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post office / post-office

Where you send and receive mail.

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wild prairie rose

RWL was their namesake, my dear.

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Martha Perry / Mrs. White

Laura helped her sew shirts.

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jumping jack / jumping-jack

Jointed acrobat toy.

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By the Shores of Silver Lake – the fictional story

The railroad comes to Dakota.

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The New York Ledger

Weekly story paper, published 1855-1898.

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hardtack

Unleavened hard bread made from flour and water.

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Mr. Edwards / Edmund Mason

Was he Edmund Mason?

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The Advance

Weekly family newspaper of the Congregational church.

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“Miller Boy”

“Grab!”

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Pittsburgh Courier

Widely-circulated black newspaper, which Rose Wilder Lane wrote a column for in the 1940s.

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geranium

Winter windowsill flowers.

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“Auld Lang Syne”

Now is now. It can never be a long time ago.

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Quiner graves

Abandoned cemetery off Playhouse Road.

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bureau

A dresser / chest of drawers.

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harvest moon

Full moon nearest autumnal equinox

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Royal Wilder

Almanzo’s older brother.

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surveyor

One who measures land and delineates the same on paper.

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“The Evergreen Shore”

1861 William Hunter song.

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Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Birthday

Happy Birthday, Laura!

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Syndicate Hotel

Laura & Almanzo stayed there!

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braid / plait

Entwined strands.

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“Mary of the Wild Moor”

1845 song by Joseph W. Turner.

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I

“I am Mrs. Jinks…” – “I wouldn’t marry a farmer”

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“The Treadmill Song”

Oliver Wendell Holmes poem set to music.

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“A Motto for Every Man”

1868 Harry Clifton song.

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stone fences

Rock wall enclosure.

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snowplow

Clears the tracks.

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claim

The land to which one has a right.

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“When I Can Read My Title Clear”

1700s Isaac Watts hymn.

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storm apron

Rain protection for buggy.

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Little Town on the Prairie – the fictional story

Homesteading and town life.

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roller towel

Long towel with ends sewn together, hung on a rod.

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Laura’s wedding silver

Wm. Rogers’ “Crown” silverplate.

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tomahawk

War hatchet used by American Indians.

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President James Madison

4th President of the U.S.

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“Rock of Ages”

1760s Augustus Toplady hymn.

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Spookendyke

Rose’s stubborn donkey

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gopher

Four don’t go fur…

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“Arkansas Traveler”

Traditional American folk song.

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galluses / suspenders

Straps worn for holding up pants.

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Eleck Nelson family

Neighbors of the Ingalls family when living on their preemption claim north of Walnut Grove.

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“Money Musk”

Traditional American dance tune.

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Big Tracy Cut

“100 feet deep & tapering off for 1/4 mile”

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Horace Woodworth family

Family of first depot agent in De Smet.

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Rev. Royal Gould Wilder

Almanzo’s uncle.

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The Floweret

1842 book of verse by Anna Maria Wells.

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biscuits

A kind of un-fermented bread, formed into flat cakes, and baked.

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butter tester

Instrument used to remove core sample from a vat of butter, for the sake of testing.

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Little House on the Prairie – historical perspective

LHOP history

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button lamp

Improvised grease lamp.

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nubia

A light scarf worn about the head and neck.

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barber

Shave and a haircut, two bits!

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“Darling Nellie Gray”

1856 Benjamin Hamby song.

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Quaker meeting

Parlor game in which players try to remain silent.

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“Home, Sweet Home”

1823 Payne & Bishop song.

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“The Sculptor Boy”

Carrie recited it.

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Women’s Christian Temperance Union

W.C.T.U.

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missionary barrel

Collection of items distributed to the needy.

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Almanzo Wilder

The Man of the Place

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Protected: Alice & Arthur Whiting

Cousin Alice Ingalls Whiting’s family.

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Jacob Hopp

Printer and De Smet newspaper owner.

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justice / Justice of the Peace

Limited jurisdiction magistrate.

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milking-stool

Three legs (the cow has the udder).

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door knob

Grab to open a door.

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hair receiver / hair-receiver

Container to save strands of hair in.

