of the United States. In his first week of work, a fourteen-year-old Harry S. Truman earned three silver dollars which he chose to spend on a present for his mother. Prior to that time, this location was home to a wood-frame general store in the late 19th century. That original store was rebuilt as a brick structure following a fire. George Clinton bought the building and established a drug store on the main level in the mid-1890s. In February 1906, the two neighboring blocks where Clinton’s Drug Store was located was destroyed by fire. George Clinton’s brother, James, chose to buy the damaged building in May and planned to demolish the existing building and replace it. The building now stands as a rectangle, two-story, commercial building on the corner of West Maple Street and North Main Street.Listen to the audio to learn more about Truman's thoughts on his first job!

Clinton's Drug Store

On the eve of the Civil War, citizens of Jackson and its neighboring counties were deeply fragmented. The preceding Bleeding Kansas conflict, which revolved around Kansas’ entry to the Union as either a slave or free state, was marked by violent, unforgiving guerrilla warfare, pitting neighbor against neighbor. As of 1859, many Independence residents owned enslaved people, and the encroachment of free-state Kansas jayhawkers across the border worried them. Because of mounting fears of violence from guerrillas on both sides of the border, Jackson County Sheriff John Burrus signed off on the construction of a new, high-security prison on the Independence Square. The 1859 jail was both larger and sturdier than the previous Jackson County jail, which had been standing since 1841. Over the next several years, the new jail was central to life in Civil War-era Jackson County, serving a variety of military and political purposes. Perhaps most notably, the jail was used as the office of the Union Provost Marshal for much of the war. The provost marshal system assigned deputy provost marshals to each county in the state whose primary responsibility was preserving order in the area. Among other duties, provost marshals were responsible for investigating and making arrests for disloyal activities, which affected both troops and civilians. A major method of control employed by provost marshals was an oath of allegiance to the Union, which proved difficult for such a divided populace. The fragmented loyalties of Jackson County residents meant that many with Southern sympathies simply lied while taking the oath, while others, some disloyal and some neutral, refused to take it on principle. The provost marshal’s attempts to quell disloyalty in the area meant that the Jackson County Jail held an abundance of military and civilian prisoners during the war, both male and female.One of the jail’s most famous inmates was the notorious Confederate guerrilla leader, William Quantrill. Quantrill’s stay at the jail was short: he was only imprisoned for one night on December 10, 1860, months before the start of the war. Then only nineteen, Quantrill was jailed following his role in the failed abolitionist raid on a farm belonging to Morgan Walker near Blue Springs. At this time, Quantrill was associated primarily with Missouri border ruffians, many of whom engaged in criminal activity to advocate for their pro-slavery interests. As a young man, Quantrill stole cattle, returned runaway slaves, and turned in notorious jayhawkers, all for a profit. The raid on Morgan Walker’s farm was one such effort. Quantrill, representing himself as an abolitionist jayhawker, joined several other abolitionists with plans to free Walker’s enslaved people, as well as rob him of his cattle. In the process, Quantrill turned traitor on the abolitionists, tipping off the Walker family about the raid ahead of time and asking that he alone be spared. The raid continued as planned, but the others had no knowledge that Quantrill was leading them to their death. Only Quantrill was spared as promised; the other abolitionists were killed by Walker and his neighbors who awaited the attack.For Jackson County residents, Quantrill’s role in the raid was uncertain. He had provided a story that the jayhawkers had killed his brother, so his betrayal was a justifiable act of revenge, but this was not universally believed. Jackson County Sheriff Burrus worried that Quantrill was himself a dangerous abolitionist planning to attack local enslavers, and several Independence residents demanded his arrest. Quantrill’s one-night stay at the Jackson County Jail was for “protective security.” Upon his release on the morning of December 11, 1860, he was met with an angry mob on Independence Square, insisting that he was a Kansas jayhawker who needed to be hanged. Fortunately for Quantrill, Andrew Walker was there to plead for his safe passage out of Independence. Andrew was the son of Morgan Walker, and he believed Quantrill to be solely responsible for the safety of his family farm. Although his loyalties were still suspect, Quantrill escaped the potential hanging and left Independence.Quantrill eventually returned to the Jackson County Jail two years later, having since established his reputation as a fearsome Confederate guerilla. Quantrill and several of his band of guerrillas aided Confederate soldiers in the First Battle of Independence in August of 1862, during which Quantrill and his men took the jail from federal control and liberated several southern-sympathizing prisoners who were being held there. The federal Lieutenant Aaron Thomas, attempting to defend the Jackson County Jail and an adjacent hotel, was killed, along with Independence City Marshal James Knowles. The marshal, ironically, was being held in his own prison for killing a non-resisting southern inmate.Although the First Battle of Independence ended in a Confederate victory, Confederate soldiers quickly left the area, and the jail remained under federal control. During this time, the county provost marshal, headquartered in the jail, focused on keeping order among citizens with conflicting and changing loyalties. The jail overflowed with prisoners who had either confirmed or suspected southern sympathies. Although many locals either attempted or feigned neutrality during the war, this stance was often interpreted as disloyalty by the Union. At times, the small cells were packed with upwards of twenty people each, women and children among them. Southern-sympathizing women were a threat taken very seriously by federal officials, who recognized that the aid they provided to guerrillas was invaluable to the Confederate cause. The imprisonment of women, innocent or otherwise, disturbed the locals. In a February 1863 letter, Independence resident Susan Staples told a friend:"Col. Penick’s command is stationed at Independence he deals very strict with Southerners he has a great many female prisoners and says that he is going to banish every lady that has husbands in the Southern Army or with the bushwhackers."A list of prisoners held in Independence by the Jackson County provost marshal Colonel William Ridgeway Penick in October of that year echoes Staples’ concerns: the list of 27 names includes at least five