Read more

copyright / permissions

Please do not plagiarize.

Read more

Read more

“Nobody Ask’d You”

In the frosty mornings and the chilly evenings when they went...

Read more

Read more

“Dakota Land”

1876 hymn, Beulah Land.

Read more

Read more

wintergreen

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

Read more

Read more

“The Star-Spangled Banner”

Our National Anthem; words by Francis Scott Key.

Read more

Read more

“Merry, Merry Christmas”

Hymn Number 150 in Pure Gold for Sunday Schools.

Read more

Read more

saleratus / soda

Leavening agents used in baking.

Read more

Read more

snowplow

Clears the tracks.

Read more

Read more

The Athenians

Hartville, Mo. study club.

Read more

Read more

ambition

Act of obtaining an object of desire.

Read more

Read more

“When Johnny Comes Marching Home”

1863 Louis Lambert song.

Read more

Read more

Almanzo Wilder

The Man of the Place

Read more

Read more

blizzard

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

Read more

Read more

swimming hole

Watch out for ankle grabbers!

Read more

Read more

“Kitty Wells”

1858 Sloan & Atherton song.

Read more

Read more

pokeberry

For rosy doll cheeks.

Read more

Read more

drop the handkerchief / drop-the-handkerchief

Circle game.

Read more

Read more

Ross family

Neighbors in the Perry District.

Read more

Read more

New England States

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

Read more

Read more

Braille / New York Point

Used by Mary Ingalls.

Read more

Read more

David Thorp

Walnut Grove teacher 1877-78.

Read more

Read more

willow-ware

Blue-and-white tableware with Chinese story paintings.

Read more

Read more

Rev. Royal Gould Wilder

Almanzo’s uncle.

Read more

Read more

cannon

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

Read more

Read more

“Rock Me to Sleep”

Elizabeth Allen poem.

Read more

Read more

“Money Musk”

Traditional American dance tune.

Read more

Read more

sulky / sulky plow

One-seated conveyance.

Read more

Read more

“Golden Years are Passing By”

1879 Will Thompson song.

Read more

Read more

storm apron

Rain protection for buggy.

Read more

Read more

“Keep the Horse Shoe Over the Door”

1880 Joseph Skelley song.

Read more

Read more

primer

Used to teach someone to read.

Read more

Read more

“Come In and Shut the Door”

Circa 1862 song by J.P.H.

Read more

Read more

le cadeau du cheval

2008 horse mural composed of smaller paintings of horses,...

Read more

Read more

braid / plait

Entwined strands.

Read more

Read more

geranium

Winter windowsill flowers.

Read more

Read more

“For the Sake o’ Somebody”

1794 Robert Burns poem.

Read more

Read more

black bird / blackbird

Name given to various American birds.

Read more

Read more

The Long Winter – the fictional story

Winter for seven months!

Read more

Read more

churn

Cream agitator.

Read more

Read more

peddler’s cart / wagon

A little store on wheels.

Read more

Read more

tomahawk

War hatchet used by American Indians.

Read more

Read more

William O’Connell

Fictional Bill O’Dowd.

Read more

Read more

nickel

The metal. Or five-cent piece.

Read more

Read more

hatchet

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

Read more

Read more

cornmeal mush / hasty pudding

Cornmeal and water, cooked.

Read more

Read more

dovekie

Arctic aquatic bird, Alle alle.

Read more

Read more

poultice

Applied to sores to help them heal.

Read more

Read more

Little Town on the Prairie – the fictional story

Homesteading and town life.

Read more

Read more

Silas Rood

Rude by name & nature?

Read more

Read more

freeze drying

sublimation!

Read more

Read more

Hotel keeper’s family struck by lightning

E.P. LeSuer of Canby, Minnesota.

Read more

Read more

roller towel

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

Read more

Read more

zebra

Part of Willie Oleson’s Noah’s Ark toy.

Read more

Read more

Little Georgie Dwight

He could not learn his letters!

Read more

Read more

carding-machine

Straightens fibers by combing.

Read more

Read more

Thomas Power family

De Smet tailor.

Read more

Read more

These Happy Golden Years – the fictional story

Laura teaches and falls in love.

Read more

Read more

Young Pioneers

David and Molly Beaton.

Read more

Read more

whip

A lash tied to a handle.

Read more

Read more

Ernest & Minnie Green

This is not Mary & Edwin Sanford!

Read more

Read more

dickcissel / dickie-bird

A semi-nomadic finch, Spiza americana.

Read more

Read more

tea

A man’s drink in cold weather.

Read more

Read more

“I Wish I Was Single Again”

1871 J.C. Beckel song.

Read more

Read more

claim shanty

Temporary dwelling.

Read more

Read more

America / American

Pertaining to the United States of America.

Read more

Read more

butter

Edible fatty substance made by churning cream.

Read more

Read more

“Life Let Us Cherish”

1796 Swiss song translated to English.

Read more

Read more

Orion E. Stearns

Caught by blizzard of ’88.

Read more

Read more

lief

Gladly; willingly; freely.

