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The Square in Malone

Where the band played.

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Laura Speaks

Al-MAN-zo, Al-MAN-zo, Al-MAN-zo

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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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“Camptown Races”

1850 Stephen Foster song.

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photographs

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

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dickcissel / dickie-bird

A semi-nomadic finch, Spiza americana.

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Henry Ford’s Own Story

Industrialist and founder of Ford Motor Company.

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G

gable – “Gypsy’s Warning”

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Alfred N. Waters

Attorney and land agent in De Smet.

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Charlotte Quiner Holbrook

Caroline Ingalls’ mother

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Pure Gold for the Sunday School

Hymnal owned by the Ingalls family.

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“When Johnny Comes Marching Home”

1863 Louis Lambert song.

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yoke

Frame worn on the neck for lifting or drawing.

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wigwam

What Almanzo’s shocked oats looked like.

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Silas Rood

Rude by name & nature?

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Introspections of an Individualist

Norma Lee Browning article about Rose Wilder Lane.

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cornmeal mush / hasty pudding

Cornmeal and water, cooked.

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Little Town on the Prairie – historical perspective

De Smet D.T. in the 1880s.

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The Long Winter – historical perspective

The Hard Winter of 1880-1881.

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Sam Owen

De Smet boot & shoe maker… and horseman!

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Pa’s red & white checked mittens

Fair Isle pattern.

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“I Wish I Was in Dixie’s Land”

1860 Daniel Decatur Emmett song.

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poor man’s fertilizer

Snow plowed into a field.

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“The Sleighing Glee”

Singing school song.

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jewel box / jewel-box

Nice place to keep a breast-pin.

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Orion E. Stearns

Caught by blizzard of ’88.

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Timber Culture Act / tree claim

Passed by Congress, March 3, 1873.

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beet

Succulent root vegetable.

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ice cream social

Laura and Almanzo didn’t enjoy it.

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oyster

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

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Little House Songs

Prairie Song Companion

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Kitty

the Ingallses’ cat in Dakota Territory

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“For the Sake o’ Somebody”

1794 Robert Burns poem.

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churn

Cream agitator.

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Little House on the Prairie – the fictional story

The Ingallses in Indian Territory.

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Good Templars Lodge

International temperance fraternal organization.

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J

jabot – Justice of the Peace

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cat hole / cat-hole

Jack will keep other animals from using it.

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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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Eskimo / igloo

Tribes of arctic America and Greenland. / Snow hut.

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axle grease

Lubricant for wagon wheels and other machinery.

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“Uncle John”

Play song to the tune of Yankee Doodle.

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milk pan / milk-pan / milkpan

Where cream rises.

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John Ensign family

Quit crying, Howard.

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“Paddle Your Own Canoe”

1850s Harry Clifton song.

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“Miller Boy”

“Grab!”

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blueing bag

Whiter whites.

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Johnny Johnson

“Wake up and watch the cattle!”

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bison / “The Bison Track”

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

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Henry O. Quiner family

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

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Laura’s Sorosis Club speech

“My Work”

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squirrel

Rodent mammal of the genus Sciurus.

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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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Joseph Bouchie family

Fictional Brewster family in THGY.

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Yankton, Dakota Territory

1879 land office town.

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turnip

Cruciferous plant grown for root and greens.

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Mansfield history

Town in Wright County, Missouri.

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threshing

Beating to separate.

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catechism

Question & answer book of religious doctrine.

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apple pie / dried apple pie

Just like Ma used to make.

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“The Star-Spangled Banner”

Our National Anthem; words by Francis Scott Key.

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thunder-pumps

American bittern, a member of the heron family.

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Carrie Ingalls, Homesteader

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

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“My Jenny Jerusha Jane”

1868 A.G. Chase song.

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dragon-fly / dragonfly

Mosquito hunter.

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Thomas P. Power family

De Smet tailor.

