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Independence might be considered part of the sprawling “greater Kansas City” area, but on its own, it’s actually the fifth largest city in Missouri and predates the city of fountains.
Settlers founded Independence in 1827 — before the first Kansas City-area settlement, Westport, came about in 1831.
Prior to the 1804 Louisiana Purchase, the Osage and Missouria tribes lived freely in the Jackson County area, including Independence. As settlers flooded into the region, these tribes were forced to sign a series of treaties that moved them onto reservations in Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Kansas.
As anyone who had to play the “Oregon Trail” computer game in grade school remembers, Independence was famously the origin point of the Santa Fe, California, and Oregon trails in the early 1800s. The town flourished because settlers could stock up before their westward travels.
As KCUR’s podcast A People’s History of Kansas City explored, Hiram Young, a formerly enslaved man in Independence, even became the wealthiest resident in Jackson County for a time due to his wagon-building skills.
Independence has a few other claims to fame. In 1831, Joseph Smith, founder and prophet of the Latter-Day Saints Movement, declared the city as “the center place” of Zion where members should prepare for Jesus’ return.
And famously, Independence was also the hometown of Harry S. Truman, America’s 33rd President.
There’s plenty of great food, arts and history to be found in Independence, so read on for a beginner’s guide to the town!
Dining and shopping
Independence Square is a great place to start your day due to its historic, small-town feel and selection of locally-owned restaurants. In fact, Independence Square is so scenic that it was selected as a filming site for the Kansas City Chiefs-themed Hallmark movie that will be released this holiday season.
Independence Farmers’ Market on the Square runs every Saturday from 8 to 1 from May through October (and also Wednesday mornings from June to October). The market only sells produce and meat raised within 100 miles of the city, in addition to your standard farmers’ market fare of jellies, honey, and baked goods.
What’s unique about the market is that it returns in the winter inside of the Independence Uptown Market building. From December to April, you can visit the market on the first of every month Saturday from 9 to 1.
Some of the Square’s iconic dining options include Courthouse Exchange, which bills itself as “the only Missouri restaurant serving burgers and beer since 1899.” Situated below street level, the restaurant offers an elevated bar menu, including a Bacon Mac Attack burger topped with macaroni and cheese, or a pork tenderloin platter served with a side of mashed potatoes and gravy. Another favorite is the option to build your own baked potato.
If you are feeling casual, Up Dog serves up gourmet hot dogs in a vintage diner atmosphere. Options range from the Missouri Dog -- with pickles, bacon, cheddar cheese and mustard -- to the Rio Dog with cream cheese, bacon, and onions. They also serve other items like smash burgers and sandwiches.
To keep with the vintage theme, make sure to head to Independence favorite Clinton’s Soda Fountain afterward for a strawberry malt or Harry’s Favorite Sundae, with chocolate ice cream, butterscotch, and whipped cream.
The ice cream shop opened in 1988, but the space was once a pharmacy where Harry Truman himself once worked!
3 Trails Brewing is a craft brewery in Independence Square with a vast selection. They offer four IPAs, including the Bicycle Daze New England IPA and the Patchwork Quilt West Coast IPA. For something more adventurous, you can get the “What is Tiramisu?”, which is a milk stout brewed with tiramisu and strawberries. They also make their own hard sodas in cream and black cherry flavors.
For a more upscale meal, Ophelia’s Restaurant is an Independence classic located in an old hardware store. At lunch, try one of their original starters like a seasonal empanada (currently listed as Fresno chimichurri and whipped feta tzatziki) and hefty sandwiches like a crab cake BLT.
Their dinner menu includes steak or fish platters and other entrees like the “Then & Now Fried Chicken,” which is a fried chicken platter where half is made with Harry Truman’s own recipe, and the other half is made with an ancho honey glaze. They also serve brunch on the weekends.
For a boost of energy, Main Street Coffee boasts a standard menu of espresso and coffee drinks made using beans from Kansas City’s Broadway Roasting Co. In addition to coffee, pastries, and breakfast items they pour seasonal specialty lattes like the Bee’s Knees, which is a blackberry honey latte.
