Independence voters are already heading to the polls to decide whether to fund long-term improvements to five historic, city-owned sites.
If approved, General Obligation Bond Question No. 1 would address deferred maintenance and restoration work at the Bingham-Waggoner Estate, Vaile Mansion, the Truman Memorial Building, Old Fire Station No. 1 and the 1827 Log Courthouse.
A 20-year bond would generate $19.9 million to overhaul and restore the properties, and create a 20-year business plan for historic buildings. To pass, the ballot question must be approved by a 60% majority.
“Other communities would be envious of what it is that we have, in terms of our historic resources,” said Brent Schondelmeyer, with the Save our Historic Sites campaign, at a discussion hosted by the Independence Chamber of Commerce last week.
“We just need to get a different attitude: embrace them, love them, and take care of them,” Schondelmeyer said.
Former Independence Mayor Eileen Weir, who served on the City Council for 10 years, said she hasn’t seen an organized opposition to the bond issue on the ballot, and a drive through Independence in the weeks leading up to the election failed to turn up any yard signs or billboards of opposition.
“Of course, that doesn't mean it's going to pass.” Weir said, noting citizen satisfaction surveys over the years show history ranks high with voters. “Without fail people, want to preserve Independence history.”
The new bond proposal comes after Independence voters rejected a $12 million bond for historical sites in 2025.
After that decision, consultants from PGAV Planners proposed a master plan in April 2026 that recommended the city consider offloading the Vaile Mansion and the Bingham-Waggoner Estate to private buyers for a token price of $1, due to the condition of the properties.
Schondelmeyer said the consultant’s suggestion galvanized Independence residents to take action.
“Even if this was a plausible idea, why would you want to sell off your history to some other party?” Schondelmeyer said. “The suggestion to sell motivated people to say, ‘Let's go get this issue on the ballot and give the community an opportunity to provide a reasonable funding source to secure their maintenance and upkeep for future generations.’”
If voters approve this time, the bond would be repaid through an increase in property taxes. The City of Independence estimates it would amount to less than $30 per year based on the average city home value of $173,000.
Schondelmeyer said the investment would help preserve buildings that connect the community to its past, while protecting places that draw visitors from around the country.
Tourism brings in roughly $50 million annually, according to the Independence Chamber of Commerce, and supports more than 1,200 jobs across hospitality, retail and food service.
Should the bond be approved, there's an extra perk for Independence voters: All five sites, detailed below, would offer free admission to city residents until the bonds are retired.
Bingham-Waggoner Mansion and Estate
The largest of the five proposed investments would fund more than $6.6 million in interior and exterior renovations to the Bingham-Waggoner Mansion and Estate and the site's outbuildings, at 313 W. Pacific Ave.
The estate initially served as a shortcut to the beginning of the Santa Fe Trail, according to its website, and a residence was first built there in 1852 by saddle maker John Lewis.
Missouri artist George Caleb Bingham purchased the home in 1864 and lived there during the Civil War. Bingham had a log-and-clapboard studio on the property, where he painted his “Order No. 11,” a work that dramatized the wartime exile of several thousand people from their homes in western Missouri.
“We have visitors from all over the country and all over the world that come to the Bingham-Waggoner and other sites,” said Mark Mangels, vice president of the Bingham-Waggoner Historical Society. “All of these sites are part of history, so there is a cost (to preserve them), but I think the cost is very reasonable.”
Restorations at the Bingham-Waggoner Mansion would include chimney repointing and capping, repairs to the mansion’s porch balusters, railings and columns. Damaged trim would also be replaced to prepare for repainting of the building’s exterior.
Vaile Mansion
Some $4 million would be allocated to help the city repair the crumbling exterior of the Second Empire-style Vaile Mansion, at 1500 N. Liberty St.
“This historic mansion tells a story about the history of Independence and the history of the frontier,” said Pam Fulmer, a member of the Vaile Victorian Society’s board of directors. “We need to preserve it so we can keep that story going.”
Fulmer regularly leads groups of visitors on tours of the 31-room home, built by Colonel Harvey Vaile and his wife, Sophia, over the course of 10 years, starting in 1871. The home features 9 marble fireplaces, painted ceilings and flushing toilets.
In the early 1880s, Vaile was charged with defrauding the government in the Star Route postal service scandal and he faced two trials, both of which ended in a not guilty verdict. But, while Vaile was in court in Washington, Sophia, who had been diagnosed with stomach cancer, was found dead at home from a morphine overdose.
Vaile Victorian Society has a contract with the city to maintain the interior of the home. All exterior repairs are the responsibility of the city, but much of that maintenance has been delayed, Fulmer said, adding that the delays only make repairs more costly.
The home has deteriorating wood ornamentation that needs to be replaced, and the building's masonry needs repointing.
The Truman Memorial Building
The Truman Memorial Building, at 416 W. Maple Ave., was built in 1925 as a tribute to World War I veterans, spearheaded by civic groups including the American War Mothers.
War veteran Harry S. Truman was an eastern Jackson County judge at the time, and he oversaw the building's dedication on July 4, 1926. It was also a neighborhood polling place where Truman and his wife, Bess, voted for three decades, including his victory in the 1948 presidential election.
Truman held his only presidential press conference in Independence here on June 27, 1945, according to the Truman presidential library and museum, and a large collection of his presidential papers were stored here from 1954 to 1957.
Now the building serves as a multi-use municipal community and recreation center, offering fitness classes, an auditorium, a gymnasium, event rentals and veteran halls.
The Memorial Building would receive a little more than $1 million for repairs, including interior drywall and painting, replacing cast stone surrounds and repainting the building’s exterior.
Old Fire Station No. 1
Old Fire Station No. 1 has served as the National Park Service’s Truman Historic Site Visitor Center for almost four decades.
The nonprofit Independence 76 Fire Company also operates out of the basement of the 100-year-old building, at 223 N. Main St. Its president, Richard Webb, said the structure needs a lot of work.
“The front of the fire station has brick- and tuck-pointing issues, the facade is failing, and the severe weather in early September, at SantaCaliGon Days, really made that worse,” he said.
The building was temporarily closed to the public after the storm.
If the bond question is approved, Old Fire Station No. 1 would receive $1 million to repair the building’s facade and masonry, and restore windows on its south side.
The Park Service plans to build a new visitor services facility and administrative headquarters for the Harry S. Truman National Historic Site, and Webb said the move creates an opening for the nonprofit to relocate upstairs. To accomplish that, the building needs to be restored.
“We're one of the oldest fire departments west of the Mississippi,” Webb said. “I'd love to have a fire station or fire museum and education center in there, and work in conjunction with the fire department for fire prevention activities and kids.”
The 1827 Log Courthouse
The 1827 Log Courthouse, constructed with slave labor, was Jackson County’s first government building, according to the development group Visit Kansas City. It’s also where Judge Harry Truman presided when the Eastern Jackson County Courthouse was being renovated from 1932-33.
- 1827 Log Courthouse Historic Site
The two-room log building was built using hewed logs and, for four decades, was the only American courthouse between Independence and the Pacific Ocean. The building also served as a Mormon mercantile in the 1820s and early 1830s, before that community left the county in 1833 due to anti-Mormon sentiment.
The 1827 Log Courthouse, at 107 W. Kansas Ave., needs urgent repairs, according to the city, and would receive an estimated $750,000 for renovations.
Deteriorating logs need to be replaced, the front porch and columns would be removed and reconstructed, the shingle roof would be replaced, and all of the courthouse’s windows and doors would be restored, according to the City of Independence.
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