Independence, MO Summary

Lying just east of Kansas City, this town of 112,300 people is best known as the hometown of President Harry S. Truman. But that is not its only claim to fame; it was also the starting point of the Santa Fe Trail in 1821, and the Oregon and California Trails in the 1840s.

The Harry S. Truman Library and Museum documents Truman’s career and the country’s history during his two terms, from 1945 to 1953. Truman’s office is replicated inside the museum. His grave is in the courtyard. The Harry S. Truman National Historic Site, the Victorian house where Mr and Mrs Truman lived when not in Washington, is full of their furnishings and other possessions. Tickets for the guided tours of the house are distributed from the Truman Home Ticket and Information Center on a first-come, first-served basis for that day’s tours. In summer, visitors should plan to arrive early in order to assure a place.

Guided walking tours of the Truman neighborhood are conducted from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Brochures describing a self-guided walking tour of the Harry S. Truman Historic District, with its Civil War-era and Victorian houses, can be picked up or ordered from the Independence Department of Tourism. The National Frontier Trails Center has informative displays on the mid-1800s westward-heading pioneers and the trails they followed.

Other attractions worth a look include the Bingham-Waggoner Estate, whose interior has been restored to its Victorian look. The 1859 Marshal’s Home and Jail Museum complex includes a Civil War-era jail, a local history museum and a one-room schoolhouse. There is also a Mormon Visitor Center that has information about the sect whose founding members lived in Missouri before eventually migrating to Utah’s Great Salt Lake basin.

The area is serviced by trains. The nearest airport is located in Kansas City.