The Noland Home is open Wednesdays-Sundays 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM. It is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.
There is an accessible entrance in the rear, with one van accessible parking space. There are restrooms and water available. (This is important as there are none available in the Truman Home itself during tours.)
Left image
Harry S Truman leaving the Noland Home, circa 1946
Credit: Truman Library
Right image
Noland Home today at Harry S Truman National Historic Site
Credit: NPS
The Noland Home was where Harry Truman's aunt and uncle lived, as well as some of his favorite cousins. It has more than a family tie. One day, likely in 1910, Harry S Truman was reunited with the great love of his life while visiting his family here. Across the street, at 219 North Delaware, lived a beautiful young lady with beautiful blonde hair and blue eyes...and Harry Truman has been in love with her for twenty years. Her name was Bess Wallace.
Harry Truman was asked to return a dessert plate to 219 North Delaware. He raced across the street, rang the bell...and Miss Wallace answered. "Come in," she said.
That walk across Delaware Street that day changed their history...and ours.
And, um, oh he loved any kind of a joke...just any kind of a joke. And he was witty, he was funny himself. His conversation was full of fun, and full of funny, witty remarks.
Mary Ethel Noland was Harry S. Truman’s first cousin. Her mother, Margaret Ellen Truman, was a sister of John Anderson Truman, who was Harry S. Truman’s father. After the Truman family moved to Independence in 1890, Ethel Noland and Harry Truman developed a close relationship. During her lifetime, Ethel became the family genealogist and researched many of the branches of the family’s history. Miss Noland died in 1971.
This clip courtesy Truman Library.
Home to Harry's favorite cousins, the Noland Home at 216 N. Delaware sits directly across the street from the Truman Home.
NPS Photo
Harry S Truman National Historic Site acquired the home of Joseph T. Noland and Margaret Ellen Truman Noland in 1991. Significant planning and rehabilitation have been necessary to repair the structure, built in three stages between 1858 and 1910. The first phase, completed in 2006, raised and placed the structure on a new foundation.
The interior of the structure was completely gutted. All of the windows were repaired. New plumbing and electrical systems were installed. On the exterior, rotten siding was replaced and the house received a new roof and a fresh coat of paint. Historic interior features like woodwork and stained glass were preserved. Original fixtures, samples of wall coverings and exterior architectural elements have become part of the museum collection.
Exhibits in the Noland Home highlight the courtship between Harry and Bess, as well as life in the Truman neighborhood during and after his presidency.
NPS Photo
Photo postcard of Harry S. Truman with his two Noland cousins. From left to right: Fielding Houchens, Nellie Noland, Harry S. Truman, and Mary Ethel Noland. On the right, Truman has written "This is us H.S.T." Underneath the picture, he has written the first initial of everyone, and written "me" beneath his picture. Circa 1905.
Truman Library
The Noland Home---Foyer/ Parlor Introduction --Audio Description
An audio description of the Foyer and Parlor of the Noland Home.
These files are being provided via this page until we can upgrade and install a new audio description service in FY 2024.
The audio files make reference to reproduction telephones...this service is intended to temporarily replace that.
Introduction, 1:35 minutes: Welcome to the historic Noland Home audio description tour. This house is part of the greater Harry S Truman National Historic Site and during inclement weather may serve as a staging area for tours of the Truman Home. The exhibits in each room are representative of different periods in Harry Truman’s life. You are listening to this message through the receiver of an antique telephone replica. Four of the rooms in the house have replica phones common to the period depicted in the room. On each phone are pushbuttons arranged in a circular pattern. Building directions and general facility information can be heard on any of the phones by pressing the number 5. On the table in front of the phone is a volume control knob. Please familiarize yourself with the phone and adjust the volume to a comfortable hearing level. When you are ready to begin the tour press 1 for a description of the foyer and wall panel where you entered the home or 2 for a description of the parlor, the room you are now in. Or you may continue to the next tour section — Rooted in Independence — which begins in the room through the doorway immediately to the left as you stand facing this phone. The antique telephone replica you will use for the next room’s description is on a small table and has its receiver resting on a cradle. It is located along the wall straight ahead about 15 feet and on a slight diagonal to the right, on the opposite side of the room from where you will enter.
The Noland Home---Building Information--Audio Description
An audio description of the Dining Room of the Noland Home.