women, one of whom was accused of being a “rebel spy.” Tensions between civilians and the federals occupying the area reached their peak when General Thomas Ewing issued General Order Number 11, which evicted residents of the Missouri-Kansas border counties–mostly women, children, and the elderly–who could not prove their loyalty to the Union. Colonel Penick’s promise in early 1863 to banish disloyal women was not far from the mark. Completed several years after the incident, George Caleb Bingham’s painting “Martial Law” dramatizes the infamous Order Number 11, which felt to many civilians like a senseless act of violence and hostility–and to many Union officials like the only viable option. Evicting civilians from the border region cut off numerous Confederate guerrillas from a network of southern-sympathizing families who provided them with aid and supplies.Although the Civil War came to an end in 1865, order was not immediately restored to Jackson County, and residents continued to see the effects of war. Guerrilla violence was not immediately forgotten in the area; in fact, some former Confederate guerrillas continued riding after the end of the war, and many old rivalries were not yet put to rest. Although Missouri was a Union state, many in the border region remained sympathetic to the South and resentful of the Union. In June of 1866, a group of five mounted ex-guerrillas stormed the Jackson County Jail to break out a member of their band, Cass County resident Joab Perry, who had been charged with horse stealing. In the process, the current jailer, Henry Bugler, was killed and his 4-year-old son shot in the arm. Following this incident, outraged Independence residents held a town meeting during which they proposed to disarm all “returned rebels”--those who had been disloyal to the Union--in the city. The following week, conservative newspaper The Missouri Republican described the jailbreak, characterizing the town meeting as being driven by “a spirit of vindictiveness, persecution and a want of common sense.” Despite the disruption, the jail continued operating as usual. After Bugler’s death, his pregnant wife Mary was left to care for their six children and up to ten Jackson County orphans placed in her care by the county court. However, she finished her husband’s term as jailer, making her the only woman to have held the position at the jail.During this time, the jail was home to prisoners who had refused to take the statewide “Ironclad Test Oath,” which required Missouri citizens to swear that they had never committed acts of disloyalty against the Union. Refusal to take the oath would result in complete disenfranchisement. For civil servants, lawyers, teachers, and ministers, refusal--or inability--to take the oath meant they could no longer legally practice their profession and could face time in jail if they continued to work. One such prisoner at the Jackson County Jail was Reverend Abner Deane, who was required to take the oath to continue preaching legally but refused to do so. Deane had no professed Confederate loyalties but chose imprisonment on principle; he believed no one but God could authorize him to preach. Yet again, George Caleb Bingham brought the issue into the public forum through a painting of Deane sitting alone in his cell reading the Bible. The painting caused a fervor in the local press, resulting in Deane’s release on June 14, 1866, just a day after Henry Bugler was killed. The Ironclad Test Oath was declared unconstitutional a year later in 1867, through the case of Cummings v. State of Missouri, in which St. Louis minister Reverend John Cummings was arrested for preaching without having taken the oath. He argued that the oath and its implications denied him religious freedom and its retroactive nature, penalizing citizens for actions taken years prior, was unconstitutional. Violence, discord, and government intervention like these instances persisted long after the official end of the Civil War.The jail remained open in the decades after the Civil War, holding a variety of prisoners. One of the jail’s most notable post-war inmates was Frank James, a former Confederate soldier, outlaw, and the older brother to the notorious Jesse James. Frank James was jailed on murder and robbery charges from an 1881 train robbery, having surrendered to the Missouri governor shortly after the 1882 death of his brother, likely protecting himself from the same fate. Starting in late 1882, James’s stay at the jail was just 112 days long, and he was released after he was acquitted of every charge by a jury in Gallatin, Missouri. The jailers treated him unusually well, even leaving his cell door unlocked to let him walk the building. The cell itself was the largest in the jail and furnished comfortably. Visitors to the museum can view a cell furnished to replicate James’ lodgings according to newspaper reports. The cell contains fine art, a table and chairs, and an elaborate Brussels carpet.In 1933, the Jackson County Jail was officially decommissioned, but the building continued to be used for several years. During the Great Depression, it was used for various Works Progress Administration projects like sewing and canning that provided necessary employment and relief to Jackson County residents. From 1941 to 1949, the former jail served as the American Legion headquarters. After the Legion vacated the space, it remained vacant for almost ten years until 1958, at which point it was slated for destruction. The Jackson County Historical Society quickly intervened, attempting to raise funds for the building’s restoration. Former President Harry S. Truman, who had returned home to Independence after his retirement, was involved in the effort to save the jail, making the first campaign call to secure funding for the project. The jail was officially entered on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970, but its restoration came much earlier. Over $30,000 was donated to preserve the “Old Jail,” as locals called it, and the museum officially opened its doors in 1959, just a year after it was set to be demolished. Since then, the 1859 Jail Museum has served as a window into over 100 years of Jackson County history.

Now known as the 1859 Jail Museum, the Jackson County Jail and Marshal’s Home was operational from 1859 until its official decommissioning in 1933, and during that time had a variety of uses. It was a private residence for the standing jailer and his family, held violators of Prohibition laws, and was used for Works Progress Administration projects during the Great Depression. The jail was also central to the Civil War in the Missouri-Kansas border region, during which it was used as a hospital, the U.S. Provost Marshal’s office, and held both military and civilian prisoners during the infamous Order Number 11. Some of its more famous inmates include guerrilla leader William Clarke Quantrill and outlaw Frank James. By 1958, the jail was slated for demolition, but the Jackson County Historical Society, with the help of former president Harry Truman, purchased, restored, and converted it into a museum, which has been open since the jail’s centennial year, 1959.

