In 1867, Solomon and Harriet Young, Harry S Truman’s maternal grandparents, purchased 398 acres of the 600 that they would eventually own in Grandview, Missouri. After a fire destroyed the original farm home, a temporary structure was built, and the home standing there today is that “temporary” structure built in 1894. Harry’s mother said that it was on the farm that he got his common sense. Farm life could be harsh, with backbreaking labor, disastrous weather, and uncertain profits, but as a farmer Truman developed qualities that shaped his character and prepared him for future challenges: working hard, treating others fairly, always doing his best, and persevering in tough times. At age 33, Harry left the farm to fight in World War I, and although he never returned to farming, he never forgot his rural heritage, which later informed his life in the White House.