These files are being provided via this page until we can upgrade and install a new audio description service in FY 2024.
The audio files make reference to reproduction telephones...this service is intended to temporarily replace that.
Building and Facility Information, 1:00 minutes: The foyer is the first room in the home after entering the front door. Straight ahead is the bedroom and through the bedroom is the back porch. Turning right through the foyer is the parlor. The room adjacent to the parlor is the living room and next to the living room is the dining room. The dining room and bedroom have exit doors that lead to the back porch. Restrooms and a water fountain are available in a hallway adjacent to the back porch. Exiting from the bedroom the entrance to the restrooms and fountain are straight ahead about 15 feet on the right. Entering the back porch from the dining room you will turn right and walk about 15 feet to the restroom hallway entrance on the right. In the restroom hallway two unisex restrooms are available: once over the threshold, the first is directly ahead; the other is about six feet to the left. A water fountain is located in the hallway opposite the two restrooms.
The Noland Home---Foyer and Parlor Introduction--Audio Description
An audio description of the Foyer and Parlor of the Noland Home.
These files are being provided via this page until we can upgrade and install a new audio description service in FY 2024.
The audio files make reference to reproduction telephones...this service is intended to temporarily replace that.
Foyer Description, 3:05 minutes: The space where you entered the home was once the foyer. It is a narrow hallway, 4 feet wide, 8 feet long, and 10 feet high. On the wall to the right of the entry door is a 6 foot high by 3 foot wide, black & white photograph, circa 1946. It shows President Truman walking down concrete steps leading away from the Noland Home. The two-story home has a wide curving porch with square columns supporting the angled porch roof. The photograph is mounted between light sconces with doors entering rooms on either side. To the right of the large photo is a text panel that reads: “The Noland Home. Welcome to the Noland Home. Harry Truman’s favorite cousins Nellie and Ethel lived here at 216 North Delaware. As a young man, Harry Truman often visited the Noland family long before he married his childhood sweetheart Bess Wallace. ‘[I] grew up and went to school with cousins Nellie and Ethel Noland … Nellie would translate my Latin lesson for me … and I would escort Ethel to parties and learn how to be polite from her.’ When the Truman family moved from Independence to Grandview, Missouri in 1905, Truman stayed here during visits to his old hometown. By 1910, Harry began courting Bess Wallace, who lived across the street.” Under the picture and extending out from the wall 4 inches and 3 feet up from the floor is an angled reader rail. The reader rail contains three black-and-white photographs. The photo on the left portion of the panel is of a young adult couple. Text reads: “Joseph and Ella Truman Noland, Harry Truman’s uncle and aunt. Ella was a sister of Harry’s father, John Anderson Truman. The Noland family moved into this home in 1900 and remained here for 86 years”. The center photo is of three young adults, two female, one male, standing behind three older adults, two male, one female, who are seated. Text reads: “The closeness of the Truman and Noland families extended across generations. This gathering at the Noland Home included (standing left to right) Nellie Noland, Harry Truman, and Ethel Noland. Seated (left to right) are Harry Truman’s uncles William Truman and Joseph Noland, and his aunt, Ella Noland.” Nellie is wearing a white blouse and long dark skirt. A young adult Harry is pictured with a slim build and dark hair wearing a suit and tie. Ethel is wearing a long-sleeved, high-necked white dress. William is in a suit and tie wearing a hat with a narrow cigar dangling from his mouth. Joseph is wearing a suit with bow tie in a flat-topped straw hat and Ella is wearing a long sleeved white dress. The photo on the right is of two young adult females. Text reads: “Ethel (left) and Nellie Noland encouraged Truman to court Bess Wallace. The Gates-Wallace Home, now called the Truman Home, is in the background of this picture, about 1900”.
The Noland Home---Parlor Introduction Audio Audio Description
The Noland Parlor, :50 minutes: You are in what was the parlor of the Noland Home. The room is 14 feet by 12 feet, the wall behind the phone is papered with repeating pink irises and sage green scrolls on a striped, pale green background; the other walls are painted a pale pink. The exhibits in this room focus on the courtship of Harry Truman and Bess Wallace. Exhibits on the wall behind the phone include a cake plate, a text panel, and several vintage photographs. The wall to the right of the phone has two large portraits on either side of a long centered window. The wall directly opposite the phone has a window overlooking the Truman Home. A quote from Truman is to the left of the window, and a map panel is to the right.
