Read more

copyright / permissions

Please do not plagiarize.

Read more

Read more

Jesse French

Butchered oxen during the Hard Winter.

Read more

Read more

“Hail Columbia”

1789 Philip Phile march.

Read more

Read more

buttonhook

Curved metal tool for fastening shoes.

Read more

Read more

“Golden Years are Passing By”

1879 Will Thompson song.

Read more

Read more

William H. Reed

Teacher in Burr Oak school, 1876-1877.

Read more

Read more

“Bonny Doon”

1792 Robert Burns song.

Read more

Read more

The Athenians

Hartville, Mo. study club.

Read more

Read more

twin lakes

Lake Henry & Lake Thompson

Read more

Read more

“Nobody Ask’d You”

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

Read more

Read more

“I Wish I Was Single Again”

1871 J.C. Beckel song.

Read more

Read more

claim

The land to which one has a right.

Read more

Read more

“Beware!”

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem.

Read more

Read more

icicle

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

Read more

Read more

“Sing a Song of Sixpence”

Mother Goose rhyme.

Read more

Read more

sulky / sulky plow

One-seated conveyance.

Read more

Read more

ambition

Act of obtaining an object of desire.

Read more

Read more

Eskimo / igloo

Tribes of arctic America and Greenland. / Snow hut.

Read more

Read more

“The Girl I Left Behind Me”

17th century Irish tune.

Read more

Read more

tableland

Elevated flat land; a plateau.

Read more

Read more

William H. Steadman family

Proprietor of hotel in Burr Oak.

Read more

Read more

These Happy Golden Years – historical perspective

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

Read more

Read more

“Kitty Wells”

1858 Sloan & Atherton song.

Read more

Read more

Mary & Samuel Ray / Ellen & Amos Leonard

Sisters feuding over a lovely homeplace…and a man.

Read more

Read more

Big Sioux River / Sioux River

SD-IA tributary of Missouri River.

Read more

Read more

Marvin Hughitt

Officer and President of the Chicago & NorthWestern Railway Company.

Read more

Read more

“Auld Lang Syne”

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

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

buffalo beans

Prairie ground plum.

Read more

Read more

orthography

The art of spelling words correctly.

Read more

Read more

door knob

Grab to open a door.

Read more

Read more

Nellie Oleson Meets Laura Ingalls

Heather Williams book.

Read more

Read more

Oh Whistle and I’ll Come to You, My Lad

1793 Robert Burns poem.

Read more

Read more

“The Big Sunflower”

Pa’s trouble song.

Read more

Read more

On the Banks of Plum Creek – historical perspective

Walnut Grove in the 1870s.

Read more

Read more

“The Swan’s Nest”

Elizabeth Barrett Browning poem.

Read more

Read more

“Gaily Now Our Boat is Sailing”

Laura loved singing school. It began with singing scales to...

Read more

Read more

starry papers

Hand-made shelf edging.

Read more

Read more

literature

Knowledge and fancy preserved in writing.

Read more

Read more

depot / station

Railway station.

Read more

Read more

“Dakota Land”

1876 hymn, Beulah Land.

Read more

Read more

Thomas Quiner

Ma’s brother and Laura’s uncle

Read more

Read more

stockade

Enclosure of posts or sticks.

Read more

Read more

“My Jenny Jerusha Jane”

1868 A.G. Chase song.

Read more

Read more

Lansford James Ingalls family

Pa’s brother and Laura’s uncle.

Read more

Read more

Perry School

April 28 – June 27, 1884

Read more

Read more

galluses / suspenders

Straps worn for holding up pants.

Read more

Read more

Henry Hinz

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

Read more

Read more

“Paul Revere’s Ride”

Poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

Read more

Read more

button lamp

Improvised grease lamp.

Read more

Read more

De Smet today

Where I would like to be right now.

Read more

Read more

Grace Pearl Ingalls

Youngest sister of Laura Ingalls; she lived 1877-1941.

Read more

Read more

sheep sorrel

Tastes like lemon… or springtime?