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flag, the flower

An aquatic flower, Iris versicolor.

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“The Ninety and Nine”

Elizabeth Clephane poem.

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Thomas C. Wilkin family

Florence Wilkin’s father.

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“The New Year’s Come”

1842 “Why chime the bells so merrily?”

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turntable

Revolving railroad platform.

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lief

Gladly; willingly; freely.

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“A Life on the Ocean Wave”

1847 Epes Sargent poem put to music.

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nickel

The metal. Or five-cent piece.

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brakeman

Person who stops the train.

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nutmeg

Myristica moschata, used as a spice.

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Wilder feed store

Shhh. There’s wheat in the wall!

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oranges

Citrus fruit.

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emigrant car

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

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mosquito bar / netting

Woven cloth bug barrier.

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“Gaily Now Our Boat is Sailing”

Singing school exercise

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“Auld Lang Syne”

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

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Belgian horse

They’d pull a barn, if hitched to it.

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“The Blue Juniata”

1841 Marion Dix Sullivan song.

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railroad camp / Silver Lake camp

Temporary dwellings for workers during surveying or construction.

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“Golden Years are Passing By”

1879 Will Thompson song.

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buckwheat pancakes

Seeds of the flowering plant Eriogonum used as a grain.

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roller towel

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

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K

Kansas – knothole

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mantel-shelf

Shelf above a fireplace.

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morning-glory

Climbing plant of the genus Ipomœa.

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literary society

Instructional and entertaining gathering.

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“America”

1832 Reverend Samuel F. Smith song.

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orthography

The art of spelling words correctly.

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Christmas

Christian observation of the birth of Christ

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Charles H. Tinkham

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

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Roman candle

Flaming stars and balls firework.

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“Pop! Goes the Weasel”

Traditional American song.

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“Irish Washerwoman”

Traditional Scottish and Irish song/dance song.

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Osage Indian Treaty

Legal agreement between nations or sovereigns.

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Will Knight

Walnut Grove revival singer.

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links

Helps you find what you’re looking for.

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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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mercury / thermometer

Used to measure air temperature.

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bushel / peck

Dry quart measurements.

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black bird / blackbird

Name given to various American birds.

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post office / post-office

Where you send and receive mail.

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Mr. Edwards / Edmund Mason

Was he Edmund Mason?

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Chariton County, Missouri

Location of land purchased in 1868 by Charles Ingalls, Henry Quiner, and Tom Quiner.

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claim shanty

Temporary dwelling.

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D

daisy – dye

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“My Sabbath Home”

Hymn #7, Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

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pokeberry

For rosy doll cheeks.

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cant-hook / cant-pole

Instrument used by lumbermen to move logs.

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Old Settler’s Day

De Smet annual reunion.

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B

bachelor – “by the pale, silver light…”

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apprentice

One who is legally bound to another to learn a trade or art.

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Bad Lands

Area eroded by wind & water.

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hardtack

Unleavened hard bread made from flour and water.

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Army bugle

Brass military horn.

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Dr. Alfred Starr

His wife wanted Laura.

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Mr. Hanson

Walnut Grove land trader.

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Robbins children

“froze stark stiff”

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Young Pioneers

David and Molly Beaton.

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President James Madison

4th President of the U.S.

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“Jerusalem the Golden”

Hymn from Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

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H. W. Cooledge

De Smet photographer.

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“Captain Jinks”

1868 comedic opera song.

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John Armstrong

Kingsbury Co. courthouse caretaker

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Ingalls office / store in De Smet

NW and SE corners of Calumet and Second.

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fascinator

Pretty, light head covering.

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Jesse French

Butchered oxen during the Hard Winter.

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rags for paper

scrap cloth purchased for paper making

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“Coming Through the Rye”

Robert Burns tune.

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The Advance

Weekly family newspaper of the Congregational church.

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justice / Justice of the Peace

Limited jurisdiction magistrate.

