National Parks:
Harry S. Truman National Historic Site

Independence, Missouri -- 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 greater Kansas City metropolitan area.

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 remain on the site.

DID YOU KNOW

• Harry Truman integrated the United States military in 1948.
• Truman was the only president in the 20th century who did not have a college education.
• The Truman Home was built by Bess Wallace's grandfather, George Porterfield Gates. This home eventually became the Truman's family home.
• This was the only home Harry and Bess Truman ever owned.
• The Truman's last car was a 1972 Chrysler Newport Royal.
• Truman was a farmer for eleven years.
• During WWI Truman was a Captain in the 129th Field Artillery.
• The 'S' in Harry S Truman did not stand for a specific name, but honored both grandfathers, Anderson Shipp Truman and Solomon Young.

DON'T MISS ATTRACTIONS

• Truman Home, Independence, MO: The only access to the Truman Home is with a ticket for a specific tour time. Tickets and site orientation are provided at the Visitor Center Information Desk. Please visit www.nps.gov/hstr/planning_visit.htm for more information.
• Stroll through the historic neighborhood surrounding the Truman Home. Inquire about the walking brochure at the Visitor Center Information Desk.
• Truman Farm Home, Grandview, MO: The only access to the Truman Farm Home is with a ticket for a specific tour time. Tickets and site orientation are provided at the Truman Farm Home. Please visit www.nps.gov/hstr/planning_visit.htm for more information.
• The Harry S. Truman Presidential Library, Independence, MO: Administered by the National Archives and Records Administration is one mile north of the Truman Home. The featured exhibits detail Truman's life and political career. For more information please visit www.trumanlibrary.org/index.html.

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE PRIORITIES

• The oral history project at Harry S Truman NHS began in 1983 and has progressed through several phases since that time. More than 121 taped interviews have been conducted, totaling 190 hours of tapes. Completion of the interviews has allowed the park to document family, friends, neighbors, and service people of the Trumans relating stories of their interactions with Harry Truman, his family and life at Grandview and in Independence. The privacy of the Truman family meant there was little public information about their private lives or their activities in the community when the NPS began tours. Eastern National generously provided funds for conducting interviews, funding transcription costs and digitizing the entire oral history collection in order to make it available to researchers through the park web site. Along with Eastern National, the park worked cooperatively with graduate interns from the Public History Program of Middle Tennessee State University who produced final transcripts of the interviews, digitized recordings and developed a tracking mechanism to document the interview process. Park staff continue to add newly transcribed oral histories to the web site and work is underway to add sound bytes from the interviews for a more personal touch and connection with oral history interviewees. The park web site at www.nps.gov/hstr/ohp_index_1.htm provides internet visitors an opportunity to access these powerful, personal connections with President Truman.
• A major wallpaper and plaster repair contract is currently in progress in the Truman Home Living room. Structural shifts have occurred in the Truman Home for many years. The National Park Service received the home in 1983 and documentation of the structure began at that time. Cracks and loose plaster were the result of years of structural shifting. The escalating structural concerns were addressed during a stabilization project in 2001-2002.
• Virtually all of the Truman Home contents are original to the Truman family, including all of the interior finishes. The wallpaper in the living room was installed in 1945, just after Truman became president. Although wallpapers in two other rooms of the home have been conserved recently, this is the largest undertaking thus far. Wallpaper on the entire south wall and one-third of the ceiling in the living room must be removed to repair cracks in the plaster beneath it. A contract paper conservator was brought in to complete this tedious task. Each section of wallpaper is carefully removed from the plaster using a steamer and lots of patience. The papers are then treated in the conservator's studio, where they are washed, repaired and backed with lining paper for support. Once the plaster repair is complete, the historic wallpaper will be returned to its original wall and ceiling locations.
• Harry S Truman NHS acquired the Noland Home, located across the street from the Truman Home, in 1991. The home was the residence of Harry Truman's aunt, Ella Truman Noland, and his two cousins, Ethel and Nellie Noland. During Truman's courtship with Bess Wallace, it was common for him to spend the night at the Noland Home. The home has seriously deteriorated over the years and the National Park Service has just begun the restoration process. The house will eventually serve as a visitor contact station with restrooms and exhibits on the first floor and office space on the second floor. The anticipated completion of this project is December 2009.

Source: National Park Service