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bastion

A part of a main enclosure which projects toward the exterior.

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“The Pied Piper”

Robert Browning poem.

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grippe

influenza

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mud hen / mudhen

American coot.

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tomahawk

War hatchet used by American Indians.

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W

wage – writ of attachment

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“Down in Alabam'” / “The Old Gray Mare”

1858 J. Warner song.

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bison / “The Bison Track”

Bayard Taylor poem about Bos Americanus, found in Independent Fifth Reader.

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President George Washington

First President of the U.S.A.

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claim jumper / Mr. Hunter / Jack Hunt

One who ousts another from their land.

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poke bonnet / poke-bonnet

the lining matched Laura’s eyes

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dove-in-the-window / bear’s tracks

Patchwork pattern variations.

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birthday

As near as I can figure, E.J. was right.

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basque

Jacket-like part of a lady’s dress.

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spoon holder / spoon-holder / spoonholder

Any vessel used to hold and display spoons.

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“The Rock of Ages”

Painting at Rev. Brown’s.

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wristlets

Knitted bands worn around the wrists for warmth.

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sewing machine

“Such beautiful stitching!”

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“Dakota Land”

1876 hymn, Beulah Land.

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“Don’t Leave the Farm, Boys”

Song from The Conqueror.

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beet

Succulent root vegetable.

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clinched nail

Bent at a right angle.

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worm / angleworm

common soil worm

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A Modern Musketeer

In which Rose becomes a great actress.

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Florence Bell

Milliner and dressmaker in De Smet.

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Maude Blair

Walnut Grove friend of Laura’s

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honey

Bee-made sweetness.

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“Auld Lang Syne”

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

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“What Shall the Harvest Be?”

1850 Emily Oakley poem.

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Alice Maria Wilder

Older sister and playmate of Almanzo Wilder. She lived 1853-1892.

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Z

zebra – Zion City

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alley / alleyway

Narrow passageway, distinct from public street.

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scones

“Mamabess is growing fat.”

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G

gable – “Gypsy’s Warning”

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Uncle Sam

Figure symbolizing the United States.

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churn

Cream agitator.

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Amos Whiting family

Superintendent of Schools, De Smet.

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carpet-bag / carpetbag

Traveling-bag

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badger

Don’t poke it with a stick!

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“The Good Old Way”

Hymn 18, Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

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basket

Woven container.

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Protected: James H. Clewett

De Smet teacher, January-March 1883

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Syndicate Hotel

Laura & Almanzo stayed there!

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perforated paper embroidery

Stitched designs.

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“My Jenny Jerusha Jane”

1868 A.G. Chase song.

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mantel-shelf

Shelf above a fireplace.

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Protected: bell

The noise-maker, not the milliner.

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what-not / whatnot

An étagère for books & ornaments.

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Laura, the Prairie Girl

1975-76 animated series.

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Dr. Alfred Starr

His wife wanted Laura.

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oranges

Citrus fruit.

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Army bugle

Brass military horn.

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U

udder – upland

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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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brakeman

Person who stops the train.

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nubia

A light scarf worn about the head and neck.

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Little House Songs

Prairie Song Companion

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Henry J. Stebbins

Railroad contractor who inspired a song.

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“Old Folks at Home”

Way down upon the Swanee River!

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legal cap

legal document paper

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pokeberry

For rosy doll cheeks.

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Henry Hinz

Owner of first saloon in De Smet and boarder at the Ingallses’.

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Little House in the Big Woods – the fictional story

Once upon a time, 60 years ago…

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Gather ye rosebuds while ye may…

From Robert Herrick poem.

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candy hearts

Mary’s had a candy poem on it!

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Bad Lands

Area eroded by wind & water.

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wild prairie rose

RWL was their namesake, my dear.

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Dr. E. Gomer Davies

First doctor in De Smet.

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M

Ma – “My Sabbath Home”

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Osage Indian Treaty

Legal agreement between nations or sovereigns.

