Truman Walking Tour
Fire Station # 1 223 North Main
Designed by architect Hal Wheelock and built in 1928 by J.E. Dunn, contractor. This City building was renovated for use as a Ticket Center and offices for the National Park Service in 1983-84 and remains in use by the Park Service to this day.
1859 Jail and Marshal's Home 217 North Main
Open for tours by the Jackson County Historical Society. The two-story brick house was home for the Marshal while the two-story stone jail is attached at the rear of the building. The early 20th century two-story brick addition is now used for offices and museum exhibit space and the original kitchen is the gift shop.
Clinton Drugstore Building 100 West Maple
Constructed by G.W. Clinton as a commercial block after fire destroyed the earlier building in 1906. Clinton Drugstore relocated into the corner building after the fire.
Jackson County Courthouse 112 West Lexington
The 1932-33 renovation and expansion plans bear the name of Harry S Truman as presiding judge. This building incorporated parts of all preceding brick courthouses on this site.
Truman Barber Shop 417 West Maple (Private)
The original shop was located at 214 North Main Street. This brick shop addition to the Miller Home was made about 1965, and their shop moved here. George was Harry's barber, and Doris was Bess' hairdresser.
Memorial Building 416 West Maple
Built as the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Building in 1926, with Alonzo H. Gentry as architect and M.T. Colgan as builder. This building served as a community center until it closed in 1996. Harry Truman, a World War I veteran, oversaw its dedication on July 4, 1926. In 2002, restoration efforts were completed allowing for use as a civic facility hosting meetings, dances, performances, and athletic events.
First Presbyterian Church 100 North Pleasant
This church was designed by the firm of Nier, Hogg, and Byram and built by local contractors Christian Yetter and J.W. Adams in 1888. Features three elaborate rose windows in gable ends. The education wing was added in 1924.
Bundschu House 601 West Maple (Private)
Built for Anton J. Bundschu around 1890 and remodeled by the family after 1907 to update the home and reflect less of a Victorian influence. The Bundschu Store was built by this family on the east side of the Independence Square in 1928.
Ginkgo Tree 611 West Maple
A registered historic tree first marked by the Independence Garden Club in 1931. Truman was fond of this old tree and often told it that it was doing a good job on his walks.
Joseph T. Noland House 216 North Delaware
This Folk Victorian dwelling was constructed over a 25-year period between 1858 and 1880. It was the home for Anthony Slack from 1865 until he built a larger Queen Anne house on the grounds to the north. In 1900 the Noland family rented the house and then bought it in 1908. It remained in the family name until its sale to the National Park Service in 1986. Today the home serves as a waiting area for visitors of the Truman Home.
Truman Home 219 North Delaware
Built in several stages. George Potterfield Gates purchased this property in 1867 that originally had just a small one-story house. He later built a two-story addition. By 1886, the large Queen Anne front addition had been constructed by the Gates. His daughter, Margaret Gates married David Wallace in 1883. Their daughter, Elizabeth (Bess) Virginia Wallace married Harry S Truman in 1919. This house remained the Truman's home until Bess' death in 1982.
Leonard/Choplin House 304 North Delaware
Built as a small brick two-room house in 1853. The Italianate two-story brick front was added in 1858. Home to a number of families prior to 1921, it was occupied by the Choplin family for more than 70 years. It was damaged in 1994 when the front wall collapsed due to foundation drainage problems and was successfully rehabilitated through community efforts.
Buchanan House 310 North Delaware (Private)
Spanish Colonial Revival House built in 1926 as a duplex for Mrs. Ella W. Buchanan and her daughter and son-and-law, Frances and Ora C. Myers. Purchased by P.D. and Pearle Bush in 1945 who later deeded it to their twin daughters Virginia and Elizabeth Bush. Elizabeth married Carl H. Sapper Jr. in 1955. They lived there until the property sold in 1992.
Compton House 318 North Delaware
Built by architect Robert L. McBride in 1913 and occupied by the Sollars family in the 1910s; the Dunn family in the 1920s and 1930s, and later Polly Compton in the 1960s and 1970s. Polly Compton was best known for creating the Polly's Pop line of carbonated drinks. A good example of Craftsman/Prairie style architecture.
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No Plaque Installed
Kelly/Etzenhouser House 426 North Delaware (Private)
The Kelly family moved into this 1910 home originally built for the Baldwin family. Charles Kelly was a Jackson County deputy sheriff for several years. This Four Square-Craftsman style home has a hipped roof with bellcast eaves.
