Read more

scones

“Mamabess is growing fat.”

Read more

Read more

carved wooden bracket

Place for a china shepherdess.

Read more

Read more

“Highland Mary”

1799 Robert Burns songs, favorite of Mary Ingalls.

Read more

Read more

Good Templars Lodge

International temperance fraternal organization.

Read more

Read more

bobolink

On Mary Power’s name card.

Read more

Read more

windlass

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

Read more

Read more

cornice

Molded roof or window projection.

Read more

Read more

“The Sleighing Glee”

Singing school song.

Read more

Read more

biscuits

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

Read more

Read more

“A Shelter in the Time of Storm”

Ira Sankey hymn.

Read more

Read more

udder

Where the milk is before milking.

Read more

Read more

writ of attachment

Legal document requiring action.

Read more

Read more

sewing machine

“Such beautiful stitching!”

Read more

Read more

building paper / tar paper

Crude building paper used for covering.

Read more

Read more

The Story of Art Smith

1915 Rose Wilder Lane serial about an aviator.

Read more

Read more

nubia

A light scarf worn about the head and neck.

Read more

Read more

“The Good Old Way”

Hymn 18, Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

Read more

Read more

fichu

Light pointed cape worn by ladies, usually made of lace.

Read more

Read more

John James Ingalls

Senator from Kansas.

Read more

Read more

sheep sorrel

Tastes like lemon… or springtime?

Read more

Read more

chapel

Place of worship.

Read more

Read more

bacon

Hog’s flesh salted or pickled and dried, usually in smoke.

Read more

Read more

galumphing

To move in a clumsy, ponderous, or noisy manner.

Read more

Read more

emigrant car

Railroad car used to move a settler and/or a settler’s goods.

Read more

Read more

jumping jack / jumping-jack

Jointed acrobat toy.

Read more

Read more

Wilkin School

April 20 – July 10, 1885.

Read more

Read more

Laura’s wedding silver

Wm. Rogers’ “Crown” silverplate.

Read more

Read more

F

Fair Grounds – furrow

Read more

Read more

Alfred Thomas

He was MARRIED, people!!

Read more

Read more

spoon holder / spoon-holder / spoonholder

Any vessel used to hold and display spoons.

Read more

Read more

Hide the Thimble

You’re getting warmer…

Read more

Read more

cosy / cozy

snug and comfortable

Read more

Read more

Lewis Sasse

De Smet druggist

Read more

Read more

apron

Garment protector.

Read more

Read more

huckleberry

Let’s have some pie!

Read more

Read more

Commentators on the Ac’s

Pa’s charade pun.

Read more

Read more

“Oh Boys, Carry Me Along”

Stephen Foster song.

Read more

Read more

Dr. Alfred Starr

His wife wanted Laura.

Read more

Read more

John Armstrong

Kingsbury Co. courthouse caretaker

Read more

Read more

spring tonic

Bitter purifying medicine.

Read more

Read more

birthday

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

Read more

Read more

links

Helps you find what you’re looking for.

Read more

Read more

Dolly Varden

NIckname of Edith Ingalls, Laura’s cousin.

Read more

Read more

Charles Ely

Early lumber man in De Smet.

Read more

Read more

“The Gypsy’s Warning”

1864 Henry Coard song.

Read more

Read more

Lost, between sunrise and sunset…

Horace Mann quotation from his Writings, published in 1872.

Read more

Read more

shoe pegs

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

Read more

Read more

The Advance

Weekly family newspaper of the Congregational church.

Read more

Read more

“The Gum-Tree Canoe”

1847 Steele & Winnemore song.

Read more

Read more

“The Lotos Eaters”

Tennyson poem.

Read more

Read more

Nellie Oleson Meets Laura Ingalls

Heather Williams book.

Read more

Read more

osage orange

no good to eat or for anything else

Read more

Read more

Silas Rood

Rude by name & nature?

Read more

Read more

America / American

Pertaining to the United States of America.

Read more

Read more

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

Quilt block pattern.

Read more

Read more

“Beware!”

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem.

Read more

Read more

mosquito bar / netting

Woven cloth bug barrier.

Read more

Read more

“Home of the Soul”

1865 E.M.H. Gates hymn.

Read more

Read more

“Sing a Song of Sixpence”

Mother Goose rhyme.

Read more

Read more

Silliman Gilbert family

Kingsbury County farmer.

Read more

Read more

Spin-offs and Adaptations of the Little House Books

Not by LIW, but kindred publications.

Read more

Read more

“The Old Time”

Mr. Boast’s favorite song.

Read more

Read more

pen / pen-wiper

An instrument used for writing. / Material used to clean it after writing.

Read more

Read more

These Happy Golden Years – historical perspective

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

Read more

Read more

Maude Blair

Walnut Grove friend of Laura’s

Read more

Read more

cradle scythe

Blade and handle used to cut oats.

Read more

Read more

silver castor

Rotating condiment set.

Read more

Read more

Mary & Samuel Ray / Ellen & Amos Leonard

Sisters feuding over a lovely homeplace…and a man.