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“My Sabbath Home”

Hymn #7, Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

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The Square in Malone

Where the band played.

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“Gaily Now Our Boat is Sailing”

Singing school exercise

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dictionary

The words of a language.

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storm apron

Rain protection for buggy.

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composition

The act of forming a written piece.

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claim

The land to which one has a right.

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cottage cheese

Curdled skim milk.

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windrow

Line of hay raked together.

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Turkey red

Durable red color, dyed with madder upon calico or woolen cloth.

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“The Floating Scow of Old Virginia”

1847 Charles White song.

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De Smet bird’s-eye view

1883 Henry Wellge drawing of De Smet

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Ross family

Neighbors in the Perry District.

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copyright / permissions

Please do not plagiarize.

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carved wooden bracket

Place for a china shepherdess.

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blizzard

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

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Noah’s ark toy

Willie’s toy boat with animals.

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By the Shores of Silver Lake – the fictional story

The railroad comes to Dakota.

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De Smet today

Where I would like to be right now.

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“The May Queen”

Poem in three parts by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

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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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Wilder feed store

Shhh. There’s wheat in the wall!

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blueing bag

Whiter whites.

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C

cabbage – cyclone

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certificate

Written testimony of fact.

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On the Banks of Plum Creek – the fictional story

Farming struggles in Minnesota.

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“The Burial of Sir John Moore”

1817 poem by Charles Wolfe.

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Hotel keeper’s family struck by lightning

E.P. LeSuer of Canby, Minnesota.

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Hiram Ingalls

Pa’s brother.

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R

rabbit – rye

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“Billy Boy”

English folk song.

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welcome!

who we are

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Carrie Ingalls, Homesteader

W-NW & W-SW 9-4N-20E of Black Hills Meridian

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“Sweet By and By”

Pa’s favorite hymn.

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“Captain Jinks”

1868 comedic opera song.

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Thomas Quiner

Ma’s brother and Laura’s uncle

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William H. Reed

Teacher in Burr Oak school, 1876-1877.

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dug out / dugout

Dwelling built into the earth.

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“Coming Through the Rye”

Robert Burns tune.

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cupola

Dome-like vault on a public building.

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dragon-fly / dragonfly

Mosquito hunter.

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anvil

Iron block to hammer upon.

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“Arkansas Traveler”

Traditional American folk song.

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“Home, Sweet Home”

1823 Payne & Bishop song.

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kerosene / kerosine

Oil used for lighting.

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Pure Gold for the Sunday School

Hymnal owned by the Ingalls family.

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“A Motto for Every Man”

1868 Harry Clifton song.

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Women’s Christian Temperance Union

W.C.T.U.

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Ven Owen

Teacher and principal of the first graded school in De Smet

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“The Girl I Left Behind Me”

17th century Irish tune.

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Morocco leather

Fine goat leather.

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the Cameron gang

fiat justitia, ruat caelum…

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chestnut / horse chestnut

A large nut, the fruit of a species of Æsculus.

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“The Big Sunflower”

Pa’s trouble song.

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album

Blank booklet for collecting autographs or photos.

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Dolly Varden

NIckname of Edith Ingalls, Laura’s cousin.

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muskrat

Their houses predict winter weather.

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“Come In and Shut the Door”

Circa 1862 song by J.P.H.

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Mother Goose

Fictionalized compiler of ancient nursery rhymes.

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De Smet during the Little House years

The Ingalls family moved here in 1879.

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St. Lawrence River

A streak of silver on the horizon.

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Jim River / James River

A tributary of the Missouri River.

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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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April Fool’s Day

Sticking with salt in the sugar bowl from now on.

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“The Battle-Cry of Freedom”

We’ll Rally Round the Flag, Boys!

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“Old Grimes”

1822 Albert Gorton Greene poem.

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John H. Carroll

Early De Smet banker.

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Marvin Hughitt

Officer and President of the Chicago & NorthWestern Railway Company.

