Harry S Truman Birthplace State Historic Site

John Anderson Truman and Martha Ellen Young, both born on farms near Westport Landing, married in 1881 and moved to Lamar, where John farmed and dealt in livestock. In 1882, by the deed, they paid $685 for this house, 20 by 28 feet and a story and a half high. Harry S Truman was born here on May 8, 1884, in the downstairs southwest bedroom. To mark the birth of his first child, John planted an Austrian pine at the southeast corner of the house. The tree was taken down in 2012, and a piece of it is on display in the site office.

The family left Lamar when Harry was 11 months old and lived in Harrisonville, Belton and Grandview before settling in Independence in 1890. He finished high school in 1901 but did not go to college, going to work so his brother and sister could finish their schooling: timekeeper for a railroad contractor, the mailing room of the Kansas City Star, two banks. In 1906 he went back to help run the family farm near Grandview, and in France he commanded Battery D of the 129th Field Artillery in the Meuse-Argonne.

Retirement brought two dedications. The first was his library in Independence in September 1957. The second was this house, dedicated as a state historic site on April 19, 1959, and Truman came to Lamar for the ceremony. Tours are free, and the staff here also arrange group tours of the Battle of Carthage site.