Read more

Read more

clove apple / clove-apple

Spice-preserved fruit decoration.

Read more

Read more

honey

Bee-made sweetness.

Read more

Read more

wonderful house / frame house

Wooden house built on Charles Ingalls’ Plum Creek preemption claim.

Read more

Read more

gable

Triangular end of a building under the roof.

Read more

Read more

Freddy Ingalls

Laura’s brother (1875-1876)

Read more

Read more

Martha Perry / Mrs. White

Laura helped her sew shirts.

Read more

Read more

butter

Edible fatty substance made by churning cream.

Read more

Read more

De Smet bird’s-eye view

1883 Henry Wellge drawing of De Smet

Read more

Read more

poll

No horns.

Read more

Read more

The House that Jack Built

…for two pieces of money.

Read more

Read more

patent / title

official property ownership document

Read more

Read more

Little House Songs

Prairie Song Companion

Read more

Read more

freeze drying

sublimation!

Read more

Read more

crocheted rag rug

Crocheted floor covering made of strips of cloth.

Read more

Read more

pumpkin

The plant and fruit of Curcubita pepo

Read more

Read more

James Glover family

Students in the Wilkin School.

Read more

Read more

starch

cloth stiffener

Read more

Read more

“Auld Lang Syne”

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

Read more

Read more

Eskimo / igloo

Tribes of arctic America and Greenland. / Snow hut.

Read more

Read more

Waverly Novels

Sir Walter Scott books.

Read more

Read more

“De Boatmen’s Dance”

Away Down the RIver on the O-hi-o.

Read more

Read more

literature

Knowledge and fancy preserved in writing.

Read more

Read more

name card / name-card

Pasteboard identification.

Read more

Read more

Edward H. Couse

Early hardware store owner in De Smet.

Read more

Read more

William O’Connell

Fictional Bill O’Dowd.

Read more

Read more

Roman candle

Flaming stars and balls firework.

Read more

Read more

acre

4840 square yards of land.

Read more

Read more

last

Mold of a foot, used in making shoes.

Read more

Read more

Little Georgie Dwight

He could not learn his letters!

Read more

Read more

ash withe / ash-withe

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

Read more

Read more

“The New Year’s Come”

1842 “Why chime the bells so merrily?”

Read more

Read more

snowplow

Clears the tracks.

Read more

Read more

U

udder – upland

Read more

Read more

tattoo

Sounds like beating drums!

Read more

Read more

copperplate

Variable-width handwriting script made with a flexible, pointed nib.

Read more

Read more

R

rabbit – rye

Read more

Read more

By the Shores of Silver Lake – historical perspective

Dakota Central comes to De Smet.

Read more

Read more

William H. Steadman family

Proprietor of hotel in Burr Oak.

Read more

Read more

St. Lawrence River

A streak of silver on the horizon.

Read more

Read more

Braille / New York Point

Used by Mary Ingalls.

Read more

Read more

certificate

Written testimony of fact.

Read more

Read more

“America”

1832 Reverend Samuel F. Smith song.

Read more

Read more

“The Sculptor Boy”

Carrie recited it.

Read more

Read more

Burr Oak during the Little House years

Town in Winneshiek County, Iowa.

Read more

Read more

These Happy Golden Years – the fictional story

Laura teaches and falls in love.

Read more

Read more

The Floweret

1842 book of verse by Anna Maria Wells.

Read more

Read more

“Money Musk”

Traditional American dance tune.

Read more

Read more

H. W. Cooledge

De Smet photographer.

Read more

Read more

nickel

The metal. Or five-cent piece.

Read more

Read more

Lizzie

the child bride

Read more

Read more

roller skates / rink

Wheeled frame for the shoe.

Read more

Read more

killdeer

Small aquatic bird.

Read more

Read more

turnip

Cruciferous plant grown for root and greens.

Read more

Read more

Come Into the Garden, Maud

1855 poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

Read more

Read more

scour / scouring brick

To rub hard for the purpose of cleaning.

Read more

Read more

Charles Lamson

Almanzo’s cousin.

Read more

Read more

“Gentle Words and Loving Smiles”

Hymn 139 in Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

Read more

Read more

barrel

Round vessel or cask made of wooden staves.

Read more

Read more

Alice & Arthur Whiting

Cousin Alice Ingalls Whiting’s family.

Read more

Read more

“Polly Wolly Doodle”

Daniel Decatur Emmett song.

Read more

Read more

spinning wheel / spinning-wheel

Turns wool into yarn.

Read more

Read more

“The Singing School”

1869 P. Benson song.

Read more

Read more

“For the Sake o’ Somebody”

1794 Robert Burns poem.

Read more

Read more

I

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

Read more

Read more

butter tester

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

Read more

Read more

“The Whip-Poor-Will’s Song”

1865 Harrison Millard song.

Read more

Read more

Blanche Coday

Rose’s friend.

Read more

Read more

threshing

Beating to separate.

Read more

Read more

Docia Ingalls / Hiram Forbes

Sister of Charles Ingalls married to railroad contractor.

Read more

Read more

Bad Lands

Area eroded by wind & water.