The Noland Home---Cake Plate and Pictures Audio Description
An audio description of the Foyer and Parlor of the Noland Home.
These files are being provided via this page until we can upgrade and install a new audio description service in FY 2024.
The audio files make reference to reproduction telephones...this service is intended to temporarily replace that.
Cake Plate and Pictures, 3:20 minutes: On the table where the phone and volume controls are located is a bronze-colored replica cake plate; please feel free to touch it gently. Mounted just above is a panel with text and a graphic of a cake plate. Text reads: “The Courtship Begins. Harry Truman had help in winning Bess’s heart. By a happy coincidence Bess lived across the street from his cousins Nellie and Ethel. During a visit in 1910, twenty-six-year-old Harry volunteered at “the speed of light” to return a cake plate to 219 North Delaware, where Bess had lived since 1904. Bess answered Harry’s knock on the door and invited him inside. It took him two hours to deliver the plate. Within a year, Harry had a standing invitation to Sunday dinners with Bess’s family.” To the right of the table and phone, mounted on the wall, are six black and white photographs arranged in a style typical of a family home of that era. An oval-framed print is of young Truman with a hat, jacket, white shirt and narrow black tie, behind his two female cousins wearing white blouses and flat hats topped with flowers. Text reads: “Harry Truman felt very close to his cousins throughout his life. Truman titled this photo, taken around 1905, ‘This is Us’. Nellie (left) and Ethel Noland.” A square-framed print is of Truman and four smiling people in a row boat near a riverbank. Truman is at the oars. Text reads: “Trying to win over Bess Wallace, Harry Truman took her fishing in August 1913.” A square-framed print of a young Truman depicts him at the wheel of a vintage black convertible with right-side steering, running board and spoke wheels; three women accompany the future president. Text reads: “Harry Truman bought this 1911 Stafford car for practical purposes. The vehicle made his courtship with Bess much easier. Riding with Harry and Bess are Ethel Noland alongside Mary Jane Truman (far right), Harry’s sister.” Another oval-framed print shows Truman’s two cousins posing in long-sleeved, high-necked white dresses. Text reads: “Ethel (left) and Nellie Noland at the Truman farm in Grandview, about 1911. The cousins visited often, keeping Truman in touch with news from Independence.” A rectangular-framed print shows Truman from behind sitting on a horse-drawn cultivator, tending to his crops. Text reads: “Harry Truman working on the farm, about 1910. He left a bank job in Kansas City four years earlier to help run the family farm in Grandview.” Lastly a rectangular-framed print of 31 young men and women arranged on steps in front of a building with a wide arched doorway. Truman’s and Bess’ images are circled, Truman is the fourth person from the left in the top row; Bess is the first person on the right side in the second row. Text reads: “Although he had a crush on Bess, Harry Truman was too shy to sit by her in their 1901 Independence High School graduation photo. ‘ … I thought she was the most beautiful and sweetest person on earth.’”
The Noland Home---Living Room Introduction--Audio Description
An audio description of the Living Room of the Noland Home.
These files are being provided via this page until we can upgrade and install a new audio description service in FY 2024.
The audio files make reference to reproduction telephones...this service is intended to temporarily replace that.
Living Room Introduction, 2:00 minutes: Welcome to what was the Living Room of the Noland Home. You’re listening to this message on an antique replica phone that sits on an oblong base with a two-pronged cradle emerging from its top. The receiver rests on the cradle and is attached to the base by a coiled cord. The room is the same size as the parlor—14 feet by 12 feet—and the wall behind the phone is papered with dark green laurel bouquets alternating with a small torch pattern on a light green background; the other walls are painted light green. This room’s theme is “Rooted in Independence” and focuses on Truman’s deep roots in Independence. Exhibits on and along the wall where the phone is located include replicas of Truman’s trademark possessions, a text panel, and several large photographs with insets and reader rails. On the wall to the right is a map panel on the left with two tall windows on the right. In the center of the room is an interactive touchscreen kiosk and on the wall opposite the phone is a fireplace above which is a large echo monitor for the interactive kiosk. The wall to the left has a Truman quote from 1956. When you are ready to begin the tour press 1 for a description of the tactile objects and the family and community photos, press 2 for a description of the map panel and quote, or press 3 for a description of the interactive kiosk. Button 5 provides building information. Or you may continue to the next section – Lifelong Balancing Act: by proceeding through the doorway just to the left of the phone. A small table is located straight ahead about 20 feet, on the opposite side of the room from where you will enter. An old rotary style phone with a handset that’s nestled on the base unit’s cradle is the device you will use to hear our next room’s description.