Jackson County Jail and Marshal's Home (1859 Jail Museum)

The fire station replaced a smaller, older station. Local architect Hal Wheelock designed it (and other buildings in the city). The new firehouse also became home to the new 750 gallon American La France fire trucks. Several decades later, the station was no longer adequate and the fire department moved out. For a time, it was used as a community theater and then in the 1970s it housed municipal offices. The National Park Service became the new tenant in 1983 after the Harry S. Truman National Historic Site was created.

Located at the historic 1928 Independent Fire Station No. 1, the Harry Truman National Historic Site Visitor's Center displays information about the 33rd President and offers directions to the nearby Truman farm and Truman home. Visitors should start here to begin touring the city. The fire station is a contributing property to the Harry S. Truman National Historic Landmark District. 

Harry Truman National Historic Site Visitor Center

<blockquote>"We could see a far-off flash of red fire coming out of the guns and pistols, and men fell by the dozens. &nbsp;It was one of the most sublimely thrilling sights that one could imagine."1</blockquote>This was how Mrs. Kate Doneghy, a resident of Independence, Missouri, described an episode of the dramatic clash in her town on October 22, 1864. But from the high balcony of her house, she was witnessing only a snapshot in the growing climax that would soon crush General Sterling Price's Confederate Army of Missouri and dash Rebel ambitions in the Trans-Mississippi Theater.Price had invaded Missouri from Arkansas a month before, winding slowly northward toward St. Louis while snapping up small Union garrisons (with the exception of a bloody, pyrrhic <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.theclio.com/web/entry?id=1082">victory at Pilot Knob</a> on September 27) and picking up recruits--though his total force never appears to have surpassed 12,000 men. The goal of his ragtag army--comprised in almost equal proportions of regular troops, bushwackers, guerillas, and reconscripted deserters--was to seize Union-held St. Louis and Jefferson City, install governor-in-exile Thomas C. Reynolds at the head of a Confederate state government, and strike a powerful propaganda victory against Abraham Lincoln's prospects in the fast-approaching 1864 Presidential election.Price moved too slowly, and strategic victory eluded him. Despite Price's small wins along the way, Union General William S. Rosecrans reinforced St. Louis and Jefferson City before he got there. Stymied, he turned his army west with an eye for plundering Kansas, but the Confederate commander failed to pick up the pace while Union forces massed on the Kansas border in front of him and a similarly formidable army of Union cavalry began to shadow his steps behind.Union General James Blunt slowed Price's march still further with two fierce delaying actions at <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.theclio.com/web/entry?id=49911">Lexington (Oct. 19)</a> and the <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.theclio.com/web/entry?id=23514">Little Blue River (Oct. 21)</a>--the latter just seven miles east of Independence. &nbsp;By that evening, Blunt and his men had pulled across the Big Blue River (west of Independence) to rejoin General Samuel Curtis's 15,000-strong "Army of the Border," which lay in wait behind daunting defensive works. Unfortunately, Curtis misjudged Price's willingness to continue advancing on Kansas City--instead, Price deceived Curtis on the morning of October 22, creating a diversion near Independence that convinced Curtis the attack was occurring right where he'd hoped. More than three hours passed before Curtis realized Price's main columnn was attacking his weakly defended right flank more than ten miles south at Byram's Ford.Price was not to get away without a scratch, however. Union General Alfred Pleasonton's force of nearly 10,000 cavalry finally took the plunge after several days of shadowing Price's army at a distance, falling upon the Confederate rearguard at the Little Blue River. In a more successful version of the Confederate attack on General Blunt's Federals the day before, Pleasonton's men quickly flanked the lone Confederate brigade of &nbsp;Col. William Slemons and forced them off the riverbanks. By 11 AM, Slemons was conducting a fighting withdrawal all the way back to Independence. Price, his main columnn several miles down the road toward Westport, Kansas, soon learned of the threat to his rear and ordered Col. William Cabell's brigade back to Independence in support.By 2 PM, battle had been fully joined on the western outskirts of Independence--the flat, open prairie of which Pleasonton realized favored his well-armed Union cavalry. First flanking the town from the north with John Sanborn's brigade, he then sent seven companies of John McNeil's brigade in a columnn only four abreast charging up the main street into the town. The Confederates were swept violently out of Independence; 300 were captured, along with two cannons. &nbsp;This was the "thrilling" sight to which Mrs. Kate Doneghy referred, repaying in spades the ignominy of that morning, when she'd awakened to find Confederate troops still occupying her town.Price was forced to send still more troops back toward Independence to prevent Pleasonton from attacking his supply train unopposed. For the remainder of the afternoon, as Pleasonton relentlessly pushed troops forward, the battle seesawed between the town and nearby Rock Creek. Price's rearguard, now under one of his three division commanders, General John S. Marmaduke, finally stabilized their lines at Rock Creek around sundown.However, in a rare move for Civil War battles, Pleasonton continued the attack well after darkness. For four hours, dismounted Union cavalry incessantly assaulted Marmaduke's lines, pushing them steadily back until about 10 PM. By then, Pleasonton had passed the point where Curtis's Union troops had unsuccessfully opposed Price's crossing at Byram's Ford that morning. The fighting fell off by 10:30 PM, but would be rejoined the next morning as the stage was set for the <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.theclio.com/web/entry?id=16419">Battle of Westport</a>, arguably the most decisive battle in the Trans-Mississippi Theater during the war.---------Today, six markers in and near Independence denote important geography during the battles of Little Blue and Independence (often considered part of the same battle). This Clio entry is pinned to Marker D, fourth in the series. The city of Independence also offers a 10-stop tour brochure to guide visitors through the battle's key moments. The Jackson County Courthouse, a large two-story building near the center of Independence, also served as General Pleasonton's headquarters after the Confederates were pushed out of town, though it has been remodeled several times since.

