Harry S. Truman National Historic Site includes two homes in western Missouri occupied by Harry Truman, the 33rd president of the United States from 1945 to 1953. Truman took many far-reaching actions during his presidency, but perhaps the best known was his decision to use the atomic bomb against Japan, which ended World War II in 1945. The two homes occupied by Truman are the Truman Home in Independence and the Truman Farm Home near Grandview. Both homes now lie within the Kansas City metropolitan area.
The Truman Home in Independence is a white, Victorian-style house where Truman and his wife, Bess, lived from 1919 until their deaths. The Trumans’ only child, Margaret, was born in a second-floor bedroom there. While Truman was president, he used the residence as his “Summer White House,” returning there for vacations, holidays, and election days. Displays at the house include many Truman family heirlooms, the president’s books, and Margaret’s piano.
The site also includes three nearby homes of Truman family members. Two of the houses belonged to Bess’s brothers, and one belonged to the president’s aunt and uncle.
Less than 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) from the Truman Home in Independence is the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum. The library preserves Truman’s presidential papers and other historical materials. It also has a replica of the Oval Office as it appeared when Truman used it. Harry and Bess Truman are buried in the library courtyard.
Truman’s grandparents built the Truman Farm Home in 1894 near Grandview, 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of Independence. The house stands on a 5-acre (2-hectare) remnant of the 600-acre (245-hectare) family farm, where Harry lived and worked as a young man from 1906 to 1917. A smokehouse, a garage, and several other farm buildings remain on the site.
After Bess’s death in 1982, the Independence home was deeded to the people of the United States. The Truman Farm Home became part of the national historic site in 1994. The National Park Service operates the site, and the National Archives and Records Administration manages the library.
