Harry S Truman National Historic Site

Harry Truman's story is one of hope & frustration, choice & chance. As President, he took the US from its traditional isolationism into the age of international involvement. Visitors experience the surroundings HST knew from his formative years as a 22-year-old youth of modest ambition through his retirement and death at age 88 as a former president of the United States.

The Basics

Hours:

The Visitor Center in Independence, Missouri is open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Guided tours of the Truman Home are available between 9:00 a.m. and 4:45 p.m. The home is closed on Mondays from Labor Day to Memorial Day (September through May). Beginning October 29, 2006, tours will be available between 9:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.

The Truman Farm Home in Grandview, Missouri is open for tours on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Tours are available from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The farm grounds are open daily, year-round for self-guided tours.

The park is closed New Year's Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.

Phone: (816) 254-9929

Address:

223 North Main Street
Independence, MO 64050

Phone:

816-254-9929

Fax:

816-254-4491

Map

Harry S Truman National Historic Site, Missouri Map

Directions

The Visitor Center is located at the intersection of Truman Road and Main Street, in Historic Fire Station No.1. From the north or south, take I-435 to Truman Road (State Hwy 12), exit 60. Travel east on Truman Road three miles; you'll pass the Truman Home at Delaware Street.

From the east or west
Take I-70 to Noland Road, exit 12. Travel north on Noland Road four miles to Truman Road. Turn west on Truman Road and travel two blocks.

The Truman Farm Home is located in Grandview, MO amid the retail and commercial district along Blue Ridge Boulevard. From the east or west, take I-435 and exit southbound on Route 71. From the north or south, travel Route 71 and take the Blue Ridge Boulevard exit. Travel west one mile. The Farm Home is on the left, set back from the road.

Climate

Summer is hot and humid with occasional thunderstorms. Spring and fall are mild with moderate temperatures; rain is possible. Winter can be cold with snow or mixed precipitation.

Link to our Independence Weather coverage for more information.

Fees

Truman Home Tour Fee: $4.00, children 15 and under are free

Things To Do

Watch the 12-minute introductory slide program in the Visitor Center. Take a tour of the Truman Home to see how the "uncommon common man" lived. Visit the Truman Farm Home in Grandview, Missouri where Truman lived and farmed from 1906-1917. Go on a self-guided walking tour of historic Independence and see many of Harry Truman's old haunts

Nearby Attractions

Related Sites

Harry S. Truman Library & Museum - located in Independence, was established by President Truman in 1957.
Harry S Truman Office & Courtroom - located in the 1933 Jackson County Courthouse on historic Independence Square.

Other Sites

Vaile Mansion - built in 1881 by local entrepreneur and U.S. mail contractor Harvey Merrick Vaile.
Bingham-Waggoner Estate - built in 1855, the home was once owned by artist George Caleb Bingham and later occupied by the founders of the Waggoner Gates Milling Co. of which Bess Truman's grandfather was co-owner.
1859 Jail, Marshal's Home & Museum - two-story 1859 Jackson County Jail which once housed Frank James.
National Frontier Trails Museum (NFTM) - presents the history of the Santa Fe, California and Oregon Trails and the personal stories of the pioneers who opened the West.

Link to our Independence Attractions coverage for more information.

Places To Go

Harry S Truman National Historic Site includes the Truman Home in Independence, Missouri, and the Truman Farm Home in Grandview, Missouri. Both units are within the Kansas City metropolitan area (population 1.9 million).

Truman Home

Harry S Truman (1884-1972), 33rd President of the United States, lived here from 1919 until his death. The white Queen Anne style house at 219 North Delaware Street was built by the maternal grandfather of Bess Wallace Truman (1885-1982), and was known as the "Summer White House" during the Truman administration (1945-1953). The site also includes the two adjacent homes of Mrs. Truman's brothers, and, across Delaware Street, the home of the President's favorite aunt and cousins.

Truman Farm Home

Built in 1894 by Harry Truman's maternal grandmother, the Farm Home is the centerpiece of a 5.25 acre remnant of the family's former 600-acre farm. Mr. Truman worked the farm as a young man, from 1906-1917. It was here, said his mother, that Harry got his "common sense." Several outbuildings are also on the site.

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