All Roads lead West

Date of Trip: November 28,2009

I posted on my facebook status "Wagons West Pics to follow" and then headed out about an hour and half East to Independence,Missouri. Long before Independence was known as the hometown of Harry Truman it was one of ,if not the most famous portages to the great trails of the 19th Century.Blacksmiths,traders,wagons and supplies were in abundance for those going west. Santa Fe,Oregon,California and the Mormon trail.It all starts here. Thousands flock to Independence to see the Truman Library and the home in a quiet residential neighborhood on Delaware Street. The town square is a classic,a large court house and shops. We came for the National Frontier Trails Museum.

Maybe a mile from the town square,identifiable by the Conestoga Wagon and the statue of Jim Bridger is the National Trails Musuem. For those interested in National Parks Stamps, you can get several there. One of the more interesting feature is several of the exhibits come with narration,diaries and journals of the tens of thousands who made it west. Most interesting is Horace Greeley's famous "Go West young man" quote. What is not told about this famous quote is apparently he thought anybody making the trek was foolhardly. That was my favorite audio clip.

The exhibits have everything from stuffed Beaver when telling of the hundreds of new species that Lewis and Clark catalogs and sent back to DC to a general store. Many maps and paintings dot the walls. Several prints are available in the gift shop. As I have said before my favorite exhibit in the Kansas State Historical Society is one of clock,dishes and other things the travelers were forced to set aside on the road.I saw more here,including the story of a chair someone picked up and kept the rest of his life.

A funny tale told is the exhibit of the stuffed rattlesnake, the card said that a solider in the Mexican -American War was bit by a rattlesnake and the doctor gave him "all the whiskey he could drink".Soon other began showing up with the same claims. The Doctor told them they could get any whiskey until after he treated the wound, most claimed to get better on the spot. Love a good story involving alcohol.

On the grounds is a restored train depot on the Chicago-Alton line that was moved about 3 miles.One of the people we were in the tour with wanted to know if Truman traveled from the station. I have included a picture from an advertisement that hangs on the wall ,the painting is of the actress Lili Langtree

Biography from Wiki :http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lillie_Langtry