Sawyer/Jennings House 510 North Delaware (Private)
Built in 1887, the house was designed by T. B. Smith for the Aaron Sawyer family. Aaron's son, Lock H. Sawyer, sold the house to the Frank Jennings family in the early 1920s. It was honored by the Jackson County Historical Society in 1976 for their preservation efforts. Rehabilitated in 1995, it is one of the few brick Queen Anne houses remaining in Independence.
Bostian House 602 North Delaware (Private)
An 1887 frame Queen Anne that was built by W.T. Cooper and was home to Maria J. Fletcher, a widow who took in boarders. The house was sold to the Bostian Family in 1905.
Bess Truman Home Site 610 North Delaware (Private)
This stately old Burr Oak once stood in the front yard of the Wallace Home before that house was replaced by the present building in 1922. "Bess" Wallace and her parents lived on this site form 1887 to 1903. Bess and her mother moved into the Gates/Wallace House at 219 N. Delaware that year.
Thice/Twachman House 618 North Delaware (Private)
This English Cottage house was built before 1916 for the McDavitt family who operated a drug company on the Courthouse Square. The Thice family, both practicing lawyers, lived here for several years.
Bullane/Choplin House 702 North Delaware (Private)
A two-story Queen Anne house dating from 1887. Features many stained glass windows, a corner tower, a bay window and a wrap-around porch. Sited on a double corner lot.
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The "Neck" Delaware & Bess Truman Pkwy
Refers to the interracial, but predominantly African-American, working-class neighborhood that once occupied this valley. It was platted as the Hendrickson Addition, Davis Place and the Atkinson Addition between 1858 and 1888 with small narrow lots. Former residents fondly recall a vibrant, tight-knit community who participated in civic, business, school, and church activities. The neighborhood was razed by the Land Clearance Authority in the 1960s to accommodate the creation of McCoy Park and Bess Truman Parkway.
Truman Presidential Musuem & Library US 24 Hwy and North Delaware
Designed by Gentry, Voscam, Neild and Somdal of Louisiana. Henry J. Massman and Slavatore Patti companies constructed it in 1956-57. In 1967, a southern wing for offices was added and in 1972, the courtyard was enclosed. A multi-million dollar renovation and expansion was completed in 2021.
Stewart House 635 North Delaware (Private)
A 1937 frame house that was home to the Stewarts for several decades. Bryon A. Stewart was co-owner of the Stewart Electric Company and an attorney with partner John W. Clements.
Sea/Hare House 633 North Delaware (Private)
1937 Tudor Revival house built for Hiram and Julie Sea. He was a lawyer who worked as manager of the John Sea Abstract Company. The George M. Hare family purchased this house in 1951. It was sold out of the Hare family in 2001.
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Mize Peters House 631 North Delaware (Private)
Built c.1905 and home to several families before Mize R. Peters lived here from 1924 to the early 1950s. Peters ran a drug store on the Independence Square.
Fullerton House 627 North Delaware (Private)
Frame home for the Abraham Myers family when first constructed. It changed hands twice more until it was purchased by the Fullerton family.
Frank Wallace House 601 West Truman Road (Not open to the Public)
Bungalow built on what had been part of a pasture and garden plot for the Gates/Wallace house at 219 North Delaware. Frank and Natalie Wallace lived here until 1960. This house and the adjoining home of his brother have always been considered part of the Wallace/Truman family complex. It is now part of the Truman National Historic Site.
George Wallace House 605 West Truman (Not open to the public)
Bungalow built for George and Mary Frances (May) Wallace before their marriage in 1916. George worked for the Jackson County Highway Department for 27 years. The side yard of this house was once also part of the Gates/Wallace house grounds. It is now part of the Truman National Historic Site.
Truman Boyhood Home 909 West Waldo (Private)
1886 Queen Anne home to young Harry Truman for six years. The area around this house changed from rural to urban after the Truman family left in 1902. The house was changed with the addition made to the east end and the removal of the wrap- around porch. What had been garden and carriage house areas are now other home sites.
Harpie Club 101 North Main (Upper floors private)
Independence Harmonicon Society met on the upper floors of this building. The building was remodeled and enlarged around 1921 for the Farmers and Merchants Bank on the first floor. After the bank closed, the building housed a drug store, a confectionary store, and a loan company at street level. Professional offices were located on the upper floors.