Harry S Truman National Historic Site

24Feb13

Even though I grew up in Kansas City, it wasn’t until after I married a girl from Independence that I first visited the Harry S Truman Library in that city.

And it was decades later before I toured the Truman Home on Delaware Street near downtown Independence. Ironically it was my wife Carole’s first visit to the small stately residence, even though she went to junior high in the same part of town. She fondly recalls seeing Mr. Truman walking the streets of Independence in his twilight years on a few occasions.

But a couple of years ago on a spring break trip to Kansas City, I convinced her that we should tour the Truman Home. I will say we were both pleasantly surprised by the experience.

The tour actually begins off the Courthouse Square in downtown Independence at the Truman Visitor Center. There you can view exhibits and view a short film on President Truman’s life.

It’s here that you also grab your tickets for the tour of the Truman Home. We were there on a Saturday in March – not exactly peak tourism time – but we still had to wait several hours for our tour because of demand and the limit of just eight people per tour. My advice is to get there early in the day if you want actually go inside the home.

Our tour was fascinating. The house actually belonged to Bess Truman’s family and the Trumans and their daughter Margaret lived there with Mrs. Truman’s mother. Our Park Ranger was great at giving us details of the Trumans’ lives on Delaware Street both before he became president and after they moved back from Washington.

A couple of notes – no photography is allowed inside the house. And the tour only encompasses the building’s first floor. In her will, Bess Truman gave the home to the National Park Service but stipulated that her daughter, Margaret, could stay overnight if she wished in her old second floor bedroom.

Margaret died a few years ago but according to the Park Ranger, her sons still visit the home and are allowed on the second floor. Besides that, typically only the President of the United States is given a tour of the second floor.

The first floor remains much the same as when Harry and Bess lived there. And the furnishings are pretty simple – fitting for the “people’s president.”

After crossing both the Truman Library and the Truman Home off my list, I only have the Truman Farm remaining. That National Park site is located in Grandview and the grounds are open year-round for self-guided tours.

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