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peddler’s cart / wagon

A little store on wheels.

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Godey’s Lady’s Book

Women’s magazine, 1830-1898.

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hogshead

100-140 gallon cask.

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fascinator

Pretty, light head covering.

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dove-in-the-window / bear’s tracks

Patchwork pattern variations.

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“Uncle Sam’s Farm”

1848 Jesse Hutchinson, Jr. song.

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wheelwright

One who makes wheels and carriages.

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apple pie / dried apple pie

Just like Ma used to make.

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icicle

Conical mass of ice, formed by water freezing as it flows downward.

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“Oh Boys, Carry Me Along”

Stephen Foster song.

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“Bo-peep has lost her sheep”

Game of hiding and surprise to amuse a small child.

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forfeits

Game in which items are deposited and redeemable by a sportive fine.

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“The Pied Piper”

Robert Browning poem.

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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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cat hole / cat-hole

Jack will keep other animals from using it.

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legal cap

legal document paper

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Big Tracy Cut

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

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“The Gypsy King”

Young Laura and Mary’s favorite song!

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William O’Connell

Fictional Bill O’Dowd.

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

Quilt block pattern.

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geranium

Winter windowsill flowers.

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Laura’s wedding silver

Wm. Rogers’ “Crown” silverplate.

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Silas Rood

Rude by name & nature?

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Visscher Barnes

Probate Judge, VP of Temperance Society, and first director of De Smet school board.

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“For the Sake o’ Somebody”

1794 Robert Burns poem.

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Ingalls office / store in De Smet

NW and SE corners of Calumet and Second.

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Hill-Billy

1926 Rose Wilder Lane book.

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china shepherdess / little china woman

Ingalls family figurine.

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leap frog / leap-frog

Run and jump game.

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the Cameron gang

fiat justitia, ruat caelum…

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dug out / dugout

Dwelling built into the earth.

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cannon

Military engine used for throwing balls and other instruments of death by the force of gunpowder.

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dried-raspberry sauce

Dried sauce good on biscuits.

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scones

“Mamabess is growing fat.”

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Yankton, Dakota Territory

1879 land office town.

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railroad cut / fill

How you level a railroad grade.

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Timothy Johnson family

De Smet Wagon Shop.

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“The High Tide”

Jean Ingelow poem.

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“Jesus Holds My Hand”

Hymn #85, Pure Gold for the Sunday Schools

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mummy

Put. that. back.

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poultice

Applied to sores to help them heal.

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basket

Woven container.

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Braille / New York Point

Used by Mary Ingalls.

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ash withe / ash-withe

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

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New England States

ME, NH, VT, MA, RI, & CT.

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Belgian horse

A heavy draft horse originally from the Brabant region of...

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“Yankee Doodle”

Early song brought to America from Britain.

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“Sweet By and By”

Pa’s favorite hymn.

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cranberry

Good ones bounce!

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crocheted rag rug

Crocheted floor covering made of strips of cloth.

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“Ben Bolt”

1842 Thomas Dunn English song.

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“Buy a Broom”

O Du Leiber Augustin.

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Reverend Stewart Sheldon

American Home Missionary Society Superintendent 1874-1886.

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orthography

The art of spelling words correctly.

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axle grease

Lubricant for wagon wheels and other machinery.

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catechism

Question & answer book of religious doctrine.

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“America”

1832 Reverend Samuel F. Smith song.

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cabin / log house

A small cottage; a hut or small house.

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“Paul Revere’s Ride”

Poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

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Charles H. Tinkham

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

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Home Missionary Society

Group organized to raise money to start churches and Sunday schools in the west where there were none.

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“The Polish Boy”

Poem by Ann S. Stephens

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slate

Stone used as tablet for writing upon.

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“There is a Happy Land”

Whoop! How those eggs do smell!

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Marvin Hughitt

Officer and President of the Chicago & NorthWestern Railway Company.

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Delos Perry family

The Perry School was on his homestead.