The Noland Home---Living Room---Map Panel and Quote---Audio Description
An audio description of the Living Room of the Noland Home.
These files are being provided via this page until we can upgrade and install a new audio description service in FY 2024.
The audio files make reference to reproduction telephones...this service is intended to temporarily replace that.
Map Panel and Quote, 1:40 minutes: On the wall to your right, there is a framed map panel, two-and-a-half feet tall by one-and-a-half feet wide, and two tall windows. The framed map panel is titled “120 Steps.” Text reads: “Famous for his morning walks around town, Harry Truman believed that exercise gave him a chance to think and keep fit. ‘As part of my daily routine,’ he said, ‘I usually take a walk of a mile and a half, at a pace of 120 steps a minute … If you walk 120 paces a minute, your whole body gets a vigorous workout.’” Below this is a quote from Bradley Smith, Photographer, describing a walk in 1953 with Harry Truman “Once the walk started, Truman moved more like a slow jogger than a fast walker. I spent a good part of the hour-and-a-half walk running ahead of him, stopping to take a picture from across the street or from the street corner.” The bottom half of the panel is a line drawing map of downtown Independence, noting sites near Truman’s home. Text reads: “Places Truman enjoyed passing on his walks included the First Presbyterian Church where he and Bess first met in 1890, as well as the homes and shops of friends and neighbors.” On the wall to your left as you face the phone is a small rectangular, stained glass graphic. Below it is a quotation from Mr. Truman, dated November 28, 1956: “I’ve had every political office, nearly, from precinct to president of the United States, and I came back home to live at the end of it all.”
The Noland Home---Living Room---Tactile Objects and Personal Roots---Audio Description
An audio description of the Living Room of the Noland Home.
These files are being provided via this page until we can upgrade and install a new audio description service in FY 2024.
The audio files make reference to reproduction telephones...this service is intended to temporarily replace that.
Tactile Objects, Family and Community Roots, 5:30 minutes: On the wall directly in front of you is a coat rack: hanging from it are touchable replicas of Truman’s famous fedora hat and walking cane. They are affixed to the rack on the wall; they represent important elements of Harry Truman’s style. Mounted on the wall just to the right is a text panel, two-and-a-half feet tall by one-and-a-half feet wide, with a graphic drawing of a tree with multiple branches and deep roots. Below the graphic, title and text reads: “Rooted in Independence - We all remember our roots. We remember where we grew up and went to school. Our memories of family, friends, and events tie us to our communities. Truman remained grounded in Independence all his life. Hometown values—fairness, respect for others, and hard work—guided his decisions before, during, and after his presidency. After serving ten years in the Senate and nearly eight years in the White House, Truman returned to his beloved Independence. He happily wrote, ‘I found myself right back where I started.’” Continuing to the right, two black-and-white photos, each over six feet high and over three feet wide, are mounted vertically next to each other; reader rails extend from each just below. The first image depicts Truman, seen from one side, as he reads a newspaper, seated at an outdoor porch table. With thinning gray hair, the bespectacled Truman is wearing a long-sleeve white shirt, a tie, dark slacks, and two-tone shoes. Text reads: “The back porch served as a sanctuary for the Trumans. It was a favorite spot to read the morning paper or to have supper on summer evenings. Overgrown bushes provided privacy.” The reader rail beneath is entitled “Family Roots”. The left third of the panel is text, there are three pictures on the right. Text reads: “Few people spend their entire lives living in one home, especially a home where their parents and grandparents also live. Harry Truman acquired a large, extended family when he married Bess. Following the birth of Margaret Truman in 1924, there were four generations living under one roof. In 1953 when the Trumans returned from Washington the house was empty. It was the first time since they were married 33 years earlier that they could finally be alone in their own home.” The first photo is a cut-out of Truman in a light-colored suit and tie, seated on an outdoor bench between Bess and daughter Margaret. Bess has short, bobbed hair and wears a short-sleeved, belted white dress. On the left is their daughter, Margaret, at about age 10. Truman and Margaret grin at each other. Text reads: “The Truman family during the 1934 Senate campaign.” To the right and above is a photo of the middle-aged Truman and Bess standing along with an adult Margaret on the front porch of the Truman home. All three wear hats and are bundled in heavy, dark coats. Text reads: “Throughout their time in Washington, the