INDEPENDENCE, MO

In Independence, Missouri, Union and Confederate armies clashed in two battles, both resulting in victories for the South. Markers throughout Independence designate the battle lines where these soldiers fought. Downloadable walking tour maps are available at www.VisitIndependence.com. The 1859 Jail in the Independence Square saw many bloody years of border warfare, marshal law and neighbors turning against neighbors. Throughout the 1860s, Union marshals controlled the jail, which they populated with southern-sympathizing Jackson County residents. Outlaw Frank James spent nearly six months in one of these limestone cells in the 1880s. Visitors today can tour the jail and the nearby marshal's home, where active county marshals lived with their families. The adjoining museum houses exhibits depicting life in 1860s Independence. The Bingham-Waggoner Estate, built in 1852 along the Santa Fe Trail, now stands on 19.5 acres just south of the historic Independence Square. Artist and politician George Caleb Bingham purchased the estate shortly before the outbreak of the Civil War. Bingham's political views, particularly his opposition to Order No. 11, influenced him artistically to create visual representations of his stance on the issues of the day. It was on this estate that he created some of his most famous paintings. The estate's original furniture and decor, as well as Bingham's artwork, transport visitors back to the tumultuous years in the late 1800s. The Pioneer Spring Cabin offers quite a contrast to the ornate Civil War-era homes and estates in Independence. Built in the late 1850s, just prior to the Civil War, this two-room log cabin was once part of a small Irish settlement in the area. Independence is also known as the hometown of President Harry S Truman and as a point of departure for the Santa Fe, California and Oregon trails.