Or if you are in the mood for a cocktail, The Sentinel Room is a new craft cocktail bar that opened in spring 2024, as part of the local goods store The Marinello. Named after the building’s former inhabitant, The Independence Sentinel newspaper, the bar’s dark, cozy interior harkens back to the Prohibition era.
Their cocktails include classics with a twist, like Ralph’s Rosemary Mule with rosemary mint syrup. Or try one of their Independence-themed drinks like the Three Trails with bourbon, elderflower syrup, and honey. For a snack, try their charcuterie.
And when you’re done eating and drinking, Independence Square is also home to a lot of fun, locally-owned shops. You can buy used records, CDs, and cassette tapes at Planet Queen.
Or, in keeping with the old-timey theme, Gilbert Whitney & Co. is a kitchenware store and specialty grocer that draws inspiration from the building’s previous life as a mercantile.
There is, of course, also a Harry S. Truman-inspired store. At Wild About Harry, you can buy men’s clothing and gifts tailored to men, like beard oils and whisky glasses.
Looking for some family-friendly activities to keep cool? Independence Square has its very own movie theater, The Pharaoh 4, which often shows free movies outdoors during the summer. And you can also get a full day’s entertainment at Diamond Bowl & Billiards - come for the bowling lanes and pool tables, and stay for the Friday night karaoke.
Attractions and historical sites
After spending some time in historic Independence Square, you may want to learn more about the facts underlying the city’s fabled history. A short walk from the Square, the National Frontier Trails Museum is designed for audiences of all ages to learn about the history of the Santa Fe, California, and Oregon trails and the settlers who traveled them. There you can get a glimpse into the settler experience by viewing a covered wagon and the types of clothing, foods, and goods that people carried westward.
The museum also houses the Merrill J. Mattes Research Library, a large collection of research materials related to the American West. Researchers can access this material free of charge by appointment only.
Of course, around Independence you’ll find all sorts of places that commemorate Harry Truman. You can walk through the Harry S. Truman National Historic Site at 219 Delaware Street, where Harry lived with his wife Bess from 1919 until he died in 1972. The ornate Victorian home was built in 1867, and here you can get to know the former first family on a personal level.
Taking a tour gives you a glimpse into the preserved bedrooms and living spaces of the first family. Visiting the site, also operated by the National Park Service, is free but you have to reserve a ticket at the Harry S. Truman Visitor Center first.
If poking through historic mansions is your thing, both the Vaile Victorian Mansion and the Bingham-Waggoner Mansion & Estate in Independence also offer home tours. (KCUR included both of these locations on our Adventure! exploring historic mansions and houses around Kansas City.)
For those who grew up in the area, you may have visited the Truman Presidential Library & Museum on a field trip as a child, but it is worth revisiting the site as an adult. After a two-year renovation, the museum reopened in 2021 with interactive exhibits highlighting Truman’s childhood, presidency, and the historical context surrounding his politics.
You can play an interactive game called The Loyalty Test that emphasizes the anti-Communist paranoia of the emerging Cold War and watch a video discussing Truman’s ties to the Civil Rights movement.
The museum also has a rotating roster of temporary exhibits. “UPSET! Harry Truman and the 1948 Election” ties the contentious historical election to the current election climate, and is on display until February 2025.
Across the street from the Truman Library is McCoy Park, which boasts a wide variety of entertainment options including a water playground, tennis courts and more.
But it’s worth noting that both the park and library were built on top of a historic Black neighborhood, The Neck, that Independence razed in the 1960s after pushing out residents. You can learn more about that story from A People’s History of Kansas City.
For a different kind of history, check out the Midwest Genealogy Center, which boasts itself as “the largest freestanding genealogy facility in the nation.” Operated by the Mid-Continent Public Library, the center offers a wealth of free resources that you can use to learn more about your ancestors or other historical figures.
The center also displays exhibits and is currently showing “The Scenic Route,” which features travel artifacts housed in the archives. They also host frequent events where you can learn about genealogy from the librarians. A fun upcoming event is “Hidden Treasures: Home Sweet Home” on September 4 where you can learn about research tips to find the history of your house. Most events require online registration beforehand.
