Why not be a tourist in your own town?

From pioneers to presidents, Independence has played a key role in shaping our nation. Independence is the hometown of  President Harry S. Truman and the starting point for the Santa Fe, California and Oregon trails that opened America’s West. It also is the place religious leader Joseph Smith Jr. declared to be the new Zion in America.
Here are some of the city’s many historic attractions.

• Harry S. Truman Home National Historic Site 
Visitors Center • 223 N. Main • 816-254-9929
Truman Home • 219 N. Delaware
www.nps.gov/hstr
The Truman Home is operated by the National Park Service, with tickets available at the Visitors Center. Home tours begin every 15 minutes for groups of eight. No tours on Mondays, Labor Day to Memorial Day.
Tour hours: 9 a.m.-4:45 p.m.; ticket center hours 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day.

• Harry S. Truman Library & Museum
500 W. U.S. 24 • 816-268-8200 or 800-833-1225
www. trumanlibrary.org
The Truman Library, which celebrated its 50th anniversary last year, features interactive and hands-on exhibits, theaters, Decision Theaters and more.
Hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Mon-Sat; noon-5 p.m., Sun. Thursdays May to September, open until 9 p.m. Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day.
Tickets: $7 adults; $5 seniors; $3 age 6-18; under 6 free.

• 1859 Jail & Marshal’s Home Museum
217 N. Main • 816-461-1897
www.jchs.org
The cells of the 1859 Jail housed thousands of prisoners during the bloody years of the Civil War and afterward. Probably its most famous tenants were Frank James and William Clark Quantrill. The site includes an 1870s schoolhouse and a small gift shop.
Hours: 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Mon-Sat; 1-4 p.m., Sun. Closed Nov; Jan-Mar. Holiday tours: Day after Thanksgiving to Dec. 30.
Tickets: $5 adults; $4.50 seniors; $2 age 6-16; under 6 free.

• Bingham-Waggoner Estate
313 W. Pacific • 816-461-3491
www.bwestate.org
This home built along the Santa  Fe Trail was built in 1852 and was once owned by acclaimed Civil War artist George Caleb Bingham. Later, the Waggoner family, founders of the Waggoner-Gates Mill, owned the home. Today’s home reflects the extensive renovation of the 1890s, with many original furnishings and accessories.
Hours: 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Mon-Sat; 1-4 p.m. Sun. Closed Nov, Jan-Mar.
Tickets: $5 adults; $4.50 seniors; $2 age 6-16; under 6 free.
Holiday tours: Day after Thanksgiving to Dec. 30.

• Vaile Mansion 
1500 N. Liberty • 816-325-7430
www.vailemansion.org
This Second Empire Victorian mansion with 30 rooms was built by frontier businessman Harvey Vaile in 1881. It boasted conveniences like flushingn  toilets, and 48,000-gallon wine cellar and a built-in 6,000-gallon water tank.
Hours: 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Mon-Sat; 1-4 p.m. Sun. Closed Nov, Jan-Mar.
Tickets: $5 adults; $4.50 seniors; $2 age 6-16; under 6 free.
Holiday tours: Day after Thanksgiving to Dec. 30.

• National Frontier Trails Museum ‑
318 W. Pacific • 816-325-7575
www.frontiertrailsmuseum.org
This museum is devoted to the Queen City of the Trails, as Independence was known when it was the starting point for the Santa Fe, California and Oregon trails.
Hours: 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Mon-Sat; 12:30-4:30 p.m. Sun. Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day.
Tickets: $5 adults; $4.50 seniors; $3.50 age 6-17; under 6 free.

• Community of Christ International Headquarters
816-833-1000, ext. 3030
Temple:  201 S. River
Auditorium: 1001 W. Walnut
www.CofChrist.org
The Temple and Auditorium  are headquarters for the Community of Christ, which has approximately 250,000 members worldwide. The green-domed Auditorium holds a 5,600-seat conference chamber, where the World Conference delegates gather. It also is the site of the Children’s Peace Pavilion. The spiraling 300-foot-tall Temple houses a  museum and 1,600-seat sanctuary.  Two wonderful pipe organ provide music at the sites. The Auditorium houses the 110-rank Aeolian Skinner and the Temple has the 102-rank Casavante Fréres.
Free tours and organ recitals daily. Call for times. Prayer for Peace at 1 p.m. daily.

• Mormon Visitors Center
937 W. Walnut • 816-836-3466
www.lds.org
The Mormon Church has a history in Independence dating back to 1833. The Visitors Center displays explain the early saints’ tempestuous years in the city and in Missouri.
Free guided tours daily 9 a.m.-9 p.m.

Information from the 2008 Visitors Guide to Independence. For more information about Independence tourism, go to www.visitindependence.com or call the Tourism Department at 816-325-7111.