Trumans returned home often. This picture is from their 1949 Christmas visit.” Below this photo, another image shows, from left to right, Clifton Daniel, who is a tall, thin man wearing a dark jacket and light slacks; Margaret in a white wedding gown, holding a floral bouquet in her left hand and her right arm linked around the elbow of her husband, Clifton Daniel; Bess, in a print dress and wearing a large corsage; and Truman in a suit and tie. Text reads: “Margaret married Clifton Daniel on April 21, 1956. Like her grandparents and parents before her, Margaret held her reception at the Truman Home.” The second enlarged photo and reader rail is at right, immediately adjacent to the first. The photo depicts Truman in a three-piece suit with his hat and walking cane, strolling along a sidewalk. Text quotes Truman: “I tried never to forget who I was and where I’d come from and where I was going back to.” The reader rail beneath is titled “Community Roots”. The left third of the panel is text; there are three pictures on the right. Text reads: “Many people who achieve great power and fame, especially at the level of the presidency, have a difficult time returning to their old lives. Some prefer to stay in communities near the center of power, like Washington, D.C. By contrast, President and Mrs. Truman were eager to return home. The people of Independence embraced the Trumans, both during and after their White House years. Crowds gathered for election rallies, homecomings, and birthday celebrations. The president was quite accessible to people who wanted to meet him. His walks around town became famous. Independence—before, during, and after the presidency—was home.” The first photo is a cut-out and shows Truman in mid-stride shaking hands with a teenaged boy, a younger friend is just a step behind. Text reads: “President Truman greets children while on a morning walk in his neighborhood.” To the right and above is a color photo of a beaming Truman shaking hands with an admirer; they are surrounded by citizens including several officers while Bess Truman in a light blue hat can be seen just peeking over Truman’s shoulder. Text reads: “Thousands of well-wishers greet the Trumans as they return to Independence as private citizens in 1953.” Below this is a photo taken at the Truman Library and shows Truman at a large globe—its top reaches Truman’s waist—with almost a dozen young people around Truman and the spherical map of the world. Text reads: “The former president with students at the Truman Library. He devoted his retirement years to establishing the Library and ‘teaching our young people the meaning of democracy.’”
Noland Home Dining Room --Introduction-- Audio Description
An audio description of the Dining Room of the Noland Home.
These files are being provided via this page until we can upgrade and install a new audio description service in FY 2024.
The audio files make reference to reproduction telephones...this service is intended to temporarily replace that.
Dining Room Introduction, 2:00 minutes: Welcome to what was once the Dining Room of the Noland Home. You are listening on a 1940s style replica telephone. The room is 14 feet by 17 feet. The wall where the phone is located is papered with a repeating pattern—vertical ovals—in green, burgundy, and gold on a beige striped background; the other walls are painted pale blue. For visitor use there is a long backless bench seat located in the center of the room. This room’s theme is “Lifelong Balancing Act” and centers on Truman’s efforts to balance the different dimensions of his life and career. Exhibits on this wall, next to the phone, include a tactile globe and desk sign, and two sets of two large photographs, each with a reader rail beneath and extending from the wall about 12 inches. The one on the left compares his life in Washington and Independence; the one on the right compares his family and political life. On the wall to the right are a map panel and two large photographs with an extended reader rail beneath that depicts some of his successes and failures. The wall directly opposite the phone depicts his 19th century upbringing with 20th century challenges. And the wall on the left has a Truman quote from 1960. When you are ready to begin the tour press 1 for a description of the quote, the tactile objects, and Washington versus Independence, press 2 for a description of his political and family life, press 3 for a description of the map panel and his successes and failures, or press 4 for a description of his values and challenges. Button 5 provides building information. Or you may continue to the next section – Strength from Family – it begins through a door behind you that was on your left as you entered the dining room. Please note: the door may be closed. The room may also be accessed through the foyer where you first entered the home. Program note: You may listen to this message again simply by hanging up and lifting the handset.
Noland Home Dining Room --Political Demands Versus Family Life --Audio Description
An audio description of the Dining Room of the Noland Home.