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Mrs. Jarley’s Wax Works

Rise! Come forward!

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Laura Remington

Mrs. Phillip Aubrey Lawrence

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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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photographs

There’s a little birdie in the camera, Rose.

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jewel box / jewel-box

Nice place to keep a breast-pin.

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George A. Williams

Superintendent of Schools, 1883.

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cradle scythe

Blade and handle used to cut oats.

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Mansfield history

Town in Wright County, Missouri.

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gopher

Four don’t go fur…

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saleratus / soda

Leavening agents used in baking.

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Bloody Benders

Serial killers in 1870s Kansas.

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South Troy / Zumbro Falls during the Little House years

Ingallses lived here with Uncle Peter.

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Frogs at School

“Twenty froggies went to school…”

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lime / whitewash

Oxide of calcium mixed with water and used for whitening.

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Frank Schaub

Early harness maker in De Smet.

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“Life Let Us Cherish”

1796 Swiss song translated to English.

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hardtack

Unleavened hard bread made from flour and water.

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“Lilly Dale” / “Lily Dale”

1852 song by H.S. Thomson.

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Adam / adam’s apple

The first man, the progenitor of the human race.

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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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Lansford James Ingalls family

Pa’s brother and Laura’s uncle.

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gosh!

that wicked word

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jumping jack / jumping-jack

Jointed acrobat toy.

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stockade

Enclosure of posts or sticks.

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“When I Can Read My Title Clear”

1700s Isaac Watts hymn.

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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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“Gentle Words and Loving Smiles”

Hymn 139 in Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

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“In the Starlight”

1878 Glover & Carpenter song.

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Mary & Samuel Ray / Ellen & Amos Leonard

Sisters feuding over a lovely homeplace…and a man.

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On the Banks of Plum Creek – historical perspective

Walnut Grove in the 1870s.

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Caroline Ingalls

Mother of Laura Ingalls. She lived 1839-1924.

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Horace Woodworth family

Family of first depot agent in De Smet.

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“yell like a Comanche”

Imitated Indian battle cry.

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Jerome Bisby

Resident of Burr Oak, Iowa, during the Ingallses’ stay...

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locust

Buy this book.

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cupola

Dome-like vault on a public building.

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custard / ice-cream

Sweetened milk and eggs, cooked.

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Hide the Thimble

You’re getting warmer…

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Peter Pfeiffer family

John May’s son-in-law.

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shoe pegs

A small, pointed piece of wood, used in fastening.

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“The Campbells are Coming”

Traditional Scottish jig.

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velocipede

Carriage propelled by pedals or feet.

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crow

Large black bird of genus Corvus.

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Alfred Ely

One of the younger boys in school.

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tax

A certainty, as is death.

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nubia

A light scarf worn about the head and neck.

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chilblain

Cold sores on hands and feet.

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“Home, Sweet Home”

1823 Payne & Bishop song.

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tomahawk

War hatchet used by American Indians.

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Millbank

1871 novel by Mary Jane Holmes.

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pumpkin

The plant and fruit of Curcubita pepo

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On the Banks of Plum Creek – the fictional story

Farming struggles in Minnesota.

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ante-over / anti-over / anteover

Game in which a ball is thrown over a structure.

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Carrie Ingalls, Homesteader

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

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copper-toed shoes

Metal shoe protector.

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prairie danglers

seventhwinter whimsey’s glass slide pendants!

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Minnie Johnson

Laura’s schoolmate in De Smet

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milk pan / milk-pan / milkpan

Where cream rises.

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stanchion

Support frame.

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“Wait for the Wagon”

Buckley and Knauff song.

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pieplant

Rhubarb.

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amen / amen corner

Expression used at the end of prayers.

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Turkey red

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

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Santa Claus / Santa Clause

Ho. Ho. Ho.

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De Smet during the Little House years

The Ingalls family moved here in 1879.

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pullaway

Outdoor tagging game.

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“Billy Boy”

English folk song.