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ash withe / ash-withe

A flexible, slender twig or branch used as a band for tying.

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Thomas H. Ruth

President of Kingsbury County Bank in De Smet.

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lemon

The citrus fruit

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Lizzie

the child bride

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Old English letters

Variety of printing type.

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Millbank

1871 novel by Mary Jane Holmes.

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“The Tides” / The moon is at its full

1860 William Cullen Bryant poem.

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elevator

Warehouse for seed and grain.

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spoon holder / spoon-holder / spoonholder

Any vessel used to hold and display spoons.

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“Come In and Shut the Door”

Circa 1862 song by J.P.H.

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How well do you know the Little House books?

a quiz for you!

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bangs / lunatic fringe

hair across the forehead

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Mr. Anderson / Niels Kopperud

Hard Winter wheat settler

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freeze drying

sublimation!

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William H. Steadman family

Proprietor of hotel in Burr Oak.

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Young Pioneers

David and Molly Beaton.

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Spin-offs and Adaptations of the Little House Books

Not by LIW, but kindred publications.

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dragon-fly / dragonfly

Mosquito hunter.

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grippe

influenza

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Yankton, Dakota Territory

1879 land office town.

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quinine

Medicine used to treat malaria, made from cinchona bark.

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squirrel

Rodent mammal of the genus Sciurus.

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“What Shall the Harvest Be?”

1850 Emily Oakley poem.

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Mary Power & Edwin Sanford

Laura’s friend and the new clerk at Ruth’s bank.

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slate

Stone used as tablet for writing upon.

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tax

A certainty, as is death.

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gingerbread

Chocolate frosting adds to the goodness!

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catechism

Question & answer book of religious doctrine.

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Julia & Amasa Tower

Walnut Grove church friends.

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barrel

Round vessel or cask made of wooden staves.

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Laura Remington

Mrs. Phillip Aubrey Lawrence

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links

Helps you find what you’re looking for.

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ticket

All aboard!

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velvet

Silk or blend fabric with short shag surface.

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cabin / log house

A small cottage; a hut or small house.

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Sale of School Lands on the Osage Diminished Reserve

LHOP cabin was on Section 36

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windlass

Device to move water or dirt from the bottom of a well to ground level.

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K

Kansas – knothole

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Mansfield history

Town in Wright County, Missouri.

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G

gable – “Gypsy’s Warning”

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“My Jenny Jerusha Jane”

1868 A.G. Chase song.

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swimming hole

Watch out for ankle grabbers!

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“Lend a Helping Hand”

Hymn #22, Pure Gold for Sunday School.

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Dolly Varden

NIckname of Edith Ingalls, Laura’s cousin.

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zenith

The point of the heavens directly overhead.

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David Thorp

Walnut Grove teacher 1877-78.

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Fred Fields / Big Jerry

Railroad boss and his brother-in-law.

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Arthur Sherwood

Brother of Carter Sherwood.

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George George

1874 Minnesota traveling companion of the Ingallses

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Charles & Martha Harrison / Patterson

Charles and Elizabeth May Rundle.

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Nellie Oleson Meets Laura Ingalls

Heather Williams book.

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Henry O. Quiner family

Ma’s brother, married to Pa’s sister Polly.

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muff

A warm covering for receiving the hands.

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Will Barnes

Walnut Grove laborer

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M

Ma – “My Sabbath Home”

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“Hail Columbia”

1789 Philip Phile march.

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The Long Winter – the fictional story

Winter for seven months!

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“Mountain of the Lord”

Hymn #52, Pure Gold for the Sunday School

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auger

hand drill

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Dr. Alfred Starr

His wife wanted Laura.

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John Ensign family

Quit crying, Howard.

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Gather ye rosebuds while ye may…

From Robert Herrick poem.

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Charles H. Tinkham

Early undertaker and owner of the first furniture store in De Smet.

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tattoo

Sounds like beating drums!

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peddler’s cart / wagon

A little store on wheels.

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L

lace – lynx

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poultice

Applied to sores to help them heal.

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Noah’s ark toy

Willie’s toy boat with animals.

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James McKee family

Homesteader north of Manchester D.T.

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Mr. and Mrs. Scott

Indian Territory neighbors of the Ingallses.

