0973F67D-1DD8-B71B-0B8B500A6CE4724B

Feature 306: 720 West Maple Avenue (in 2011)

Queen Anne style house

Classification: Contributing. Historic Name: Watson House. Architectural Style: Queen Anne. Construction Date: ca. 1888. Period 1 of Harry S Truman’s Life: The Period of Pre-Significance, before 1890. Tax Identification: 26-340-02-05. Legal Description: Moore's Addition, lot 7. Description: Contributing two- and three-story brick dwelling; irregular in shape; complex hipped roof with slate times; conical roof above oriel tower; red brick exterior with terra cotta details; one-over-one double-hung sash windows; some stained glass transoms; gabled roof porches on the south and west elevations; cut stone and concrete (rear) foundation with daylight basement. Slightly elevated corner lot; many mature shrubs in yard as well as large shade trees. • Alterations: One-story brick addition on north rear wall with wood balustrade above eaves. The plate glass windows on the facade mark a newer alteration. Rehabilitation occurred in 2002. • Contributing one- and one-half story wood-frame garage with one-story wood-frame [addition] attached on east elevation [Feature 307]. History/Significance: Dr. Thomas J. Watson and his wife, Asenath E. Watson, built this brick Queen Anne style house around 1887, near the end of a period of robust growth in Independence. Thomas Watson, a retired physician, and Asenath vigorously supported the Methodist-Episcopal Church, located on the same block as the Watson House, but facing North Delaware Street (just south of the alley alongside the Noland House property [Feature 040]). Soon after the turn of the century and around the time of Thomas Watson's death, the Watsons facilitated the construction of a new brick church around 1903, known as the Watson Memorial (Methodist-Episcopal) Church, at the northwest corner of West Maple Avenue and North Delaware Street. Asenath E. Watson remained active in the church, serving as a member of the Ladies Aid Society in the church, until nearly the time of her death in early 1908. After Dr. Watson died, Asenath E. Watson rented a couple of rooms in the house to Rebecca C. Jones and Louie W. Swan, an insurance agent. James and Elizabeth Shelton took up residence around 1910 and remained in the Watson House through much of the 1920s. In the early 1930s, the Watson House became an apartment building, housing six to eight individuals, and remained in this use for many years.

U.S. National Park Service

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Harry S. Truman National Historic Site, Code: HSTR

39.093238830566406,-94.4156265258789, Harry S. Truman National Historic Site

NPS.gov Collection

5/9/2011 12:00:00 AM

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Wednesday, January 10, 2018 3:05:29 AM

Wednesday, January 10, 2018 3:05:29 AM

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Scenic