One of the final engagements in Confederate General Stirling Price's 1864 raid through Missouri before his disastrous defeat at Westport, Kansas, the 2nd Battle of Independence was a fierce, all-day fight that progressed from the Little Blue River (7 miles east of the city) to the Big Blue River (several miles west). As Price moved his army southwest to avoid fighting heavily entrenched Federals on the banks of the Big Blue, Union General Alfred Pleasonton aggressively attacked his rearguard with nearly 10,000 Union cavalry. Though the battle's result was, by end of day, a tactical draw, Pleasonton nevertheless forced Price to commit a large portion of his army to protecting his retreat. A marker near the city center commemorates the fighting that took place within town boundaries, and the nearby Jackson County Courthouse served as Pleasonton's headquarters after the Confederates retreated.

2nd Battle of Independence (Price's Raid)

Vietta Garr began&nbsp;working for the Trumans in 1928 as a cook and
housekeeper. She continued to work for them, even accompanying them to the
White House, except for a two-year period when she worked at the Kansas City
Crown Drug store from 1943-1945. She then returned to the Truman household. In
addition to being a cook and housekeeper, Mrs. Garr aided in taking care of
Margaret when she was young.

In 1957, Vietta Garr retired. In their gratitude, the Trumans
created a trust fund that was available to Mrs. Garr. The fund paid her $20 a
week for a total of 5 years. Additionally, as stated above,
they also worked with Vietta to finance the construction of her new home.

The home is a one-story structure with a full concrete
basement. A wooden fence was placed along the back of the property and an iron
fence follows the sidewalk at the front of the property. Since its construction,
the house has undergone some alterations. The house has new siding and new
aluminum awnings, as well as an addition that is surrounded by glass.

This historic home once belonged to Vietta Garr (1896-1973) who, throughout the middle of the twentieth century, worked as a housekeeper for Harry and Bess Truman, both in Independence and at the White House. In recognition for her work, the Trumans helped her finance the construction of the house, which was built in 1953 after she retired. It is a contributing property to the Harry S. Truman National Historic District. 

Vietta Garr House 

Trinity Episcopal is a one-story brick church with a rectangular shape and a rectangular extension/addition in the rear. The red brick exterior with mock flying buttresses projecting from the side walls coincide with an ocular window on west-facing façade above the vestibule. The church also has stained glass windows with pointed arches separated by engaged buttresses projecting from the north and south side walls of nave. A steeply-pitched gabled roof over the nave contains a stepped, thin belfry tower at the west façade gable end, with double-leaf doors in slightly projecting enclosed porch with gable roof leading intovestibule. Trinity Episcopal Church is located at 409 N. Liberty St, in Independence.

This site is historically significant, as it was where Harry Truman and Bess Wallace were married on June 28, 1919. In addition to Truman and his wife being married in Trinity Episcopal, Truman’s daughter Margaret married her husband Clifton Daniel there as well on April 21, 1956. Bess Truman’s funeral was also held at Trinity Episcopal in October of 1982. The Trinity Episcopal Church is reported to be the only example of the work of John Hubbard Sturgis, who introduced the Victorian Gothic design to the United States, west of the Allegheny Mountains. P. Morgan constructed the church foundation.Listen to the audio clip above to learn more about the Truman's wedding here!

Trinity Episcopal Church 

The school, built in
1898, was located on the corner of Pleasant Street and Maple Street. President
Truman attended the facility and graduated in 1901. In 1917 the new Chrisman
High School was built on part of the same lot. The existing school (Independence
High School) was used as an annex and housed the art department. While
attending Independence High School, Harry Truman and friends created the
school's first yearbook which was distributed at graduation. The Gleam is still
the name of the yearbook given at William Chrisman High School. Ultimately, the
building that Harry S. Truman and Bess Wallace were familiar with burned in
1939. President Truman’s daughter, Margaret, attended Chrisman High School from
about 1938 to 1942.

William Chrisman
High School moved to its current location off of 24 Highway in 1956 when
additions were added to the Ott Elementary School. When the Harry S Truman
Historic District was being nominated to the National Register of Historic
Places in 1971 &nbsp;the lot was occupied by the Palmer Junior High. The north end
of the building, located at 218 North Pleasant Street, was used as the
Independence School District's Board of Education for more than 5 years. Today the building houses the Palmer Center, which is used to serve the older adults of Independence.

Harry S. Truman graduated in 1901 as a member of the second graduating class from Independence High School. In addition to Harry S. Truman, other members of the graduating class included Charlie Ross, who later became his White House press secretary, and Bess Wallace. As seniors, Harry Truman and Charlie Ross worked to create The Gleam, which was the school’s first yearbook. Independence High School was built in 1898, and included a library, art studio, chemistry laboratory, and hardwood floors.

Independence High School

The Memorial Building was erected
in 1925 with Classical Revival architecture. The building is two-stories tall
and made of brick. The building’s only alterations were in 2001-2002 when an
addition was added in the rear to allow for a larger performance stage. In
addition, other improvements included utilities and the addition of
an elevator. The building has gone by two other names: Soldiers’ and Sailors’
Memorial Building and World War I Memorial Building. Harry S. Truman oversaw
the dedication ceremony as he was a World War I veteran as well as the county
judge for eastern Jackson County. The building was rededicated after the
addition was added in 2002. 

