City of Independence restarts plans to restore historic Truman train depot

After a pause, the City of Independence has restarted efforts to restore the historic Truman train depot.

The City Council approved a change order and amended a contract at its meeting on Monday, July 15. That allowed the planning process to get in motion again.

The Truman Depot is where former President Harry S. Truman stepped on and off the train in his hometown of Independence. He used it for his Whistle Stop campaign. Present day, the building has been closed for renovations since 2020. The paint is peeling and it offers no amenities for passengers getting off in town. That is why the city wants to get the ball rolling again and restore it to use.

“We have very limited parking here at the building, also to historic buildings so you know, having to keep in mind the, you know, the historic nature of the building for reuse purposes, so it's kind of off the beaten track a little bit. It's not near the square,” said Morris Heidi, the director of Parks, Recreation and Tourism for Independence.

Heidi said they are an overlooked stop on the Missouri River Runner’s route, having to be sandwiched between Lee’s Summit and Union Station. In 2018, Amtrak numbers showed Lee’s Summit saw about four times the ridership than Independence.

Harrisonville resident Barry Jones was parked watching the train come by on Thursday. He does this when he is in Independence. Jones said he noticed the depot was not in the best condition when he first started his routines and hopes to see its history preserved.

“The first time ever came down here because I thought, this is silly… I thought I’d have a restroom to use but they said no, no, it's closed right now, that's being renovated and I thought well, I hope they get it done because it'd be kind of nice to see it,” said Jones.

Heidi said the city doesn’t have any official plans or renderings since the process has only just begun. They have to wait for nearby construction to finish before they can move forward. That means there isn’t a price tag, either. The city received $350,000 from the Transportation Alternatives Program and Heidi said the city will foot the rest of the bill.