Read more

Read more

Commentators on the Ac’s

Pa’s charade pun.

Read more

Read more

“Gentle Words and Loving Smiles”

Hymn 139 in Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

Read more

Read more

stockade

Enclosure of posts or sticks.

Read more

Read more

equinoctial storm

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

Read more

Read more

cat’s cradle

Game played with string twisted on the fingers.

Read more

Read more

willow

Tree of the genus Salix.

Read more

Read more

“Marching Through Georgia”

Union song from American Civil War.

Read more

Read more

jumping jack / jumping-jack

Jointed acrobat toy.

Read more

Read more

Eleck Nelson family

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

Read more

Read more

twisting hay

Pioneer method by which dried grass is formed into compact...

Read more

Read more

“The Burial of Sir John Moore”

1817 poem by Charles Wolfe.

Read more

Read more

Burr Oak today

Only Ingalls home in original location.

Read more

Read more

Eskimo / igloo

Tribes of arctic America and Greenland. / Snow hut.

Read more

Read more

“The May Queen”

Poem in three parts by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

Read more

Read more

twine

A strong twisted thread.

Read more

Read more

Santa Claus / Santa Clause

Ho. Ho. Ho.

Read more

Read more

“The Good Old Way”

Hymn 18, Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

Read more

Read more

Florence Bell

Milliner and dressmaker in De Smet.

Read more

Read more

Yankton, Dakota Territory

1879 land office town.

Read more

Read more

“My Sabbath Home”

Hymn #7, Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

Read more

Read more

Daniel Loftus

Early drygoods store owner in De Smet.

Read more

Read more

velocipede

Carriage propelled by pedals or feet.

Read more

Read more

By the Shores of Silver Lake – historical perspective

Dakota Central comes to De Smet.

Read more

Read more

garnet

Deep orange-red gemstone.

Read more

Read more

Women’s Christian Temperance Union

W.C.T.U.

Read more

Read more

china shepherdess / little china woman

Ingalls precious family figurine.

Read more

Read more

by jingo!

A corruption of St. Gengoulph.

Read more

Read more

chestnut / horse chestnut

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

Read more

Read more

Wilkin School

April 20 – July 10, 1885.

Read more

Read more

Pa’s red & white checked mittens

Fair Isle pattern.

Read more

Read more

Stories of the Moorland

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

Read more

Read more

tiger

Noah’s ark toy piece.

Read more

Read more

copperplate

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

Read more

Read more

consumption

A wasting disease, pulmonary tuberculosis.

Read more

Read more

antelope

Antilocapra cervicapra of North America.

Read more

Read more

shoe pegs

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

Read more

Read more

Minnie Johnson

Laura’s schoolmate in De Smet

Read more

Read more

clinched nail

Bent at a right angle.

Read more

Read more

President George Washington

First President of the U.S.A.

Read more

Read more

Will Bennett

One of the younger De Smet schoolboys.

Read more

Read more

awl

pokes holes

Read more

Read more

“When I Can Read My Title Clear”

1700s Isaac Watts hymn.

Read more

Read more

zenith

The point of the heavens directly overhead.

Read more

Read more

yoke

Frame worn on the neck for lifting or drawing.

Read more

Read more

Charles Mead

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

Read more

Read more

emigrant car

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

Read more

Read more

Quaker meeting

Parlor game in which players try to remain silent.

Read more

Read more

Dolly Varden

NIckname of Edith Ingalls, Laura’s cousin.

Read more

Read more

“Bonny Doon”

1792 Robert Burns song.

Read more

Read more

writ of attachment

Legal document requiring action.

Read more

Read more

“A Motto for Every Man”

1868 Harry Clifton song.

Read more

Read more

“The Star of Bethlehem”

When Marshalled on the Nightly Plane

Read more

Read more

“Old Dan Tucker”

Mr. Edwards sings it!

Read more

Read more

Horace Woodworth family

Family of first depot agent in De Smet.

Read more

Read more

“Buy a Broom”

O Du Leiber Augustin.

Read more

Read more

Big Green Animal Book

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

Read more

Read more

“All the Blue Bonnets are Over the Border”

1829 Sir Walter Scott air.

Read more

Read more

gopher

Four don’t go fur…

Read more

Read more

pen / pen-wiper

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

Read more

Read more

Arthur Sherwood

Brother of Carter Sherwood.

Read more

Read more

Charles H. Tinkham

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

Read more

Read more

windrow

Line of hay raked together.

Read more

Read more

Charles Philip Ingalls

Father of Laura Ingalls. He lived 1836-1902.

Read more

Read more

jewel box / jewel-box

Nice place to keep a breast-pin.

Read more

Read more

birds in their little nests agree

Miss Wilder knew nothing about birds.

Read more

Read more

Timothy Johnson family

De Smet Wagon Shop.

Read more

Read more

Mary & Samuel Ray / Ellen & Amos Leonard

Sisters feuding over a lovely homeplace…and a man.

Read more

Read more

kerosene / kerosine

Oil used for lighting.

Read more

Read more

“Tubal Cain”

Charles McKay poem.

