almanzo just sat

Although not part of Laura Ingalls Wilder's fictional Farmer Boy story, the construction of the new Methodist Church was an important part of 1866-1867 Malone history. With over 200 members at the time the book begins, the congregation had out-grown its large, square frame building at the corner of Ft. Covington Road and Main Street, built in 1838 and known as Hedding Chapel. A lot was purchased at the corner of Main and Brewster Streets for just under $2000; it isn't known if the congregation financed the new building as they had the old, by fining church members between six and fifty cents each time they were absent from services!

Almanzo attended the $3,000 Hedding Chapel in the years before Farmer Boy, and the $40,000 Malone Methodist Episcopal Church until moving to Spring Valley, Minnesota, a half dozen years later. The new church was 100 feet long and seated eight hundred; it was dedicated on August 18, 1867. Once Hedding Chapel was no longer needed, it was used by neighboring St. Joseph's Catholic Church as their convent, then converted to a hotel and known as Franklin House, shown above.

When visiting Malone in 1932, Rose Wilder Lane sent her father a similar postcard view of the Hotel as the one shown above, and told him that "when the new church was built, the old one was sold and turned into a boarding house. It did so well that it was enlarged and enlarged and finally became this grand hotel, very smart and modern, but the old church building is still in it." (RWL to AJW, October 7, 1932). So what Almanzo must have remembered and described for Rose and Laura was the older building, since this is the one Rose seems to have investigated. Sadly, it is no longer standing.

The church and church barn were located at least twelve blocks from the Franklin County Fair Grounds, and four blocks from the City Park. Yet Father Wilder "parked" this far away from the Fourth of July festivities and County Fair and walked back to them. He may have ridden to town at ten miles per hour, but "what he did with the time he saved" was done on foot.
- posted by pioneergirl at 6:30 PM