Lincoln, NE, to Topeka, KS
Stormy skies loom overhead as the Lunch Box heads southwest, skirting the Missouri River Valley. At first the highway flirts with the edge of the plains but as we get closer to the Kansas River the rolling hills return.
Independence, Missouri
Independence is now an eastern suburb of the Kansas City metroplex. The landscape somewhat resembles “bubble wrap” covered with dense forest and undergrowth. Founded in 1827, Independence was the furthest point at the time that steamboats could travel up the Missouri from the Mississippi River. It quickly became an important frontier town, at first as an out-fitting post for fur traders and then as the last major provisioning spot for pioneers heading west. The California, Santa Fe, and Oregon Trails all started out west from Independence. The town boomed, but by the end of the 1800’s was eclipsed by the growth of neighboring Kansas City. Today the downtown area is a somewhat forgettable mix of old and somewhat new architecture, none of it really notable. Just south of the county courthouse is the original log courthouse, built in 1827 and still used for some court functions as late as 1932.
South of the railroad tracks is a small museum dedicated to the frontier trails that originated from Independence. The National Frontier Trails Museum is noteworthy not because of its’ displays of original items from the period (most displays are reproductions through there are some original items) but because the story of the pioneers is told in their own words, using quotes from original letters and other documents to tell the story of the trek west. The museum is tucked along the original path of the Oregon Trail next to a set of railroad tracks. A brick warehouse has been given a new façade and entrance.
The path through the museum begins with an exploration of the Lewis and Clark expedition which passed through Independence in 1805 on their way west.
The expedition was fully prepared for their task. One of the resources that Lewis brought with him was an 1803 copy of “Elements of Botany” by Benjamin Barton. This is an 1836 edition of the same book.
An interesting display contrasts the prices (in current dollars) of what an fur trapper might receive in 1835 for his furs as well as how much it might cost him to outfit for his trapping trip.
The next major display concerns the Santa Fe Trail, the primary route between Missouri and Santa Fe, New Mexico, from 1821 until 1880 when the railroad finally reached Santa Fe.
The primary wagon used in the early years was the Conestoga. The wagon could carry up to 3,000 pounds of cargo with a curved floor that helped prevent the cargo from shifting during transit.
In 1847 Brigham Young led a group of Mormons on a path farther north, known as the Mormon Trail which paralleled the Oregon Trail through Nebraska and Wyoming. By 1866 over 59,000 people had followed the Mormon Trail into the Salt Lake Valley.
The sturdy wagons used by the pioneers were smaller and lighter than the Conestoga, measuring about 10’ by 4’. All of the supplies and goods that the pioneer was taking west had to fit into the wagon.
Most pioneers were very unrealistic, both about the condition of the road and the weight of their possessions. Early on in the journey they had to face reality, often after attempting to cross the treacherous Platte River in Nebraska, and the trail quickly became littered with their lost dreams and discarded treasures.
This was well before the attempt to cross the Rocky Mountains. Once the Rockies had been crossed, pioneers had to confront the Great Salt Lake Desert. A second round of weeding out of “unnecessary” items and the impact of the lack of water again marked the trail across the desolate country.
A rare collection of original items that the Morrison family took with them on their trip in 1844 that made it to Oregon fill a cabinet.
Oregon City, at the base of the Willamette Falls in Oregon, was the initial goal for most of the pioneers travelling the Oregon Trail. A settlement quickly grew up as attested to by this 1853 photograph.
The expansion of the railroads west lead to the demise of the trails and this rare 1869 photograph shows one of the last emigrant covered wagon trains heading west being passed by one of the first locomotives heading east near the Great Salt Lake.
A fascinating opportunity to read first-hand accounts of the trek west. While Independence was a key site for the beginning of the settling of the west, it was also a key site in the future of the current United States as the birthplace of 33rd President of the United States, Harry S. Truman.
Harry S. Truman Library and Museum
President Truman was born in Lamar, MO, in 1884 and spent most of his early life on a farm outside of Independence. After returning from his military service in World War I he married Bess Wallace, daughter of a successful Independence businessman. The young couple moved into the Wallace family home, built by her grandfather in stages from 1867-1885. The Trumans lived in the home until Harry’s death in 1972.