The announcement of the
construction of the Memorial building was made by the Independence Examiner on
January 16, 1925. The American War Mothers decided to build it in memory of the
servicemen who served during World War I. Their goal was to make the building
available for functions within the community, such as meetings. In addition,
the American Legion was to have their headquarters there. Other groups, such as
the Daughters of the American Revolution and the United Daughters of the
Confederacy worked to add different structures to the building.<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"></a>

Overall, the building holds a lot
of significance for Independence and the Truman’s. The building served as the
polling place for Harry and Bess for over thirty years, including during the 1948
election, which Harry Truman won. On June 27, 1945, the Memorial Building was
the only location that Truman held a press conference while staying in
Independence. Most importantly, a significant amount of presidential papers
were stored in the Memorial Building until the Truman Library was completed in
1957.

In 1925, the Memorial Building was built at 416 West Maple Avenue in Independence, Missouri. The building was erected to memorialize those who had fought in World War I. Harry S. Truman led the dedication ceremony that took place on July 4, 1926. The is a contributing property of the Harry S. Truman National Historic District. Today, the building is home to the Independence Parks and Recreation Department.

The Memorial Building

First Presbyterian was established in 1841. In 1913 First Presbyterian merged with Liberty Street Cumberland Presbyterian which was established in 1826. The present building was erected in 1888. First Presbyterian is a brick church, irregular in shape. It has a complex gabled roof with gable projections and a bell tower capped with octagonal spire. The church has a red brick exterior with three elaborate rose windows each centered in a gable end with arched lancet windows and square-headed windows. It is located on 100 N. Pleasant Avenue in the National Truman Historic District.&nbsp;

This historic site is significant because it is where Harry Truman and Bess Wallace first met in 1892. The beginning of a life long relationship found its roots in First Presbyterian. Truman recalled, “I was six years old. In my Sunday school class was a beautiful little girl with golden curls. I was smitten at once and still am – she’s Mrs. Truman and the mother of the loveliest daughter ‘in the world.’” Many other prominent leaders attended the church and are still members today such as the Wallace families, and the Christian Ott family. Prior to the church being completed, The Kansas City Times hailed the church as being “the handsomest and most tastefully fitted church edifice between Chicago and Denver.”

First Presbyterian Church 

The Truman home located at 219 Delaware Street was not exactly "the Truman Home." Today that is certainly what it is known as but it was not official until 1952, just before Truman vacated the Oval Office. The structure was originally built by George Gates in 1867 following the conclusion of the Civil War. Originally the home was minuscule compared to its current stature. Gates would build upon his work in 1885 creating one of the larger homes located in Independence with an impressive 14 rooms and over 8,000 square footage. Before it became significant for the man who called it home in the 20th century, the residence was already of great importance and high opinion locally.Two years before he made his grand addition to the house, George Gates gave his daughter away for the bond of holy matrimony to David Wallace in 1883. The young couple moved 2 miles away into a quaint house located at 117 W Ruby and they would start their new family from there. The Wallaces family would welcome their first child in 1885 and would name her Elizabeth or Bess as she is known to many today. When Elizabeth was two years of age, the Wallaces once again moved to 608 N Delaware in 1887, this time within two blocks of the Gates house. The Wallace family would live at his location for another 16 years.In 1903 David Wallace committed suicide leaving his family with a large rift and shock. To cope and get away from their grief, Margaret Wallace moved her children and herself to Colorado for a year. When the family returned after their hiatus they moved into the Gates home at 219 N Delaware. In 1919, Bess would marry a young Harry Truman. The festivities following the wedding would actually be held on the Gates grounds. Harry and Elizabeth(Bess) Truman would then move into the house along with Bess's mother and grandmother who owned the property. In 1924, the Truman's welcomed their one and only daughter, Margaret Truman. Harry became the official head of the house as the oldest male and because of his strong public stature. The Truman household was very tight-knit and family-oriented featuring a large number of family members living in the main house and Mrs. Truman's younger brother's building small residences on the grounds. This is the home that Harry Truman would inhabit while he served as a judge, Senator, Vice-President, and Commander in Chief.  When Harry Truman finally left the White House in 1953, he returned home to Independence and his newly owned home. Elizabeth's mother Margaret passed away in 1952 leaving the house to Harry and Elizabeth. At this point, 219 N Delaware officially became the Truman Home. The President would use the residence as his personal office and base of operations for a handful of years before he set up and established his personal Presidential Library. In the years leading up to his death in 1972, the President and his wife made major renovations and changes to the home to solidify that it would remain for years to come and also to match their personal tastes. After the President passed in 1972, Elizabeth became the owner and when she passed a decade later in 1982 she left the building and grounds to the National Park Service. She left it on the condition that the upper floor never is open to the public to preserve the privacy of the family until Margaret Truman would die in 2008. Once Margaret did pass, the National Park Service honored the former First Lady's wishes and the upper levels still remain closed in solidarity. Photo tours can be taken of the President and First Ladies' bedroom, however.

A farmer, a father, a scholar, public servant, husband, President, and man lived in this house for decades. Harry S Truman is often overlooked as far as American leaders are concerned, but he showed dedication and willpower to lead this nation to stand the test of time. Truman's life filled with expanding power never deterred his tendency to remember where he came from. 219 Delaware Street in the small town of Independence was where President Truman hung his hat beginning in 1919 until his death in 1972. He raised a family and built a legacy while inhabiting this classically designed home. Today it remains as a memorial to Truman and his accomplishments as well as his down to Earth nature.Play the audio above when you are in front of the Truman Home to learn more about the family's time there!

