//
Built in 1852 along the Santa Fe Trail, this magnificent home was owned by American artist George Caleb Bingham. Extensively renovated in the 1890s, many furnishings and accessories from the era may be seen in the home, and original wagon swales from the Santa Fe Trail may be viewed to its south. A gift shop is in the carriage house. Closed for the winter from Jan-Mar. Directly across from the National Frontier Trails museum.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
Museum and interpretive center dedicated to the history of the Overland Trails and the settlement of the American West. Independence hosted thousands of settlers, pioneers, soldiers and merchants as they prepared to cross the plains along one of three trails which began just off the city square: the Santa Fe, California, and Oregon. The museum offers film, a children's activity room, artifacts, journal entries, maps, and covered wagons, among other highlights.
The two-story depot contains three rooms on the first floor which are the waiting room, stationmasters room & baggage room. On the second floor, four rooms, which were formerly the stationmasters residence, are the kitchen, dining room, bedroom and the parlor. Each of these rooms is furnished in the period circa 1879. Inside you will find pot-bellied stoves, the original waiting room benches and old Chicago & Alton advertising posters.
A large structure built between 1926-58 for holding the church's biennial convention. It was the church's headquarters, before erection of the Temple. It houses an Aeolian-Skinner pipe organ with 113 ranks and 6,334 pipes, including an antiphonal console and pipes in the rear balcony of the oval chamber. Seating nearly 6,000 people (as opposed to 1,600 in the Temple's main sanctuary), this building is used not only for religious ceremonies, but community events as well, including local graduation ceremonies and an annual performance of Handel's Messiah that has become a mainstay of the KC Christmas holiday season.
Describes the roles played by Latter-day Saints during the early and tempestuous history of Independence. Offers flat screen visual presentations showing the arrival of early Saints, revelations, and their pioneer lives. Also offers rare artifacts and exhibits documenting the history and beliefs of the Mormons, together with information on the adjacent Temple Lot. Free guided tours daily.
Constructed from 1990-94, sits adjacent to the original "Temple Lot," and clearly dominates the city skyline. Designed by famed Japanese architect Gyo Obata, the edifice evokes the spiral shell of the Nautilus by using a stainless steel spire that rises 300 ft (91 m). Unlike temples of the larger LDS church, the Community of Christ's sacred structure is always open to non-members. Its main sanctuary features a Casavant pipe organ with 60 stops, 102 ranks, and 5685 pipes; recitals are held daily during June, July, and August (and Sundays only the rest of the year). Also held daily is a Prayer for Peace, which the public is encouraged to attend.
Features numerous family-owned shops surrounding the old main courthouse, which was modeled after Philadelphia's Independence Hall. This courthouse houses Harry S. Truman's former courtroom and office (see below).