A few blocks north on the crest of a small hill sits the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum, built in 1957 to house President Truman’s official papers and preserve the memory of a man who stood at the helm of the United States during one of the most difficult times in the nation’s history.
Approximately half of the building serves as a museum, the rest is a working library for those who want to research events that occurred during the Truman presidency. The entry doors open to a large foyer dominated by a mural with a view through to the inner courtyard. When the building first opened in 1957 this wall was essentially bare except for a plaster rendition of the presidential seal above the door. Shortly thereafter it was decided that a more dramatic first impression needed to greet visitors and so Missouri artist Thomas Hart Benton was commissioned to paint the mural.
The first floor galleries are devoted to the presidential years, starting with the first four months that set the stage for Truman’s presidency after the death of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Events of the time period are dramatically documented in a series of backlit displays of front pages from various newspapers around the nation.
The post-war years saw the US economy improving dramatically as war industries converted to domestic production to meet pent-up consumer demand. The increasing prosperity did not touch everyone as rural populations and minorities lagged behind. In 1947 a third of homes still did not have running water and 60% lacked central heating.
The nation’s attention was soon diverted by growing tensions with the Soviet Union, which culminated in the Cold War as documented in the next series of galleries.
At the beginning of the Cold War the Soviet Union blocked all access to the German capital of Berlin, prompting the allies to conduct one of the largest air support operations ever attempted, the Berlin airlift. For over a year the city was supported by air. A dramatic circular gallery documents this successful effort.
The 1948 election was one of the closest in US history. The issue of race was splitting the Democratic Party as Truman’s insistence on addressing the inequalities created by segregation meet with fierce resistance from Southern Democrats. Media of the day were quite insistence about Truman’s lack of leadership and their point of view was that he would not win re-election.
Truman’s opponent, Republican New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey, was the odds-on favorite to win the race. In these “pre-commercial” flight days President Truman embarked on a series of railroad trips, crisscrossing the country and speaking in hundreds of communities. During this campaign supporters started calling out “Give ‘em hell, Harry!”, a phrase that became the watchword of the Truman campaign.
One of the most famous headlines in US journalistic history happened on the day after the election. In the years before television, instantaneous communication was not possible and based upon the returns as they knew them, the Chicago Daily Tribune famously printed a daily edition with the headline “Dewey Defeats Truman.” Of course, when the final returns were in, President Truman won a second term and he joyfully posed with the Chicago paper in hand.
The next year was one of great challenge for the nation. In just ten months the following series of event shook the world. Each is explained in detail in this gallery.
All of that in just ten months. As Truman prepared to leave office in 1952 he was at the helm of a country experiencing unparalleled prosperity at the same time it faced enormous issues at home and abroad. The complex picture of American life was captured in the pages of Life magazine.
The galleries in the basement level chronicle the personal life of President Truman from boyhood to the presidency.
His years in Europe during World War I are punctuated with excerpts from letters between he and his future wife Bess.
Returning up to the first floor, a replica of the Oval Office during the Truman White House served as President Truman’s office here in Independence after the White House years. The meticulous replica even includes copies of the same original artwork that graced the walls in the White House.
Next to the office the view out the glass wall is past the Flame of Freedom into the courtyard beyond.
A quiet and peaceful place, the courtyard serves as the final resting place for President Truman, his wife Bess, and their daughter Margaret.
My explorations now take a turn west as I strike out towards Kansas, skirting the Kansas City metropolitan area that rears up above the wooded hills.
The dense forest that blankets the hills along the Missouri continues into Kansas.
The small town of Bonner Springs lies a couple of miles south of the Kansas Turnpike, home the Moon Marble Company. Tucked between railroad tracks and the highway, the old warehouse is crammed with a massive collection of children’s toys in addition to a glass studio where craftsmen produce marbles and other glass objects.
I was fortunate enough to share my experience with a group of home-schooled students and their parents… Half were in the marble room learning how to play marbles, the other half were in the glass studio watching as an artist created marbles.
All kinds of marbles and other creations are available for purchase…
Just a fun break in the day!
Next up: The Road to Freedom
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