Long ago on independence square

[MRG Dallas]

Ok, I can go with CSB on the corner, right? And probably was Jones Store on West that I
am thinking of.

We're probably going to need MAD (and Sally since she's confirmed alive now) to fill in the gaps.

[Mad Anthonie]

Originally Posted by WCHS'59

There are probably people reading this who have encountered the “Independence Problem.”

It gets worse! On some streets, such as Trail Ridge just north of 23rd, the numbering is mixed. The number assigned depended on when the house was built. Kiger Road in the same area used to have some of these, and even had a couple of even-numbered houses on the odd-side of the street, but those were fixed when the street was re-named to Lee's Summit Road.

When I was a dispatcher I memorized several places where houses were numbered out of sequence, to aid in quicker responses.

Originally Posted by WCHS'59

Part II

NUMBERED STREETS:



DUPLICATE STREETS:

At one time the city attempted to fix a duplicate street name problem (Kendall) by renaming one of them 2nd St. South. Unfortunately that street is off the 1400 block of North Noland and nowhere near other numbered streets.

And don't forget three Erins, 2 Leslies, and more will come to mind later.

Originally Posted by MRG Dallas

pearjas.....would welcome any input you have on life in the area. It's been sooo many years for me since I've been thru there but this thread has brought back so much I hope not to forget again. I too have not had much luck Googling images of The Square. No doubt they exist, but likely in peoples' attic photo albums. One of these days I will get around to shuffling thru my parents' stuff I know there has to be some memorabilia and photos mixed in.

Here is a link to a repository with many photos of old Independence and KC.

Missouri Valley Special Collections : Home

Sorry for my absence, this has been a tremendously adventerous week.

The Mid-Continent Public Library Geneaology Branch has the Polk's Directory for most years back to around 1910. Commonly called the cross directory, we used them at the PD to see who lived at an address. The directory has several sections; listings by name with address and occupation, listings by address with occupants and phone numbers, and listings by phone number showing name. When things slow down I could get the listings for the square in 1960, or if Pearjas is bored and has time he could do the same.

Pearjas, are you in one of the historic homes, or just a neat old one?

[WCHS'59]

Originally Posted by WCHS'59

Part II

The first major LDS splinter group to form was the Hedrickites, now known as the Church of Christ (Temple Lot). The church claims its original organization date as 1830 and its founder as Joseph Smith. Arriving in Independence in 1867 they purchased the 2.5 acres making up the Temple Lot but the group did not have enough funds to buy the greater Temple Lot.

The second major LDS splinter group became known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS) and organized in the 1860s but claims 1830 as its original organization and Joseph Smith as its founder. Part of this group also arrived in Independence in 1867 and purchased the greater Temple Lot less the smaller lot occupied by the Hedrickites. The RLDS then tried unsuccessfully to buy the extremely important Temple Lot. Eventually, those RLDS in Iowa came south to unite with those already in Independence.

After a prolonged and unsuccessful effort to gain control of the Temple Lot, the RLDS church in 1891 sued for possession in federal court under "The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, complainant, vs. the Church of Christ at Independence, Missouri." Oddly, the Mormon Church in Utah provided both financial support and legal advice to the Church of Christ with defending against the lawsuit. The RLDS won the court case but subsequently lost after an appeals court review in 1894. On further appeal, the US Supreme Court refused to hear the case thus leaving the Temple Lot in the hands of the Church of Christ (Temple Lot) where it remains to this day.

After winning the law suit, the Church of Christ (Temple Lot) proceeded with long range planning to build a temple on the Temple Lot. In 1929 excavation of a 90 foot by 180 foot by 12 foot deep area for a foundation uncovered Joseph Smith’s cornerstone. However, the church suspended construction indefinitely due to a lack of money. In 1946 the City of Independence with church blessing filled the excavation in and leveled the lot at city taxpayer expense.

There have been no further efforts to pursue building a temple on the Temple Lot with the exception that the RLDS as late as 1976 continued to have a desire to own the Temple Lot. However, the Church of Christ (Temple Lot) has steadfastly refused to cooperate.

The RLDS church reorganized into the Community Church of Christ in 2001.

Part III

The Temple Lot in Independence has the following landmark:

• The Church of Christ (Temple Lot) world headquarters (1990). Arsonists fired two previous headquarters buildings.