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P

Pa – pussy-in-the-corner

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engine / locomotive / iron horse

Vehicle powered by steam and run on tracks.

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literary society

Instructional and entertaining gathering.

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handkerchief

Face and hand wiping cloth.

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Johnny Johnson

“Wake up and watch the cattle!”

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Will Bennett

One of the younger De Smet schoolboys.

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pumpkin

The plant and fruit of Curcubita pepo

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Little Town on the Prairie – historical perspective

De Smet D.T. in the 1880s.

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The House that Jack Built

…for two pieces of money.

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How well do you know the Little House books?

a quiz for you!

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Farmer Boy – historical perspective

1860s Burke / Malone NY.

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Sale of School Lands on the Osage Diminished Reserve

LHOP cabin was on Section 36

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“Jingle Bells”

1857 James Pierpont song.

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L

lace – lynx

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Charlotte Holbrook

Laura’s “Aunt Lotty”

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butter

Edible fatty substance made by churning cream.

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bureau

A dresser / chest of drawers.

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squirrel

Rodent mammal of the genus Sciurus.

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John James Ingalls

Senator from Kansas.

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George Whiting Ingalls

Bugle-blowing, jigging uncle.

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popcorn

Heat makes it burst & it’s tasty.

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Nellie Oleson Meets Laura Ingalls

Heather Williams book.

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mummy

Put. that. back.

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snowplow

Clears the tracks.

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“Here’s to the Maiden”

1780 R.B. Sheridan drinking song.

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“To a Girl”

Poem used to describe Beatrice Sorchan.

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Mary & Samuel Ray / Ellen & Amos Leonard

Sisters feuding over a lovely homeplace…and a man.

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Will Barnes

Walnut Grove laborer

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“The Tides” / The moon is at its full

1860 William Cullen Bryant poem.

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“The Lotos Eaters”

Tennyson poem.

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Silliman Gilbert family

Kingsbury County farmer.

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Docia Ingalls / Hiram Forbes

Sister of Charles Ingalls married to railroad contractor.

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Protected: Manchester, Dakota Territory

Railroad town west of De Smet

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Chicago Inter-Ocean / Inter-Ocean

Republican political newspaper.

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ice-house

Stores ice blocks in warm weather.

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Jesse French

Butchered oxen during the Hard Winter.

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“Yankee Doodle”

Early song brought to America from Britain.

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nine-patch / Laura’s double nine-patch Irish chain quilt

Quilt block pattern.

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mother-of-pearl

Hard, silvery, brilliant, internal layer of several kinds of shells, particularly oysters.

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spring tonic

Bitter purifying medicine.

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black bird / blackbird

Name given to various American birds.

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bake oven / bake-oven

Coals on top and below.

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Reverend Edwin H. Alden

Walnut Grove Congregational minister and missionary in Dakota.

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Godey’s Lady’s Book

Women’s magazine, 1830-1898.

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Little House on the Prairie – historical perspective

LHOP history

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F

Fair Grounds – furrow

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“Camptown Races”

1850 Stephen Foster song.

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“The Sleighing Glee”

Singing school song.

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blacking / stove-blacking / boot blacking

Preparation used to make things black.

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willow-ware

Blue-and-white tableware with Chinese story paintings.

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James McKee family

Homesteader north of Manchester D.T.

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checkers

Game played on a board of 64 squares.

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V

vain – vote

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lime / whitewash

Oxide of calcium mixed with water and used for whitening.

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“nervous as a witch”

restless

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wintergreen

Aromatic, creeping evergreen, Gaultheria procumbens, having bright red berries.

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Charleton Fuller / Gerald Fuller

Hardware store owner, partnered with his brother Gerald.

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needle grass

Ouch! Something bit me!

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telegraph

Don’t let Jimmie shock you with it!

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latch / latch-string

It’s always out!

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N

nailer – nutmeg

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axle grease

Lubricant for wagon wheels and other machinery.

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