These files are being provided via this page until we can upgrade and install a new audio description service in FY 2024.
The audio files make reference to reproduction telephones...this service is intended to temporarily replace that.
Political Demands versus Family Life, 3:50 minutes: Several feet to the right of the first photo mural is the second set of two, six feet by four feet, wood-framed photo murals and reader rails. Mounted above the photos is a set of scales between two phrases: “Political Demands” and “Family Life.” The first enlarged black-and-white photo pictures a stern Truman in front of a group of microphones. Text reads: “The President addresses the Congress on details of the Truman Doctrine. March 12, 1947.” The second tall black-and-white photograph shows the Truman family standing—from left to right: Bess Truman, in a dark overcoat, the President in a dark suit, and Margaret Truman wearing a black dress with a coat over her shoulders. Text reads: “The Truman family attends the National Christmas Tree lighting ceremony at the White House, December 24, 1952, their last in Washington.” Mounted between the two enlarged photos is a panel that discusses Truman’s Political and Family balancing act. Text reads: “The Trumans lived in a far more private era than today, and they worked hard to maintain a sense of privacy for their close-knit family. However, they were not always successful. President Truman was a highly-visible public figure beginning with his first campaign for county judge in 1922. Bess supported her husband’s career, but she never felt comfortable in the spotlight.” The reader rail below the left photomural includes three black-and-white photos. The larger photo cut-out at left shows a cheerful Bess and Margaret Truman, wearing ribbons that read “Truman”; Margaret holds her purse high in the air. Text reads: “Margaret and Bess Truman at the 1944 Democratic National Convention, which nominated Harry Truman for vice president. As crowds surrounded them after the nomination, Bess repeatedly gave Truman a harsh look, demanding, ‘Are we going to have to go through this for the rest of our lives?’” Above and to the right a photo depicts Mrs. Truman sitting with a boy in a wheelchair. She pets a small black dog in his lap. Text reads: “Bess Truman shied away from publicity, but she genuinely enjoyed many of her duties as first lady, like this meeting during the 1952 Muscular Dystrophy campaign.” Below this image is a photo of Margaret Truman seated against a wall with over a dozen men at her sides, writing on notepads. Text reads: “Like her father, Margaret Truman enjoyed an easy rapport with the press. This photo shows her during Truman’s 1948 ‘Whistle Stop’ campaign.” The reader rail below the right photomural includes three black-and-white photos: The larger photo cut-out at left is of a beaming Truman and grinning Margaret in the backseat of a convertible car. Truman, in a suit, is wearing his usual fedora hat and spectacles; Margaret wears a print dress, a hat adorned with feathers, pearls and a corsage. Text reads: “Harry and Margaret Truman campaign in Detroit, 1948. Truman delighted in his daughter’s embrace of public life. Margaret Truman was a singer, actress, television host and noted mystery novel writer.” Above and to the right a photo depicts Bess and Harry Truman waving from a train platform while Margaret smiles, standing in between her parents. Text reads: “Truman relied on his wife and daughter for support and advice throughout his career. Here the family is travelling together during a campaign trip in 1948.” Below this image is a photo of a somber-faced Truman with Bess and Margaret next to him. Truman has his right hand raised with a thick book in his left hand. Five men are pictured standing behind the Truman’s. Text reads: “Truman turned to his family to settle him from the shock of becoming president when Franklin Roosevelt died. He later wrote to Bess, “ … you [and] Margie … must give me help and assistance: because no one ever needed help and assistance as I do now.”
Noland Home Dining Room--19th Century Values, 20th Century World--Audio Description
An audio description of the Dining Room of the Noland Home.
These files are being provided via this page until we can upgrade and install a new audio description service in FY 2024.
The audio files make reference to reproduction telephones...this service is intended to temporarily replace that.