Harry S Truman National Historic Site - Truman Home

Harry Truman was born in 1884 in the small town of Lamar, Missouri. The first of three children, Truman was born into a family of modest resources who relied on their parents for support during the first few years of young Harry's life. Harry was remembered as a happy child in his early years, but it would take him years to develop his ease in making friends and being social. The introverted child's outlook changed when his mother took him to buy glasses, although some of his peers made fun of him and he remembered learning to avoid altercations in early life. Truman’s younger brother, Vivian, described young Harry as “serious” and said that their friends respected Harry because he would straighten out any situation and was very knowledgeable for their age. Still, Truman was introverted and had a hard time interacting with others until the Truman family moved.By 1895, Harry Truman’s father, John, could afford to move his family to this property on Waldo Street. The new neighborhood helped Harry, now age eleven, to make new friends. As a young teenager, Harry turned his house into the unofficial hub for all the adolescent children. In his own words, Harry now had a “gang.” Truman believed that the move to this home was key to developing the social skill that would serve him in his future political career.It was also during this period that Harry’s relationship grew with his future wife, Bessie Wallace. The two met in fourth grade and were always seated near each other. The move now meant that the future couple lived within two blocks of one another. They became closer and closer until Harry moved again when he was seventeen to live on his grandmother’s farm.In the decades that followed the Truman family’s departure from Waldo Street, the house passed to different owners. Subsequent families expanded the home beyond its original size, but the structure still retains many of the original structural elements from the late 19th century.

Future President Harry S. Truman spent part of his childhood in this historic Independence home which was built around 1886. The Truman family moved here ten years later, and today, it is a contributing property of the Harry S. Truman National Historic District. The structure continues to serve as a private family home, although a historical marker located in front of the house is available for all to see.

Harry S. Truman Boyhood Home

*From Mormon Historic Sites: Independence, Missouri was designated as a gathering place for the Saints in a revelation given to Joseph Smith, Jr. in 1831.1&nbsp;The same revelation also revealed that the Independence area was Zion and advised the area where a temple was to be built “lying westward, up a lot which is not far from the courthouse.”2Shortly after becoming a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, W. W. Phelps was directed to purchase a press and begin publishing a newspaper in Independence, Missouri. In June 1832, the first issue of&nbsp;The Evening and Morning Star&nbsp;was published. Additionally, the first compilation of the revelations revealed to Joseph Smith, the&nbsp;Book of Commandments (now known as Doctrine &amp; Covenants), was published here.The location for the temple was dedicated on “a spot lying westward” under the direction of Joseph Smith. John Whitmer described the events of the dedication as follows:'Sidney Rigdon dedicated the ground where the city is to stand: and Joseph Smith, Jr. laid a stone at the Northeast corner of the contemplated Temple in the name of the Lord Jesus of Nazareth. After all present had rendered thanks to the great ruler of the universe, Sidney Rigdon pronounced this Spot of ground wholly dedicated unto the Lord forever: Amen.'&nbsp;3 The site where the cornerstone was laid and dedicated is located near present day River Street and south of Lexington Avenue.4 In July 1833, a mob of 400-500 individuals gathered at the Independence courthouse to discuss the problem of the growing presence of the Mormons. The mob decided that the printing office should be destroyed and razed the building to the ground.4The mob then captured Bishop Edward Partridge and Charles Allen, and dragged them to the public square where they gave as ultimatum: deny the Book of Mormon or leave Jackson County. They each refused either choice and were subsequently tarred and feathered. Bishop Partridge described the event as follows:'Before tarring and feathering me I was permitted to speak. I told them that the Saints had suffered persecution in all ages of the world; that I had done nothing which ought to offend anyone; that if they abused me, they would abuse an innocent person; that I was willing to suffer for the sake of Christ; but, to leave the country, I was not then willing to consent to it…I bore my abuse with so much resignation and meekness, that it appeared to astound the multitude, who permitted me to retire in silence, many looking very solemn, their sympathies having been touched as I thought; and as to myself, I was so filled with the Spirit and love of God, that I had no hatred towards my persecutors or anyone else.'&nbsp;6When the mob attacked the printing office, the&nbsp;Book of Commandmentswas being published. Two young girls, Mary Elizabeth and Caroline Rollins picked up as many sheets as they could of the unbound revelations and hid in a cornfield until the mob departed. They each subsequently received a copy of the&nbsp;Book of Commandments&nbsp;which they highly prized the rest of their lives.5The mob returned the next day and forced the leaders of the Church to sign an agreement to leave Jackson County before April 1, 1834. The events that transpired here led to the Battle of the Big Blue and eventually Zion’s Camp. However, the Saints were never able to reclaim their land."Additional information:&nbsp;The property upon which the Visitors Center stands was first purchased on December 19, 1831 by&nbsp;Edward Partridge, acting on behalf of Joseph Smith. It was repurchased by the LDS Church, which had become the largest of several different Latter Day Saint denominations, on April 14, 1904.&nbsp;The purchase was completed by James G. Duffin, President of the Central U.S. States&nbsp;Mission, acting on behalf of the&nbsp;First Presidency. A few months later, the&nbsp;Kansas City Times&nbsp;published a rumor (but corrected itself the next day)&nbsp;that the so-called "Utah Mormons" had secretly purchased the entire Greater Temple Lot, including that portion owned by the Church of Christ (Temple Lot), which had been the subject of a&nbsp;lawsuit&nbsp;in the 1890s between the Temple Lot and (then)&nbsp;RLDS&nbsp;churches (now Community of Christ). The portion owned by the Temple Lot church was the highest-altitude 2.5 acres&nbsp;portion of the 63.5 acres&nbsp;originally purchased by Partridge in December, 1831, and had been repurchased by&nbsp;Granville Hedrick, founder of the Temple Lot church, between 1867 and 1877. Both pieces of real estate are often confused, because since 1867&nbsp;both&nbsp;the 2.5-acre&nbsp;area and the larger 63.5-acre&nbsp;area have been described in newspaper and other media reports as the "Mormon Temple Lot."&nbsp;A January 2009 online article by&nbsp;Community of Christ&nbsp;researcher John Hamer entitled&nbsp;"The Temple Lot: Visions and Realities"&nbsp;helps clear up the confusion.The Visitors Center opened in 1971, the same year as another particularly notable LDS Visitors Center, the&nbsp;LDS Visitors Center in Nauvoo, Illinois. Its style of presenting Mormon claims and&nbsp;doctrines&nbsp;in a modern&nbsp;audio-visual&nbsp;and&nbsp;interactive&nbsp;format was specifically the brainchild of LDS&nbsp;general authority&nbsp;Bernard P. Brockbank, who had overseen implementation of this same style at the&nbsp;1964 New York World's Fair.The Visitors Center is alleged to have been designed after the&nbsp;Parthenon, one of the world's most renowned&nbsp;temples. This has fueled speculation as to whether the LDS Visitors Center is, by definition, a&nbsp;temple&nbsp;constructed on the Greater Temple Lot dedicated and purchased by Joseph Smith and his associates for that purpose in 1831. An October 1952&nbsp;Kansas City Times&nbsp;essay written by a friend and admirer of RLDS Church Historian&nbsp;Heman C. Smith&nbsp;(1850 - April 17, 1919)&nbsp;published the rumor that the LDS Church intended to build an&nbsp;LDS Temple&nbsp;on the site today occupied by the LDS Visitors' Center.&nbsp;In his 2004 book&nbsp;Images of New Jerusalem&nbsp;author Craig S. Campbell examines the rumor, but is skeptical the building may be "converted someday" into an LDS Temple. While the LDS church operates a visitors center, the Church of Christ, Temple Lot has a small church building that also acts as visitors center and the Community of Christ constructed a type of temple on their portion of the lot that also contains a visitors center. Later the Community of Christ constructed a separate auditorium that took over much of the lot. Around the same time, another break off, the Remnant of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also constructed a building, this one a headquarters for the small church. While the grounds are contested, the churches have generally friendly relations, the Church of Christ, Temple Lot (at least), has a better relationship with the LDS church and has said on a visit to their center by the creator of this entry that when the day comes, they'd rather sell their portion to the LDS church.&nbsp;LDS doctrine and belief holds that by Christ's Second Coming the church will have had while control of the lot and a temple built here as well in nearby Far West, Missouri. This belief helps the members of the LDS maintain hope in the literal and final fulfillment of Smith's prophecies regarding this area. Of course, violence will never be used to obtained this land by the LDS church or others that lay claim to it.&nbsp;Other sides in this region of Missouri include Liberty Jail, Haun's Mill, Far West, Adam-Ondi-Ahman&nbsp;and sites of the Zion's Camp, a rescue party outfitted in Kirtland, Ohio to relieve the LDS members in Missouri from the persecutions they were suffering under.&nbsp;