The Greater Temple Lot has these landmarks:

• United Nations Peace Plaza (1997)
• Six Nations Tree of Peace (Iroquois Confederacy) (1990)
• The Community Church of Christ Auditorium (built from 1926-56)
• The Community Church of Christ Independence Temple housing its world headquarters (1994)
• The Truman Railroad Depot (1913)
• The Utah Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Stake Center and Visitors Center (1971).

Other LDS offshoot movements that have their world headquarters in Independence:

• Church of Jesus Christ (Cutlerite) founded in 1853 in Independence.
• Church of Christ (Fettingite) founded in Independence in 1929.
• Church of Christ (Restored) founded in Independence in late 1930s.
• Church of Christ “With the Elijah Message” founded in Independence in 1943.
• Church of Christ (Assured Way) founded in Independence in 1943.
• Church of Christ (Hancock) founded in Independence in 1946 and went defunct in 1984.
• True Church of Jesus Christ (Cutlerite) founded in Independence in 1953 and went defunct in 1969.
• Restored Church of Jesus Christ founded in Independence in 1980.
• Outreach Restoration Branch founded in Independence in 1980.
• Church of Jesus Christ (Toneyite) founded in Independence in 1980.
• Church of Jesus Christ (Zion’s Branch) founded in Independence in 1985.
• Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Days Saints founded in Independence in 2000. This church is an offshoot of the RLDS church before it reorganized into the Community Church of Christ, but claims its organization date to be 1830 and its founder as Joseph Smith. This group has its world headquarters in the old William Chrisman High School building on west Maple Avenue in plain view of the greater Temple Lot.

This information in this three part effort was gleaned from several web sites including several for Wikipedia.

[WCHS'59]

Originally Posted by Mad Anthonie

It gets worse! On some streets, such as Trail Ridge just north of 23rd, the numbering is mixed. The number assigned depended on when the house was built. Kiger Road in the same area used to have some of these, and even had a couple of even-numbered houses on the odd-side of the street, but those were fixed when the street was re-named to Lee's Summit Road.

When I was a dispatcher I memorized several places where houses were numbered out of sequence, to aid in quicker responses.


At one time the city attempted to fix a duplicate street name problem (Kendall) by renaming one of them 2nd St. South. Unfortunately that street is off the 1400 block of North Noland and nowhere near other numbered streets.

And don't forget three Erins, 2 Leslies, and more will come to mind later.

Even numbers on the odd side. Chuckle. I don't know how the Kansas side of the metro area is handled and whether Overland Park might have a similar problem.

All of the metro cities in the Denver area are numbered off the Denver grid so there is no confusion from that aspect.

[MRG Dallas]

I lived in Overland Park for several years and it was my impression the grid continued unabated into Joco.

[WCHS'59]

I first came across the street numbering problem as a teenage driver trying to find an address on Truman Road. After driving back and forth several times, I gave up in confusion and frustration.

I cannot recall if I called and finally found the address or not. Nowadays, one would just whip out the cell phone and ask "where are you?"

I did not understand what caused the problem until a few years later.

[MRG Dallas]

"The Mid-Continent Public Library Geneaology Branch has the Polk's Directory for most years back to around 1910. Commonly called the cross directory, we used them at the PD to see who lived at an address. The directory has several sections; listings by name with address and occupation, listings by address with occupants and phone numbers, and listings by phone number showing name. When things slow down I could get the listings for the square in 1960, or if Pearjas is bored and has time he could do the same."

Thanks, Anthonie, for the reply and future effort. I do recall cross-directories and looked at the MCPL website but being out of state and a non-KC property owner, I can't join even online for a fee. Must be present to enter it appears.

[WCHS'59]

• In researching information about the Temple Lot in Independence, I noticed that the LDS retained David Rice Atchison of Liberty, Clay County, as their attorney. Joseph Smith hired Atchison to seek compensation for the Temple Lot and other property abandoned after local citizens drove the Mormons out of Independence in 1833.

• Oddly enough, Atchison was a major general in the Missouri state militia mobilized to deal with the Mormon War in 1838.

• Atchison later became a US senator and became famous in American history related to one single day in 1849.