19th Century Values – 20th Century World, 4:30 minutes: On the wall opposite the phone are a locked closet door on the left and the door to the living room on the right. In the center of the wall is a wood-frame display containing two six feet by four feet black-and-white photographs with a reader rail under each extending from the wall. Mounted above the photos is a set of scales between two phrases: “19th Century Values” and “20th Century World”. The left photomural depicts a young Harry Truman in a dark overcoat, a bow tie, his spectacles and a bowler hat. Text reads: “Before World War I, Harry Truman’s world was limited to Independence and Grandview. It was a simpler time compared to the challenges of the 20th century. Recalling her youth, Ethel Noland wrote, ‘ … we were carefree and a little irresponsible, I think.’ It truly was a more innocent time.” The second photo mural in this display depicts Truman, wearing a sober expression, in an overcoat and gloves and holding his hat over his heart; he stands outside a black automobile and the Washington Monument towers in the background. Text reads: “As President, Truman was thrust onto the world stage, burdened by many difficult decisions. He held the fate of millions in his hands.” Mounted between the two enlarged photos is a text panel that reads: “The late-19th century world of Truman’s youth was a time of gaslight and steam. By the mid-20th century, President Truman found himself at the helm of the most powerful and technologically advanced nation in history. He was expected to lead that nation into a new age. Harry Truman was forced to overcome many of his 19th-century beliefs and prejudices when addressing 20th-century issues. He believed in tradition, but was not restricted by it. Decisions he made sometimes put him at odds with family and friends, but he declared ‘I shall continue to do what I think is right whether anybody likes it or not.’” The reader rail below the left photomural includes three black-and-white photos. The larger photo cut-out at left is Harry Truman in his World War I uniform on horseback. Text reads: “Many men entered World War I with high expectations of earning glory on the battlefield, and Harry Truman was no exception. Machine guns, mustard gas, aerial combat, and armored tanks quickly dispelled those dreams. Modern warfare had arrived.” Immediately to the right, pictured at the door to an aircraft, is Truman waving his hat with his left hand while his right arm is around his mother. She wears a dark coat and flower-adorned hat. Text reads: “Harry Truman’s upbringing influenced him in both good and bad ways. His parents instilled in him the qualities of self-discipline, determination, and loyalty. However, as a grandson of slave owners, he inherited a strong racism that he had to overcome during his adult years. He referred to his mother (left) as an ‘unreconstructed Southerner.’” Below this image is a photo of Harry with Bess and several others in a fishing boat. Text reads: “Harry, Bess (center) and others fishing. Fun was often what you made it. Truman later remembered, ‘We didn’t have cars and movies and television and radio, none of that. We played. My sister and I played piano, and we always had a houseful of books, and we read.’” The reader rail below the right photomural includes three black-and-white photos. The larger photo cut-out at left features Truman in profile shaking hands with an African-American staff sergeant in uniform. Text reads: “In 1948, Truman made the controversial decision to desegregate the armed forces. In spite of his upbringing, Truman had grown to believe that, ‘Whether discrimination is based on race, or creed, or color, or land of origin, it is utterly contrary to American ideals of democracy.’” Above the cut-out the picture is of a massive mushroom-shaped cloud as seen from aircraft. Text reads: “Truman understood that his use of the atomic bomb took the world into a new age. ‘I was the president who made the decision to unleash that terrible power, of course, and it was a difficult and dreadful decision to have to make.’ Nevertheless, he said “I have no regrets and, under the same conditions, I would do it again … ‘” In the middle is a photo of three soldiers sitting amid brush—one cradles the head of another in his arms. The caption notes that: “Truman felt that entering Korea was the most difficult decision of his presidency. ‘You break your heart and your head trying to figure out a way to save one life … ‘ Ultimately, more than 33,000 Americans died.” Program note: Button 1 is a description of the tactile objects, wall quote, and left photo mural, button 2 is a description of the photomural on the right, button 3 describes the wall on the right, and button 5 provides building information.
Noland Home Dining Room---Map Panel and Failure and Success--Audio Description
An audio description of the Dining Room of the Noland Home.
These files are being provided via this page until we can upgrade and install a new audio description service in FY 2024.
The audio files make reference to reproduction telephones...this service is intended to temporarily replace that.