When you are in Independence, it is hard to miss the massive silver spiral sitting atop the Community of Christ Temple. The building is located on a spot where, in 1831, Latter-Day Saints Movement founder Joseph Smith reportedly proclaimed there would one day be a temple.
It was built in the 1990s by a branch of the Latter-Day Saints Movement called the Community of Christ, and the iconic spiral was modeled after a nautilus seashell to symbolize the Church’s relationship with God.
If you are interested in seeing the temple up close, you can take a tour on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., but you have to fill out a tour request first.
If you have had enough history, Cool Crest is a miniature golf course that originally opened in 1950. The site now has go-karts, batting cages, an arcade, and an indoor climbing gym for kids. You can also enjoy Independence’s natural beauty at Waterfall Park. You can hike a 1.2-mile trail that passes by a scenic waterfall, and the park also contains a lake, recreation areas, and a playground.
Finally, no trip to Independence is complete without checking out the one-of-a-kind attraction of Leila’s Hair Museum. This museum, dedicated to art and jewelry made from actual hair, is based around the decades-spanning collection of Leila Cohoon, although it now seems to offer visits through appointments only.
Englewood Arts District
To immerse yourself in Independence’s growing arts scene, visit the Englewood Arts District. The Englewood Arts Center on Winner Road is the hub of the activity, offering art classes to adults of varying skill levels in media that range from glass-blowing to still-life drawing.
They also host artists-in-residence and display rotating art exhibitions. The current one, “Red, Black and Green: In Honor of the Afro American Flag” by artist-in-residence Karen E. Griffin, pays homage to the Afro-American Flag (also called the Pan-American Flag) created by activist Marcus Garvey in 1920. The Third Friday Art Walk every month is a great opportunity to see the art and eat at local food trucks. The next one is September 19 from 5-9 p.m.
Englewood Arts has not only become an artistic resource for Independence, but they have worked with the community to develop a public housing program. This ensures that the neighborhood develops in an equitable way that mutually benefits longtime residents and the artists who flock to the area.
Make sure you make time for a unique form of artistry: puppets! The Puppetry Arts Institute is a museum and learning center devoted to all things puppets. The Institute’s Hazelle Rollins Museum is centered around the collection of the famed female puppet maker from Kansas City.
In the 1930s, she started the company that eventually became the Hazelle, Inc. puppet factory, which produced a range of hand puppets, finger puppets, and marionettes that operated using novel technologies. Her puppets today are displayed in world-famous institutions like the Smithsonian.
In addition to the museum, the Puppetry Arts Institute holds puppet-making workshops and puppeteering classes, and you can also take your puppets there to be repaired. Of course, you can also see a puppet show there at the Eulenspiegel Puppet Theatre. The next show, Three Tales from Asia on October 12, features puppet styles from Korea, Japan and Turkey.
The neighborhood is also home to shops and restaurants, including two Independence staples. Vivilore serves high-end meals, with dinner entrees like the New Zealand rack of lamb or the grilled vegetable Napoleon. You can dine in their scenic, plant-filled courtyard, or just stop by their gallery space and antique store.
Englewood Cafe is another local favorite. They open at 6 a.m. every morning except Sunday (8 a.m.) to serve up classic breakfast dishes like biscuits and gravy and pancakes. You can also come for lunch every day, or dinner Mondays-Fridays, to get their giant pork tenderloin or chicken fried steak.
SantaCaliGon Days
Independence’s annual SantaCaliGon Days Festival is coming up on Labor Day weekend, from August 30 through September 2. Named for the three trails that originated in the city, the festival takes over Independence Square and more with carnival rides, live music and plenty of fried fair food.
Another attraction is the Main Street 1849 “pioneer party,” a family-friendly event that allows visitors to experience settler life. You can pan for gold, visit a pioneer wagon, and experience how settlers did chores like laundry and making the bed along the trails.
Entrance to the festival is free, including the live music and the Main Street 1849 activities. You can purchase tickets to ride the carnival rides or buy a $28 all-you-can-ride wristband.
