Feature 118: 711 North Delaware Street (in 2011)

Classification: Contributing.
Historic Name: Swift/Chastain House.
Architectural Style: Queen Anne (with Colonial Revival details).
Construction Date: ca. 1902.
Period 2 of Harry S Truman's Life: Establishing Community Roots, 1890-1919.
Tax Identification: 26-310-12-10.
Legal Description: McCauley Park Addition, block 3, part of lots 11 and 12.
Description: Contributing two- and one-half story wood-frame dwelling; irregular in shape; hipped roof with projecting gables; wide clapboard siding and wood shingles in gables; double-hung sash windows framed with shutters; small gabled porch roof supported by tapered round wood columns on facade; one-story hipped roof gallery on south side with square wood posts. Slightly elevated lot with lawn and shrubs along foundation; shade trees in yard.
• Alterations: One-story addition to rear.
• A contributing wood-frame, clapboard-sided two-car garage with hipped roof stands in the rear. The garage, which dates to the period of significance of the historic district, features contemporary overhead doors on the north wall and a small access door on the west, front, wall [Feature 119].
History/Significance: This house may have been substantially modified around the turn of the twentieth century by the William S. and Isabel Swift family. In 1906, Swift, as well as Elbert McDonald, dealer of lumber at 120 South Liberty Street [outside the historic district], is listed in the Independence city directory as occupants. William Swift was associated with the American Scale Company at 411 North Delaware Street [Feature 063]. Mortimer R. Swift, also a resident at 711 North Delaware, was a foreman at that company. William and Isabel Swift resided in the house through the late 1910s. In the mid-1920s, Thomas J. Walker lived in the house. In the late 1920s, Henry and Sophia Chastain, then retired, took up residence at 711 North Delaware. Chastain had worked in real estate and insurance, had been the constable of Blue Township, and served as the mayor of Sweet Springs from 1890-1894. He and his wife came to Jackson County around 1910. Chastain was the justice of the peace for fourteen years. He died at his home on North Delaware in 1936. His daughter, Katie Chastain, owned and occupied the house in the 1940s and 1950s.
Note: It is unclear if the reference to 411 North Delaware Street is a misprint or not. William Swift did, indeed, reside at 411 North Delaware Street [Feature 063], but the original 2011 nomination form says nothing about his operating a business out of his house. Perhaps “411,” in reference to The American Scales Company, refers to a street other than North Delaware, such as a street in the business district of town. Perhaps, “411” should be written “711,” which is the address of the house under discussion, and the business operated out of this house. On the other hand, perhaps “411,” “711,” and “North Delaware Street,” are all incorrect, and the American Scales Company was located somewhere completely different.