Feature 447: 600 West Truman Road (in 2011)

Classification: Contributing.
Historic Name: Kerr House.
Architectural Style: Bungalow.
Construction Date: 1915.
Period 2 of Harry S Truman’s Life: Establishing Community Roots, 1890-1919.
Tax Identification: 26-310-22-09.
Legal Description: McCoy Place Addition, lot 36.
Description: Contributing one-story uncoursed cut-stone and wood-frame dwelling; rectangular in shape; hipped roof with hipped dormer, clad with composition shingles; uncoursed cut stone and stucco exterior; four-over-one double-hung sash wood windows; porch across facade with square cut stone posts on stone piers; stone and concrete block foundation. Slightly elevated lot slopes gently down to street with lawn; shrubbery along foundation.
• Alterations: Rear addition with board and batten siding.
History/Significance: John Woodfin Kerr and his wife, Iva May Baldwin Kerr, owned and occupied the house commencing sometime prior to 1920. John Kerr, a Spanish War veteran, owned the first garage in Independence at a time when there were only eight cars in the city. He also served as an agent for the Jackson Car Company. Kerr married Iva May Baldwin on March 30, 1899; they had one son, Howard B. Kerr. Iva died on October 17, 1935; John died on March 16, 1941. George A. Baker lived in the house in 1940. In the mid-1940s, Raymond E. Stewart purchased and occupied the home for approximately ten years. He worked in a grocery store owned by his father-in-law, James Lewis Burgess, located at 1101 North Main Street [outside the historic district]. In the mid-1950s, Stewart assumed ownership of the family grocery business. Burgess retired and assumed ownership of this property at 600 West Truman Road, residing here until his death. At that time, Raymond Stewart and his family returned to this home, moving in with and caring for Mrs. Burgess through the end of her life. The Stewarts remained in the home until their deaths, with Mrs. Stewart passing in 1993.