Read more

Read more

starry papers

Hand-made shelf edging.

Read more

Read more

Mr. Clancy / Chauncey Clayson

Drygoods store owner, Chauncey Clayson

Read more

Read more

“Buffalo Gals”

1844 Virginia Minstrels song.

Read more

Read more

“Camptown Races”

1850 Stephen Foster song.

Read more

Read more

Bibliography

LIW / RWL books & articles

Read more

Read more

South Troy / Zumbro Falls during the Little House years

Ingallses lived here with Uncle Peter.

Read more

Read more

George A. Williams

Superintendent of Schools, 1883.

Read more

Read more

slate

Stone used as tablet for writing upon.

Read more

Read more

needle grass

Ouch! Something bit me!

Read more

Read more

Laura Remington

Mrs. Phillip Aubrey Lawrence

Read more

Read more

Peter Riley Ingalls family

Uncle Peter & Aunt Eliza.

Read more

Read more

swan

Cygnus Americanus

Read more

Read more

mustache

Hair above the lip.

Read more

Read more

ostrich tips / feathers

Short bobbing feather used for hat decoration.

Read more

Read more

“Haste to the Wedding”

Traditional Irish fiddle tune.

Read more

Read more

galumphing

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

Read more

Read more

“Home, Sweet Home”

1823 Payne & Bishop song.

Read more

Read more

bastion

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

Read more

Read more

Little House Songs

Prairie Song Companion

Read more

Read more

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

Quilt block pattern.

Read more

Read more

Little House on the Prairie – the fictional story

The Ingallses in Indian Territory.

Read more

Read more

dried-raspberry sauce

Dried sauce good on biscuits.

Read more

Read more

roller skates / rink

Wheeled frame for the shoe.

Read more

Read more

railroad cut / fill

How you level a railroad grade.

Read more

Read more

“The Gum-Tree Canoe”

1847 Steele & Winnemore song.

Read more

Read more

“Pull for the Shore”

Sunshine for Sunday Schools hymn.

Read more

Read more

poll

No horns.

Read more

Read more

Mrs. Jarley’s Wax Works

Rise! Come forward!

Read more

Read more

ante-over / anti-over / anteover

Game in which a ball is thrown over a structure.

Read more

Read more

Volga, Dakota Territory

Town on the Dakota Central R.R. between Brookings and Arlington, platted in 1879.

Read more

Read more

New Ulm, Minnesota

Town in Brown Co., MN.

Read more

Read more

Big Sioux River / Sioux River

SD-IA tributary of Missouri River.

Read more

Read more

“In the Starlight”

1878 Glover & Carpenter song.

Read more

Read more

Lewis Sasse

De Smet druggist

Read more

Read more

Visscher Barnes

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

Read more

Read more

amen / amen corner

Expression used at the end of prayers.

Read more

Read more

spinning wheel / spinning-wheel

Turns wool into yarn.

Read more

Read more

“Jesus Holds My Hand”

Hymn #85, Pure Gold for the Sunday Schools

Read more

Read more

scour / scouring brick

To rub hard for the purpose of cleaning.

Read more

Read more

“Uncle Sam’s Farm”

1848 Jesse Hutchinson, Jr. song.

Read more

Read more

“Three Blind Mice”

Popular nursery song, sung in rounds.

Read more

Read more

chilblain

Cold sores on hands and feet.

Read more

Read more

“The Heavens Declare the Glory”

From The Conqueror, page 144.

Read more

Read more

The Long Winter – historical perspective

The Hard Winter of 1880-1881.

Read more

Read more

picket rope / pin / line

n. A stake sharpened or pointed, used in fortification and...

Read more

Read more

Henry Burvee

One of the first settlers in Kingsbury Co.

Read more

Read more

turnip

Cruciferous plant grown for root and greens.

Read more

Read more

osage orange

no good to eat or for anything else

Read more

Read more

sundogs

Bright spots on either side of the sun.

Read more

Read more

“What Shall the Harvest Be?”

1850 Emily Oakley poem.

Read more

Read more

These Happy Golden Years – historical perspective

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

Read more

Read more

Charleton Fuller / Gerald Fuller

Hardware store owner, partnered with his brother Gerald.

Read more

Read more

Declaration of Independence

Document renouncing U.S. subjection to Great Britain.

Read more

Read more

claim jumper / Mr. Hunter / Jack Hunt

One who ousts another from their land.

Read more

Read more

By the Shores of Silver Lake – the fictional story

The railroad comes to Dakota.

Read more

Read more

killdeer

Small aquatic bird.

Read more

Read more

Laura Speaks

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

Read more

Read more

spring tonic

Bitter purifying medicine.

Read more

Read more

catechism

Question & answer book of religious doctrine.

Read more

Read more

“Mary of the Wild Moor”

1845 song by Joseph W. Turner.

Read more

Read more

the Cameron gang

fiat justitia, ruat caelum…

Read more

Read more

mummy

Put. that. back.

Read more

Read more

James Glover family

Students in the Wilkin School.

Read more