This visitors center, own and operated by the LDS church, sits on a portion of 63 acre lot known as the "Temple Lot". This land was purchased by the LDS church in 1831 after Joseph Smith, Jr. received a revelation that a temple was to be built here as well as this spot was to be the gathering place of Zion at Christ's Second Coming; corner stones were laid and dedicated. After the Extermination Order was issues by Missouri Governor Lilliburn Boggs in 1838, the LDS church was forced out of the state one year later and forced to give up the land. Years later the church returned to by the land, but ended up having to share the land with two break-offs of the church: The Community of Christ and the Church of Christ, Temple Lot. The visitors center provides the general public a history of the LDS church as whole, its years in Missouri and beliefs regarding this spot and others within the state. 

Independence Missouri LDS Visitors Center

By 1830,
members of Joseph Smith’s new church had made their way to the precipice of the
American West: Jackson County, Missouri. The Saints, as they called themselves,
went to do missionary work with the Native Americans in the neighboring Kansas
territory. Impressed with the bustling frontier region, the Saints sent word to
Smith that this land would be a perfect place for their people to settle. In
1831, through a divine revelation, Joseph Smith declared Independence as the
City of Zion. This City was to become the center of the Mormon Church, as they
believed Jesus would return there one day.&nbsp;Between 1830 and 1833, 1200 saints—nearly half the total population of the Mormon Church—immigrated to
Independence and Jackson County,&nbsp;raising the population of Jackson
County by one third. They introduced the county’s first printing press and&nbsp;the first newspapers: The Evening and Morning Star. The saints were to also
build a temple on a plot of land which now sits at 200 River Bend Boulevard in Independence. &nbsp;&nbsp; 

That temple was never completed, as the Mormons were
expelled from Missouri, and the land was seized by the government and contested
until 1867 when the Church of Christ purchased the land. They established their
headquarters and built a house of worship in 1884, which still stand
today. However, this is not the temple envisioned by Joseph Smith or by his
followers. The Church of Christ attempted to construct the temple in 1929, but
ultimately failed.In 1833,
Edward Partridge, a Bishop in the Mormon Church, purchased the area surrounding
the temple for the church as well as its congregants. Known as the ‘Greater
Temple Lot,’ this 65-acre plot of land is owned by the Community of Christ, the
second largest sect of the Mormon Church. On this land, they built the Stone
Church in 1884, their headquarters and Auditorium in 1954, and dedicated the
Independence Temple in 1994 although it is still not technically completed. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints also operates a Visitors
Center, Social Services Center, and church which is used by local members of the Mormon Church.

