Benjamin Franklin Thomson House

HIstory of the Thomson House

The Jackson County Historical Society was saddened to hear that the Thomson House, located at 9800 E. US Highway 40 in Independence, Missouri was demolished after multiple fires destroyed the home in April 2021. This page provides a history of the home.

Benjamin Franklin Thomson bought the 300-acre farm in 1842 and had the house built with slave labor from 1849 to 1855. The Thomson home was constructed of bricks made of clay from the farm and dried in a kiln about one-fourth mile south of the house; the wood portions of black walnut were sawed on the spot. The home’s design was Greek Revival and the structure was a rare example of an Antebellum Jackson County plantation home. Originally, the home faced north towards present-day Blue Ridge Boulevard but was moved to face south towards US Highway 40 in 1935.

Benjamin Thomson married Maria Shortridge and had nine children including eight sons and one daughter. Thomson, a two-term Jackson County Sheriff, helped establish the First Christian Church of Independence and organize the first school district. Thomson died on May 1, 1861, at the age of 44. He is buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in Independence, Missouri.

During the war, Maria Thomson and her family left the home during Order No. 11. The Thomson home became a headquarters for Union troops, and all the stock, implements, and outbuildings, including the slave’s quarters, were destroyed. The home survived while many homes in Jackson County were destroyed during the Civil War.

The home was later sold to Reverend Jacob Dunham Gossett in 1866 by Mrs. Thompson after she remarried. Gossett was engaged in farming and stock-raising on the property. He also had experience in the mercantile business and was one of the originators and stockholders of the Bank of Independence. At the same time, he was engaged in the milling and grain business at Blue Springs, during this commercial activity maintaining his duties as a preacher.

The Carlson Brothers, Richard and Charles, purchased the property from Henry Witthar in 1913. The Carlsons operated a dairy here for years. In 1935, when the 40 highway was built, the Carlsons turned the house completely around to face the new highway. In September 1948, Karl and Vera Kiekert bought the property from Richard Carlson's widow, to preserve it as a historical landmark and to operate as “The Old Plantation”, a formal restaurant and banquet hall.

In more recent years, it was the Las Playas Mexican Restaurant owned and operated by Saturnino Cerda Campos and Josephine Nieto Campos. They opened Las Playas in 1965. For over 30 years, Las Playas was a favorite Mexican restaurant in Independence. In 1990, Saturnino and Josephine passed away. Ownership transitioned to their daughter, Pilar Campos Buttman until she sold the property in 1995.

The Campos were some of the first Latinx settlers in the Kansas City Westside community. Saturnino was born in Torreon, Mexico in 1908 and immigrated to Kansas City in 1916 to escape the Mexican Revolution. Josephine was born in Kansas City in 1916. In 1964 they opened the small truck stop Las Playas, but outgrew the space very quickly. They purchased the Thomson House and began Las Playas where they worked till they both died in 1990. Las Playas and the Campos Family served as an important part of the Independence community that was loved by many in more recent history.

On April 20, 2021, the City of Independence was forced to demolish the home after a series of fires had deemed it an unsafe structure.