It's as if you've returned to a time when life revolved around the town square, which, as it happens, is the case with Independence. The 1933 Jackson County Courthouse, top, contains elements of its 1836 predecessor, above. The center of town looks much as it did around the turn of the century, when Harry S. Truman worked at the local drugstore. The square is dominated by the Jackson County Courthouse, built in 1836, and there you can visit the office where Truman made the transition from bankrupt haberdasher to public servant when he was elected county judge in 1922. According to legend, it was at the courthouse that he picked up from another local politician what later became his famous catchphrase about heat and kitchens.
Independence has a surprisingly rich history for a place with such a small-town feel.
Founded in 1827, it soon became known as the Queen City of the Trails because of the throngs of people who arrived to join westward wagon trains. A short film gives a good overview of the history of the overland trails, and a comprehensive collection of period artifacts makes it all the more immediate. The exhibits quote extensively from trail diaries, offering modern visitors a chance to relive the arduous journey west through the words of those who made the trip. Not everyone who went to Independence intended to keep moving. The founder of the Mormon Church, Joseph Smith, arrived in 1831 while proselytizing in the Midwest.