Flournoy House

Built by slave labor in 1826, the Jones H. Flournoy House is one of the oldest houses in Independence. Originally located four blocks east of its current site, it was associated with the 1831 visit of church leaders led by founder Joseph Smith, who met Flournoy as he sought to sell his farmland and determined that the area would serve as headquarters and a gathering place for members. A site on Flournoy's property was dedicated for construction of a temple, and tradition holds that in this house Bishop Partridge and Flournoy agreed on the sale of 63.33 acres that became known as the Temple Lot Property. Growing tension between church members and their neighbors led to the members being driven out of Jackson County in 1833. The building then served as a school during part of the 1830s, making it one of the oldest surviving school buildings in the state. In 1862, during a Civil War battle, Confederate troops attacked on August 11 and Union soldiers took refuge behind the house and in its basement, where bullet holes can still be found in the soft clay bricks. The home was moved to its present location in 1989.

Independence, Missouri · United States