The Temple Lot is one of the holiest sites in all of the Mormon Church. Members of the church believe that this is the place where Jesus Christ will return to the earth, an event that is prophesized in the Bible. Most of the property is a grassy lawn that is owned and operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The site was set apart by Joseph Smith in the 19th century with the intention of building a temple. The area is currently home to a visitors center that is welcome to all. 

LDS Temple Lot, Independence 

The station&nbsp;is a
one-story, rectangle building made of limestone and red brick. It is a similar structure to other train stations built in the
Midwest during the early twentieth century. Since its construction, the
structure has changed very little, except for the roof.

The building was used often as it was located at the
conjunction of the Missouri Pacific and “Lexington Branch” lines. Many
individuals used the train to travel throughout the United States, including
Mr. Harry S. Truman. He used the railways to travel back and forth between
Washington D.C. However, President Truman used the railway and the Independence
station often during his “Whistle Stop” Campaign. The Independence location was
the last stop on his campaign where thousands of people were waiting for him to
arrive and speak. After his campaign, when he won the presidency, he got back
on the train at the Missouri Pacific Railroad Station in Independence and left
for Washington D.C.

The Missouri Pacific Railroad Station is historically significant for its architecture and association with Harry S. Truman, who frequently used it when traveling to and from Washington D.C. before, during, and after his presidency. The station was built in 1913 and is an excellent example of Spanish/Mission Revival architecture. Truman often wrote home about seeing Bess at the station when he arrived home. One of his most famous trips to the Independence station was during his campaign tour in 1948. Today, the station is also known as the Truman Train Station and is used by Amtrak. 

Missouri Pacific Railroad Station

Established in 1990, the National Frontier Trails Museum is dedicated to interpreting and promoting the history of the main trails—the Santa Fe, Oregon, and California trails—that led people to the West in the 19th century. Thousands of people traveled west—over rivers, hills and broken terrain to head to the West, and nearly all of them passed through Independence. The museum explores this history, as well as the Lewis and Clark expedition and the gradual acquisition of western lands. It features interpretive exhibits and a research library. Visitors can watch an introductory film about westward expansion, see many artifacts and other items on display, and learn about fur trappers, traders, Mormons, and the transcontinental railroad. It also still possible to see wagon ruts across the street on the Bingham-Waggoner Estate; a pathway with interpretive signs circles around them. For those interested, the museum offers a covered wagon tour.

National Frontier Trails Museum

Santa Fe Trail Osage Street, the road along the eastern side of the estate, was once part of the Santa Fe Trail. The pavement is laid directly over the trail and the street is essentially the same width as the trail. Also, research suggests that the trail crossed over the southeast corner of the property in a southwesterly direction.&nbsp; George Caleb Bingham Bingham and his family moved to the estate shortly before the Civil War. He maintained a studio near his home, where&nbsp;he painted his famous "Order Number 11". Order Number 11 was a military declaration issued in Kansas City in August of 1863 by General Thomas Ewing Jr. that ordered everyone living in Jackson, Cass, Bates, and Vernon counties to vacate their homes within fifteen days. This order was a retaliatory response to the&nbsp;bloody raid (August 21, 1863) on Lawrence, Kansas&nbsp;perpetrated by Confederate guerilla William Quantrill and his band. 

 Bingham, who was State Treasurer of Missouri during the war,&nbsp;resented the order and personally went to General Ewing’s superior officer in an attempt to have the order overturned. This failed and the order went into effect but ultimately backfired.&nbsp;George painted Order Number 11 in 1968 to show his displeasure with the order. In 1870, Bingham completed the second, slighlty larger version of Order Number 11, which soon became one of the most publicized pictured of that time period. 

In 1870, Bingham sold his home to Mr. Francis Eames, and moved to Kansas City. There, he served as Police Commissioner and as Assistant General of Missouri. He was also appointed as the first professor of art at the University of Missouri. He passed away at his home on July 7, 1879. 

Waggoner-Gates Milling Company Successful Pennsylvania miller Peter Waggoner, Sr. sent his son William, to Independence to search for new business opportunities. In 1867, the family bought the "Old City Mill" from John Overfelt and moved into the house. They&nbsp;quickly made a name for themselves as producers of high-quality flour for baking. Eventually, they made changes to the house&nbsp;during the 1890’s when William Henry, Jr. and his wife moved in. The Waggoner family lived in the house until the death of Harry K. Waggoner in 1976. The city and a&nbsp;group of citizens purchased the home in 1979 to turn it into a museum and park.The house also has a connection to President Harry Truman. His wife Bess' grandfather, George Gates, became a partner of the milling company. The name "Gates" was added to its name to reflect the change.

The Bingham-Waggoner Estate is considered one of the most historically significant homes in western Missouri. Built in the 1850s, the home is a well-preserved example of Italian Villa architecture and is situated on a 19-acre partially wooded property. Today, the Bingham-Waggoner Historical Society operates it as a historic house museum. In addition to its architecture, the house is also significant for its association with notable 19th-century artist and politician George Caleb Bingham (1811-1879), who lived here from 1864-1870; the Santa Fe Trail; and the Waggoner-Gates Milling Company, which was located across the street where the National Trails Frontier Museum is now. The estate was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.    


Independence Missouri Heritage Trail

Kritser House

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information