Feature 082: 602 North Delaware Street (in 2011)

Classification: Contributing.
Historic Name: Fletcher/Bostian House.
Architectural Style: Queen Anne.
Construction Date: 1887-1888.
Period 1 of Harry S Truman's Life: The Period of Pre-Significance, before 1890.
Tax Identification: 26-310-20-13.
Legal Description: McCauley Park Addition, block 1, lot 9.
Description: Contributing two- and one-half story wood-frame dwelling; irregular in shape; medium pitched gable roof with slightly projecting cross-gable section; dentils decorate gable ends; one-over-one double-hung sash windows; wrap-around porch on facade and south side with shed roof decorated with spindle frieze and supported by turned posts; clapboard exterior; rubble stone foundation. Slightly elevated level corner lot with lawn; shade trees in front and side yards.
• Alterations: The original slate roof has been replaced.
• Contributing one-story wood-frame garage in rear dates to period of significance [Feature 083].
History/Significance: The Fletcher/Bostian House stood next to the home of David W. and Madge Wallace, the parents of Bess Wallace Truman, from 1887 until 1903; Bess Wallace is known to have been friends with the Bostian family and watched over their children even after she moved in 1903 with her family down the street to her grandparents' home at 219 North Delaware Street [Feature 042]. William Bostian was appointed postmaster of Independence in 1901, a post he held until 1913. He subsequently was involved with two of his sons in a popular confectionery store on the square. Harry Truman served with William's son, Kenneth, in World War I.
Independence contractor W.T. Cooper built this Queen Anne style house. Maria J. Fletcher, a widow, bought this house in 1888 and took in boarders. The family of William and Margaret Bostian apparently moved into the house in the early 1900s, purchasing it from Mrs. Fletcher in 1905. William Bostian was Independence postmaster for many years, and later opened an ice cream parlor on the Courthouse Square. Mary and William Bostian had six children: William, Madeline, Kenneth, Lawrence, Margaret, and Louise.
The Fletcher/Bostian House has had a number of owners since Bostian's death in 1927. In 1948, it was converted into apartments. It has since been returned to a private residence. This house was reportedly the birthplace of Charles S. Thomas (born 1897), who served as secretary of the Navy from 1954 to 1957. The Posey family later restored this house.