Nestled amid a grove of black walnut trees on almost 20 acres south of the famous Independence town square, this HISTORIC AND WELL-PRESERVED MANSION is one of the most beautiful house museums in Missouri. It also has a rich history dating back to the Civil War and westward expansion. A house has existed at this location since about 1827, residing alongside the historic Santa Fe Trail. From this location, wagon trains would set out for the west. Early owners of the home saw it as a great place to earn a living covering these caravans. A wagon swale, which is a deep crevice in the ground created by countless wagon wheels, can still be seen on the property.

The home’s name is derived from some of its most famous residents, 19th-century artist and politician George Caleb Bingham and the Waggoner family, early millers in Perry and Cumberland counties, Pennsylvania. Three generations of the Waggoner family occupied the home for almost 100 years. In 1979, a group of private citizens, in cooperation with the City of Independence, purchased the home including the 19.5 acres for a museum and park. The Bingham-Waggoner Estate stands today as a tribute to the hundreds of thousands of searching souls who passed by and laid their hands to the task of settling the land and building a nation.

The home is full three stories high, containing twenty six rooms. Nine fireplaces are located in the structure - four on the first floor and four on the second. Many of the rooms are elaborately prepared in linen with hand painted designs. The basement also contains a fireplace and is finished. The first floor includes the Parlor, a large L-shaped entry and vestibule, a Music Room, Library, Dining Room with Mahogany woodwork and accessories, and a large kitchen including a butler's pantry and walk-in ice box. Seven bedrooms are located on the second floor, as well as an alcove referred to as a "sewing room" and a 1 large central hall. Three rooms are located on the third floor (servants quarters) as well as a large room referring to as a "tank" room. The "tank" was machinery for the Estate's water supply

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Modern Woes

2017
Historic Bingham-Waggoner Estate vandalized. The windows broken by vandals was 117 years old.

March 2018:
Vandals came in and destroyed 18 window panes and part of a window frame. This was the fourth bit of vandalism that Bingham-Waggoner Estate had in the last year. And not the last one in 2018...

June 2019:
"Investigators said an Independence Parks, Recreation and Tourism volunteer, who was working at the historic site, was brutally assaulted with an edged weapon and carjacked in the parking lot. Police found a woman suffering from multiple stab wounds to the face and torso. The victim was taken a hospital with serious injuries." As a member of the Bingham-Waggoner society, I often was the last person to leave the parking lot after closing. Before this incident, we all felt safe. Sadly, our feeling of safety was dramatically changed by just this one very violent act. The woman stabbed had been alone at close up time. Unless there are enough other people around with you, things now feel quite different. Although I have returned (and dared to stay late) several times after the poor woman above was assaulted, the last time I visited the estate was in late December of this same year.

BTW, Independence, Missouri (where the mansion is located & home of former President Harry Truman) currently has one of the highest crime rates in America compared to all communities of all sizes – from the smallest towns to the very largest cities. One’s chance of becoming a victim of either violent or property crime here is one in 19. Times have certainly changed a lot different from when the Bingham, Waggoner, or Truman families lived there...

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Still, the Bingham-Waggoner Mansion is a truly beautiful place with most of the original furnishings and artwork - not just period pieces. Well worth a visit. Plus, visiting is still "safe enough" when there are other tourists also visiting. I'd still rate a visit to this mansion as a "don't miss" if you ever visit the Greater Kansas City Metro. Although the Bingham requires some concrete and siding repairs, the Bingham Waggoner Mansion (like a few other historic sites in northern Independence) will open for regular visitor tours starting April 1, 2022 – another sign of returning to some normalcy since the pandemic hit.