by Libby Hyde, Adrianna Ohmes, Cecilia Butler and Bridget Jones

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City Workhouse/Brant’s Castle

The City Workhouse is located at 21st and Vine in Kansas City, Missouri. It was named after Major Alfred Brant who was the superintendent. The old workhouse was considered unfit for humans according to some newspapers during that time period. Each lock had a different key, which also made it a dangerous fire hazard. The building is rumored to have been build in 1896 and it supposedly remained a workhouse until 1918 until it was converted into a city office space and was then abandoned in the 1970s.

Bingham/Waggoner Estate

The Bingham-Waggoner society is organized for the preservation of the site. The property had many owners between 1827 and 1878. In the early settlement days, the estate was considered a shortcut on the road that later became part of the Santa Fe Trail.

The Alexander Major House

Alexander Major owned his own freighting company hauling merchandise to Santa Fe. Majors was not a homely man, he was often on the road for his work. Domestic trouble was a problem in his house and he eventually moved away. The Major house was constructed in 1856, and is a 3,400 square foot ante-bellum home. The building was restored in 1984, the home features original hardwood floors and millwork.

Thomas Hart Benton Home

The house is victorian-styled and was lived in by the famous artist, Thomas Hart Benton starting in 1939. He converted the carriage house to an art studio, where he died in 1979.

Vaile Mansion

Built in 1881 by Colonel and Mrs. Harvey Vaile, the mansion has 31 rooms, 9 fireplaces, and a 48,000 gallon wine cellar. The Colonel made his money in mail delivery but was accused of fraud and rumors are that the home became a very tense place. Mrs. Vaile overdosed on morphine and killed herself in 1889 and the Colonel died in 1894. The house was then used as an inn, private asylum and sanitarium, mineral water company, and lastly a rest home for the elderly. In the 60s the home was saved from destruction and the Vaile Victorian Society was established in 1983 and has furnished the mansion in the style of the Victorian Era.

Truman Home

Bess Wallace, Harry S. Truman’s wife’s, grandfather completed the home in 1885 and after her father committed suicide in 1903 her mother and her moved into the house. When Harry married Bess in 1919 he moved into the house. The house technically remained their home when the family moved to the White House and after almost 8 years as President, Truman returned to 219 North Delaware. Truman had no Secret Service or security team after he left the White House and he continued to live like an average American. People would line up at the front gate each day to shake his hand and receive his autograph and he obliged. After Harry died in 72, Bess continued to live in the home. She died quietly in it in 1982, and still remains the longest living first lady (she was 97). She gave it to the National Park Service but requested that the second floor of the home never been opened for visitors, so that some part of her home was always private.