• Although a Missourian, the city of Atchison, Kansas, sixty miles northeast of Independence square, is named after him. The city is famous for being the starting point of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway and as the birthplace of Amelia Earhart.

• Besides having Joseph Smith as his most famous client, David Rice Atchison’s most famous claim to fame, as mentioned, is connected to one day in history related to what is now a little known event.

• Atchison was President of the United States for one day. In keeping with his short tenure, the smallest Presidential library in the United States is inside the Santa Fe museum in Atchison, Kansas.

• In Plattsburg, Missouri, fifty miles north of Independence square, a full body statue of Atchison stands in front of the Clinton County courthouse commemorating his one day as President. His tombstone also notes his one day achievement and a bronze bust depiction of him is on display in the Missouri capitol building.
  

• I first heard of this feat when NBC and the Hallmark Hall of Fame presented a one hour program titled “President for a Day” broadcast live on November 21, 1954 (I looked it up). This was when Kansas City still had only one TV station and I was a captured audience. However, I was rather young to comprehend the significance of what happened.

• The newly elected president, Zachary Taylor, refused to be inaugurated on a Sunday, so Congress appointed Atchison, by now a senator from Missouri and the Senate President pro tempore, as President for that one day, March 4, 1849.

• No one at the time argued the legality of the appointment, it was simply made.

• Atchison also had a hand in changing the boundary of the state of Missouri in 1836 as a result of his initiative with the Platte purchase. Missouri is the only state to have changed its boundary after being admitted to the Union. At one time the western boundary of Missouri was 180 degrees straight up. The Platte purchase from the occupying Indians added 3,150 square miles (larger than some states) to northwest Missouri resulting in the northwest boundary following the Missouri River. After purchase, the Indians were ordered to move west across the Missouri River to open the new Missouri area for white settlement.

• One final note. After the Platte purchase, Missouri became the largest state in the Union in area.

[Mad Anthonie]

I knew of Mr. Atchison and his presidential history, but wasn't aware of his Independence connections. Thanks!

Sorry Dallas, the Polk's Directories are old-fashioned books that you have to read in person.

[WCHS'59]

“Order No. 11 was the most drastic and repressive military measure directed against civilians by the Union Army during the Civil War. In fact, with the exception of the hysteria-motivated herding of Japanese-Americans into concentration camps during World War II, it stands as the harshest treatment ever imposed on United States citizens under the plea of military necessity in our nation's history.” Albert Castel, Missouri Historical Review 57, State Historical Society of Missouri, July 1963, 357-368.


President Abraham Lincoln personally approved Order Number 11. The Union army commander in Kansas City issued the order on August 25, 1863, against a predominantly enemy population in Jackson and two other area counties. The order imposed a total depopulation of men, women, and children in the affected area.

Most people in Jackson County were sympathetic to the rebel cause and provided aid and assistance to the Missouri Bushwhackers, an irregular and particularly vicious rebel fighting group. Bushwhackers sometimes included Jesse James, William Quantrill, Bloody Bill Anderson, and others. Order number 11 was an attempt to dissolve the aid.

The order had no direct effect on the citizens of Independence or those living within a mile of Independence, but for the vast majority of those living in Jackson, Cass, and Bates counties; these people without exception had to vacate their homes and farms.

Those who could prove their loyalty to the nearest Union commander received a certificate of such loyalty. A “certified” loyalist could then move into Independence or another military district such as Hickman Mills, Pleasant Hill, or Harrisonville. Loyalists also had the option of moving to the state of Kansas west beyond its eastern column of counties.

It is not that Independence did not have any southern sympathizers, it did. By one account nine-tenths of the people in Jackson County were aiding and abetting the Bushwhackers with food and shelter, ammunition, and Union military movements. However, Union forces occupied Independence and presumably had the rebel population under control.

Those people living in the area of the order who could not or would not prove their loyalty had to move out of the affected counties to wherever they could find. Those who remained were subject to military punishment—forced shipping as far south as Arkansas.

Whether a family was loyal or not, all hay and grain had to be taken to the nearest military district and vacancy completed within fifteen days of the order. If not, the hay and grain were to be destroyed in place by Union forces and those people remaining shipped south.

A story of the Missouri Bushwhackers was most recently told in the 1999 Ang Lee movie “Ride with the Devil” starring Tobey Maguire.