, Map Panel and Failure and Success, 5:40 minutes: On the wall to the right are two long windows on either side of a map panel and a wood-frame display containing two enlarged black-and-white photographs with a reader rail under each extending from the wall. To the left of the photomural, mounted on the wall, is a wood framed map panel. At the top is a globe beneath which is the title “World of Change” followed by the text: “Harry Truman grew up in an era when many Americans rarely traveled outside their home state. His experiences in World War I, as senator, and as president expanded his world view. He traveled more than any previous president and managed global ‘hot spots’ from Europe to Asia.” Truman’s words from an address to Congress in 1945 are quoted: “In this shrinking world, it is futile to seek safety behind geographical barriers.” At the bottom of the panel is a flat representation of the world with events and locations of international significance during Truman’s presidency. Events include: Japan, Atomic Bombs Dropped, 1945; California, Creation of the UN, 1945; Truman Doctrine, 1947; Europe, Marshall Plan, 1948; Israel, Official recognition, 1948; Western Europe, Creation of NATO, 1949; Korea, Korean War, 1950-1953; Wake Island, General Douglas MacArthur Meeting, 1950. To the right of the map is a wood-framed pair of six feet by four feet black-and-white photos with reader rails. Mounted above the photos is a set of scales between two words: “Failure” and “Success.” The enlarged photo on the left is of a young Harry Truman wearing a suit and tie standing between counters in a haberdashery; another man stands nearby and a long row of ties hangs above and behind them. Text reads: “Harry Truman and Eddie Jacobson opened a men’s clothing store in Kansas City in 1919. The store failed two years later during an economic slump.” The second large photo shows Harry Truman in a double-breasted suit waving from the rear of a train; he holds onto a rail that is emblazoned with the seal of the president of the United States. Text reads: “Truman during the 1948 presidential campaign. In politics he found his niche. ‘A failure as a farmer, a miner, an oil promoter, and a merchant,’ he told Bess, ‘but finally hit the groove as a public servant—and that due mostly to you and the lady luck.’” Mounted between the two enlarged photos is a text panel that reads: “‘No man,’ said Harry Truman, ‘can make a perfect score.’ Truman didn’t do too badly, though. He commanded a battery of soldiers in World War I without losing a single man in combat, he lost only one election in 30 years of public office, and by the turn of the 21st century historians rated him as the country’s fifth best president. He also had failures. He lost money in mining, oil and retail ventures; he was unable to prevent foreclosure on his mother’s Grandview farm; and in February 1952, his presidential approval rating sank to 22%, a record low at the time.” Below the left photo is a reader rail with two black-and-white images: at left is a photo cut-out of President Lyndon B. Johnson grinning and signing a document at a table with an elderly Harry and Bess Truman nearby. Text reads: “Truman wrote, ‘I have had some bitter disappointments as President, but the one that has troubled me most … has been the failure [to pass a] national compulsory health insurance program.’ President Lyndon B. Johnson’s Medicare bill partially achieved what Truman failed to accomplish. At the bill signing, Harry and Bess received the first two Medicare cards.” Health insurance cards with the names Harry S. Truman and Bess W. Truman are shown above the picture. At right is the image of a modest two-story frame house with a wide front porch. Text reads: ”Harry Truman, with his mother and grandmother at the family’s Grandview farm, about 1909. His mother lost the farm to foreclosure in 1940. ‘It’s a wrench,’ said Truman, ‘but I guess we can stand it.’ The family later repurchased the farm.” The reader rail below the right photomural includes three black-and-white photos. The larger photo cut-out at left is the iconic photo of Truman grinning broadly as he holds up the front page of a Chicago Daily Tribune issue with the bold headline, “Dewey Defeats Truman.” Text reads: “The Chicago Tribune wrongly announced Truman’s defeat by Republican presidential candidate Thomas Dewey. Polls indicated Truman would lose, but he confidently predicted, ‘I will win this election … don’t you forget that.’”. At top left is a posed photo of several rows of World War I soldiers in uniform. Truman’s face is circled; he is seated second from the left in the front row. Text reads: “Captain Truman successfully led an unruly group of soldiers during World War I. ‘They seem to want to soldier for me,’ Truman wrote Bess, ‘and if I can get them to do it, I shall consider I have made the greatest success there is to make.’” At right center is a picture of Truman at a table with three other men (he is second from left); microphones are in front of each man. Text reads: “The ‘Truman Committee’ scrutinized World War II spending, identifying millions in waste and making Senator Truman a national figure.”
Last updated: October 11, 2023
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Contact Info
Mailing Address:
223 North Main Street (Visitor Center/ Truman Home Ticketing Station)
Independence,
MO
64050
Phone:
816-254-9929
The park is open to the public Wednesdays-Sundays. The park is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Administrative staff work Monday-Friday.
For Administration staff, please call (816) 254-2720, Mondays to Fridays, 8AM-4PM.
All times central. (We like to call it Truman Time.)