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Almanzo Wilder

The Man of the Place

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Hamlin Garland

…and his first Christmas tree!

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“Elizabeth, Elspeth, Betsy, and Bess”

Nursery rhyme wordplay on the name Elizabeth.

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“The Tides” / The moon is at its full

1860 William Cullen Bryant poem.

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“Ben Bolt”

1842 Thomas Dunn English song.

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huckleberry

Let’s have some pie!

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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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Mr. Anderson / Niels Kopperud

Hard Winter wheat settler

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primer

Used to teach someone to read.

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Quaker meeting

Parlor game in which players try to remain silent.

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Edward H. Couse

Early hardware store owner in De Smet.

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chewing gum

Long white sticks of chewiness.

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“Little Annie Rooney”

1889 song by Michael Nolan.

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fever ‘n’ ague / malaria

malaria

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“Merry, Merry Christmas”

Hymn Number 150 in Pure Gold for Sunday Schools.

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Marshall, Minnesota

Almanzo Wilder farmed here in 1879-1880.

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Ross family

Neighbors in the Perry District.

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Laura’s Bible references

Laura Ingalls Wilder’s hand-written list of Bible verses to be read in times of trouble or stress.

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“Haste to the Wedding”

Traditional Irish fiddle tune.

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blizzard

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

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carved wooden bracket

Place for a china shepherdess.

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John Anderson

Walnut Grove store clerk & more

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George Wilmarth family

Owner of early grocery store in De Smet.

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mowing machine

Farm implement for cutting hay or grain.

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“Come In and Shut the Door”

Circa 1862 song by J.P.H.

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Dr. William H. York

Bender victim

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stockade

Enclosure of posts or sticks.

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Santa Claus / Santa Clause

Ho. Ho. Ho.

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“Great is the Lord”

Singing school song from The Conqueror.

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engine / locomotive / iron horse

Vehicle powered by steam and run on tracks.

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tableland

Elevated flat land; a plateau.

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Bloody Benders

Serial killers in 1870s Kansas.

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Noah’s ark toy

Willie’s toy boat with animals.

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lantern

A light meant to be carried.

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dumpling

Dough cooked in liquid.

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wintergreen

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

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“Mary of the Wild Moor”

1845 song by Joseph W. Turner.

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patent / title

official property ownership document

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Margaret Garland family / Cap Garland

Family living behind the Ingallses in De Smet.

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what-not / whatnot

An étagère for books & ornaments.

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shoe pegs

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

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“Buffalo Gals”

1844 Virginia Minstrels song.

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“The Battle-Cry of Freedom”

We’ll Rally Round the Flag, Boys!

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M

Ma – “My Sabbath Home”

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trough

Stock-watering vessel.

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Thomas H. Ruth

President of Kingsbury County Bank in De Smet.

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De Smet during the Little House years

The Ingalls family moved here in 1879.

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clove apple / clove-apple

Spice-preserved fruit decoration.

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Reverend Edwin H. Alden

Walnut Grove Congregational minister and missionary in Dakota.

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By the Shores of Silver Lake – historical perspective

Dakota Central comes to De Smet.

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tax

A certainty, as is death.

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Alfred Ely

One of the younger boys in school.

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George George

1874 Minnesota traveling companion of the Ingallses

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Burke / Malone during the Little House years

Almanzo Wilder birthplace.

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“Kitty Wells”

1858 Sloan & Atherton song.

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drop the handkerchief / drop-the-handkerchief

Circle game.

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“Rock of Ages”

1760s Augustus Toplady hymn.

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“Hail Columbia”

1789 Philip Phile march.

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writ of attachment

Legal document requiring action.

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Rev. Royal Gould Wilder

Almanzo’s uncle.

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forfeits

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

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Mr. Clancy / Chauncey Clayson

Drygoods store owner, Chauncey Clayson

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Mary Blanche Howard

Mary’s roommate in Vinton.

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