Read more

Read more

Little House on the Prairie – historical perspective

LHOP history

Read more

Read more

dickcissel / dickie-bird

A semi-nomadic finch, Spiza americana.

Read more

Read more

powder horn / powder-horn

Animal horn in which gunpowder is carried.

Read more

Read more

Henry J. Stebbins

Railroad contractor who inspired a song.

Read more

Read more

isinglass

mica for stove windows

Read more

Read more

The Athenians

Hartville, Mo. study club.

Read more

Read more

hatchet

A small ax with a short handle, to be used with one hand.

Read more

Read more

Carrie Ingalls, Homesteader

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

Read more

Read more

Henry Ford’s Own Story

Industrialist and founder of Ford Motor Company.

Read more

Read more

cameo

Aunt Docia’s pretty collar pin.

Read more

Read more

Brownsville, Texas 1906

Did Eliza Jane sell fruit to these soldiers?

Read more

Read more

tableland

Elevated flat land; a plateau.

Read more

Read more

“Three Blind Mice”

Popular nursery song, sung in rounds.

Read more

Read more

claim shanty

Temporary dwelling.

Read more

Read more

grippe

influenza

Read more

Read more

“Old Grimes”

1822 Albert Gorton Greene poem.

Read more

Read more

riot / Tracy railroad strike

Tracy in June, not De Smet in September

Read more

Read more

Royal Wilder

Almanzo’s older brother.

Read more

Read more

“Elizabeth, Elspeth, Betsy, and Bess”

Nursery rhyme wordplay on the name Elizabeth.

Read more

Read more

cream of tartar / baking powder

Byproduct of wine-making process, used in baking as leavening agent.

Read more

Read more

muskrat

Their houses predict winter weather.

Read more

Read more

Farmer Boy – historical perspective

1860s Burke / Malone NY.

Read more

Read more

Peter Pfeiffer family

John May’s son-in-law.

Read more

Read more

Willard Seelye

De Smet teacher, 1881-1882.

Read more

Read more

greenhorn / greeny

Immature, raw, awkward.

Read more

Read more

“My Sabbath Home”

Hymn #7, Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

Read more

Read more

“When Johnny Comes Marching Home”

1863 Louis Lambert song.

Read more

Read more

“Camptown Races”

1850 Stephen Foster song.

Read more

Read more

New Ulm, Minnesota

Town in Brown Co., MN.

Read more

Read more

claim jumper / Mr. Hunter / Jack Hunt

One who ousts another from their land.

Read more

Read more

“Song of the Grass”

Song from Leslie and Randall’s The Conqueror, page 16.

Read more

Read more

Peter Riley Ingalls family

Uncle Peter & Aunt Eliza.

Read more

Read more

George Wilmarth family

Owner of early grocery store in De Smet.

Read more

Read more

Dr. William H. York

Bender victim

Read more

Read more

hair receiver / hair-receiver

Container to save strands of hair in.

Read more

Read more

“The Mulligan Guard” / “The Skidmore Guard”

Harrigan & Hart minstrel show.

Read more

Read more

World’s Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition

Destination of the Wilder brothers in the fall of 1884.

Read more

Read more

handkerchief

Face and hand wiping cloth.

Read more

Read more

Thomas C. Wilkin family

Florence Wilkin’s father.

Read more

Read more

gopher

Four don’t go fur…

Read more

Read more

Big Tracy Cut

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

Read more

Read more

jewel box / jewel-box

Nice place to keep a breast-pin.

Read more

Read more

Hattie Dorchester

Jake Zickrick’s skating partner.

Read more

Read more

Adam / adam’s apple

The first man, the progenitor of the human race.

Read more

Read more

leap frog / leap-frog

Run and jump game.

Read more

Read more

“Daisy Deane”

1863 song by Union soldiers.

Read more

Read more

Julia & Amasa Tower

Walnut Grove church friends.

Read more

Read more

Charlotte Holbrook

Laura’s “Aunt Lotty”

Read more

Read more

W

wage – writ of attachment

Read more

Read more

tiger lily

Native spotted flower of tallgrass prairie.

Read more

Read more

Mother Goose

Fictionalized compiler of ancient nursery rhymes.

Read more

Read more

tea

A man’s drink in cold weather.

Read more

Read more

Charleton Fuller / Gerald Fuller

Hardware store owner, partnered with his brother Gerald.

Read more

Read more

“Darling Nellie Gray”

1856 Benjamin Hamby song.

Read more

Read more

herd

A number of large beasts assembled together.

Read more

Read more

Declaration of Independence

Document renouncing U.S. subjection to Great Britain.

Read more

Read more

Morocco leather

Fine goat leather.

Read more

Read more

Hill-Billy

1926 Rose Wilder Lane book.

Read more

Read more

braid / plait

Entwined strands.

Read more

Read more

“Gaily Now Our Boat is Sailing”

Singing school exercise

Read more

Read more

Burke / Malone during the Little House years

Almanzo Wilder birthplace.

Read more

Read more

Frank Schaub

Early harness maker in De Smet.

Read more