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Samuel O. Masters / William J. Masters families

Walnut Grove, Burr Oak, and De Smet family known by the Ingallses.

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willow

Tree of the genus Salix.

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huckleberry

Let’s have some pie!

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hoity-toity snip

Thoughtless, giddy, haughty, flighty, gay, and noisy.

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album

Blank booklet for collecting autographs or photos.

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Little Town on the Prairie – the fictional story

Homesteading and town life.

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Morocco leather

Fine goat leather.

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“Mary of the Wild Moor”

1845 song by Joseph W. Turner.

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Little House in the Big Woods – the fictional story

Once upon a time, 60 years ago…

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“The Star-Spangled Banner”

Our National Anthem; words by Francis Scott Key.

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The House that Jack Built

…for two pieces of money.

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“Jerusalem the Golden”

Hymn from Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

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water alcove

Railroad car water for drinking.

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Baby Boy Wilder

Son of Laura and Almanzo Wilder

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“Irish Washerwoman”

Traditional Scottish and Irish song/dance song.

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galluses / suspenders

Straps worn for holding up pants.

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“Old Grimes”

1822 Albert Gorton Greene poem.

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Oscar Rhuel / Röhl

A romantic figure…

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chestnut / horse chestnut

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

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whiskey

Spirits distilled from grain.

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David Thorp

Walnut Grove teacher 1877-78.

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“Jingle Bells”

1857 James Pierpont song.

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Wilder feed store

Shhh. There’s wheat in the wall!

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“Sing a Song of Sixpence”

Mother Goose rhyme.

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President James Madison

4th President of the U.S.

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mother-of-pearl

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

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Charles Trousdale

De Smet drayman and his performing sons.

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“Kitty Wells”

1858 Sloan & Atherton song.

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Jim River / James River

A tributary of the Missouri River.

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candy hearts

Mary’s had a candy poem on it!

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“Pull for the Shore”

Sunshine for Sunday Schools hymn.

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“The Silver Moon”

Sail on, silver moon…

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Charlotte Holbrook

Laura’s “Aunt Lotty”

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Jerome Beardsley family

De Smet hotel keeper.

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De Smet today

Where I would like to be right now.

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“The Girl I Left Behind Me”

17th century Irish tune.

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“Don’t Leave the Farm, Boys”

Song from The Conqueror.

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flag

the banner

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checkers

Game played on a board of 64 squares.

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“The Evergreen Shore”

1861 William Hunter song.

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“The Singing School”

1869 P. Benson song.

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The Long Winter – historical perspective

The Hard Winter of 1880-1881.

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isinglass

mica for stove windows

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“Old Folks at Home”

Way down upon the Swanee River!

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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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New England Supper

Fund-raising communal pot-luck meal.

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Thomas Quiner

Ma’s brother and Laura’s uncle

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New Ulm, Minnesota

Town in Brown Co., MN.

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John H. Carroll

Early De Smet banker.

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Spin-offs and Adaptations of the Little House Books

Milking the cash cow.

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“My Old Kentucky Home”

1853 Stephen Foster song.

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perforated paper embroidery

Stitched designs.

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stone fences

Rock wall enclosure.

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Charles Mead

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

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Jacob Hopp

Printer and De Smet newspaper owner.

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“Lend a Helping Hand”

Hymn #22, Pure Gold for Sunday School.

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poke bonnet / poke-bonnet

the lining matched Laura’s eyes

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

1858 J. Warner song.

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Little House on the Prairie – historical perspective

      The Ingalls and Quiner families...

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The Youth’s Companion

Weekly instructional magazine for children, first published in 1827.

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Charles Lamson

Almanzo’s cousin.

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tea

A man’s drink in cold weather.

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These Happy Golden Years – historical perspective

De Smet, D.T., 1883-1885.

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The Athenians

Hartville, Mo. study club.

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George Wilmarth family

Owner of early grocery store in De Smet.

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Supposed Speech of Regulus

From Independent Fifth Reader.

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