Some History

In 1858, Samuel H. Woodson built a home for his family, but unlike most homes in the primitive west, where shelter and warmth were the primary considerations, he planned carfully and chose an old-world Italianate architecture. The house was built directly on the original trail to the west, now called Lexington Street.

Independence is a town that gave birth to the westward movement where thousands of wide-eyed, hope-filled, pioneers in covered wagons passed through on their way west. A town where Jim Bridger, Daniel Boone, Joseph Smith, and other men and women of note once walked. A town so deep in history as to include the Civil War, the great westward movement, Order no. 11, Jesse James, and much more.

A native Kentuckian, born and raised, Mr. Woodson moved to Independence with his wife Margaret Ashby in 1840. Here they settled, established deep roots, raised a familyand left their mark. Mr. Woodson was a member of the 1850 Missouri Constitutional Convention and the Missouri Legistature. Order No. 11 forced them to return to Kentucky untill after the war. In 1875, he was elected to the Circuit Court and served there untill his death in 1881. His son, Samuel Woodson, Jr. was a very popular mayor of Independence around the turn of the Century.

Mr. Woodson is probably best remembered as the man who successfully established the first US Mail route to the west. This was no small taks given the rigors and imminent dangers in making his 60 day trip from Independence to the Utah Territory in the 1850s.

Woodson House has been featured on television, in Woman's World Magazine, as well as other national and local magazines and is listed on the National Historic Registry. Her history continues, and like a fine wine, she mellows with age.