Owens was intimately involved in business, politics and personal relationships with all early Jackson County settlers...and many of those who merely funneled through Independence on their way west. Owens was killed by Mexicans in the Mexican-American War Battle of the Sacramento River about 15 miles north of Chihuahua. His son-in-law, William McCoy, became the first Mayor of Independence in 1849 and became a “prominent figure in holding the community together during the Civil War when most of the border communities were looted and burned to the ground.” The Owens-McCoy House, an integral site along the Santa Fe, Oregon and California Trails, is a private residence today. In the olden days, however, “the McCoy Estate was... enjoyed by the community who would walk around the grounds while in town or after church services or other social gatherings. It must have been a treat on a hot day decked out in your Sunday best and all the layers of clothing to stroll through the gardens and down to the spring (that Heritage House sits [up]on) and enjoy a cool breeze coming out of the McCoy Park valley.”