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Big Sioux River / Sioux River

SD-IA tributary of Missouri River.

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cornice

Molded roof or window projection.

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Ella & Robert Boast

Friends of the Ingalls family in De Smet.

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checkers

Game played on a board of 64 squares.

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twin lakes

Lake Henry & Lake Thompson

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“The May Queen”

Poem in three parts by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

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George A. Williams

Superintendent of Schools, 1883.

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cant-hook / cant-pole

Instrument used by lumbermen to move logs.

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whiskey

Spirits distilled from grain.

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De Smet Cemetery

Ma & Pa’s final resting place.

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“Jesus Holds My Hand”

Hymn #85, Pure Gold for the Sunday Schools

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threshing

Beating to separate.

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John Anderson

Walnut Grove store clerk & more

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Little Town on the Prairie – historical perspective

De Smet D.T. in the 1880s.

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These Happy Golden Years – the fictional story

Laura teaches and falls in love.

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beef

tough! juicy!

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Minnie Johnson

Laura’s schoolmate in De Smet

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mummy

Put. that. back.

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“The Old Time”

Mr. Boast’s favorite song.

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the children’s blizzard

January 12, 1888, blizzard.

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Blanche Coday

Rose’s friend.

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watermelon-rind preserves

sugary jelly

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“Bonny Doon”

1792 Robert Burns song.

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“The Star-Spangled Banner”

Our National Anthem; words by Francis Scott Key.

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candle / tallow

Used to furnish light.

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Bloody Benders

Serial killers in 1870s Kansas.

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Mary & Samuel Ray / Ellen & Amos Leonard

Sisters feuding over a lovely homeplace…and a man.

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Charles Mead

Proprietor of the Exchange Hotel in De Smet, 1880-1882.

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Pa’s “big green book”

George Hartwig’s The Polar and Tropical Worlds: A Description of Man and Nature.

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Verdigris River

River that runs through Montgomery County, Kansas.

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carved wooden bracket

Place for a china shepherdess.

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copyright / permissions

Please do not plagiarize.

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“By Lo, Baby Bunting”

Mother Goose rhyme.

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By the Shores of Silver Lake – historical perspective

Dakota Central comes to De Smet.

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Bibliography

LIW / RWL books & articles

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J

jabot – Justice of the Peace

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wheelwright

One who makes wheels and carriages.

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oyster

A mollusk of the genus Ostrea, having a bivalve shell.

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ante-over / anti-over / anteover

Game in which a ball is thrown over a structure.

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kerosene / kerosine

Oil used for lighting.

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Adam / adam’s apple

The first man, the progenitor of the human race.

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equinoctial storm

Severe wind and heavy rain that occurs at or near the time of an equinox.

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starry papers

Hand-made shelf edging.

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“The Pied Piper”

Robert Browning poem.

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snow-fort

“Holler ’nuff!”

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“Old Dan Tucker”

Mr. Edwards sings it!

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Reverend Stewart Sheldon

American Home Missionary Society Superintendent 1874-1886.

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black-berry / blackberry

The berry of the bramble, Rubus fruticosous.

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drop the handkerchief / drop-the-handkerchief

Circle game.

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Protected: private post

Go away AI; you are not welcome here.

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Stories of the Moorland

1869 book by Lizzie Bates about a young boy growing up in Scotland.

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twine

A strong twisted thread.

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composition

The act of forming a written piece.

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Edelbert Harthorn family / Frank Harthorn & Mabel Burd

Father and son owners of early drygoods store in De Smet.

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“Billy Boy”

English folk song.

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bale

Specific bundle of goods packaged for transport.

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poke bonnet / poke-bonnet

the lining matched Laura’s eyes

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“Little Annie Rooney”

1889 song by Michael Nolan.

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blizzard

In 1880-1881, a long, severe, blinding, and bitterly cold snowstorm.

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Kitty

the Ingallses’ cat in Dakota Territory

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“The Good Old Way”

Hymn 18, Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

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tiger

Noah’s ark toy piece.

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“The Heavens Declare the Glory”

From The Conqueror, page 144.

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Laura’s Sorosis Club speech

“My Work”

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