Read more

Read more

“Home of the Soul”

1865 E.M.H. Gates hymn.

Read more

Read more

“On Jordan’s Stormy Banks”

Long Winter song

Read more

Read more

wintergreen

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

Read more

Read more

Marshall, Minnesota

Almanzo Wilder farmed here in 1879-1880.

Read more

Read more

“The Floating Scow of Old Virginia”

1847 Charles White song.

Read more

Read more

Caroline Ingalls

Mother of Laura Ingalls. She lived 1839-1924.

Read more

Read more

“Jerusalem the Golden”

Hymn from Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

Read more

Read more

silver castor

Rotating condiment set.

Read more

Read more

alley / alleyway

Narrow passageway, distinct from public street.

Read more

Read more

The Modern Musketeer

How Rose became a great actress.

Read more

Read more

Osage Indian Treaty

Legal agreement between nations or sovereigns.

Read more

Read more

Timber Culture Act / tree claim

Passed by Congress, March 3, 1873.

Read more

Read more

Bloody Benders

Serial killers in 1870s Kansas.

Read more

Read more

Poverty Flat

Early De Smet residential area.

Read more

Read more

cabin / log house

A small cottage; a hut or small house.

Read more

Read more

Dr. Robert Hoyt

Husband of Mattie Masters.

Read more

Read more

buck / buckskin

Male of the fallow deer, and leather made from its skin.

Read more

Read more

“Old Dan Tucker”

Mr. Edwards sings it!

Read more

Read more

poor man’s fertilizer

Snow plowed into a field.

Read more

Read more

P A T

one seven seven ought

Read more

Read more

The House that Jack Built

…for two pieces of money.

Read more

Read more

whiskey

Spirits distilled from grain.

Read more

Read more

catechism

Question & answer book of religious doctrine.

Read more

Read more

St. Lawrence River

A streak of silver on the horizon.

Read more

Read more

“Billy Boy”

English folk song.

Read more

Read more

parsnip

Pastinaca edulis, a white, spindle-shaped root vegetable.

Read more

Read more

crow

Large black bird of genus Corvus.

Read more

Read more

Bad Lands

Area eroded by wind & water.

Read more

Read more

quarter section / quarter-section

One-fourth of a square mile, consisting of 160 acres.

Read more

Read more

gingerbread

Chocolate frosting adds to the goodness!

Read more

Read more

“The Lotos Eaters”

Tennyson poem.

Read more

Read more

wheelwright

One who makes wheels and carriages.

Read more

Read more

pokeberry

For rosy doll cheeks.

Read more

Read more

Braille / New York Point

Used by Mary Ingalls.

Read more

Read more

locust

Buy this book.

Read more

Read more

buckwheat pancakes

Seeds of the flowering plant Eriogonum used as a grain.

Read more

Read more

Jerome Beardsley family

De Smet hotel keeper.

Read more

Read more

biscuits

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

Read more

Read more

elephant

A very large quadruped.

Read more

Read more

Thomas C. Wilkin family

Florence Wilkin’s father.

Read more

Read more

lantern

A light meant to be carried.

Read more

Read more

chestnut / horse chestnut

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

Read more

Read more

“Home, Sweet Home”

1823 Payne & Bishop song.

Read more

Read more

Laura Speaks

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

Read more

Read more

William O’Connell

Fictional Bill O’Dowd.

Read more

Read more

Syndicate Hotel

Laura & Almanzo stayed there!

Read more

Read more

“The May Queen”

Poem in three parts by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

Read more

Read more

leap frog / leap-frog

Run and jump game.

Read more

Read more

lime / whitewash

Oxide of calcium mixed with water and used for whitening.

Read more

Read more

Supposed Speech of Regulus

From Independent Fifth Reader.

Read more

Read more

crocheted rag rug

Crocheted floor covering made of strips of cloth.

Read more

Read more

Little Town on the Prairie – historical perspective

De Smet D.T. in the 1880s.

Read more

Read more

anvil

Iron block to hammer upon.

Read more

Read more

Visscher Barnes

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

Read more

Read more

bison / “The Bison Track”

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

Read more

Read more

Roman candle

Flaming stars and balls firework.

Read more

Read more

“Irish Washerwoman”

Traditional Scottish and Irish song/dance song.

Read more

Read more

cant-hook / cant-pole

Instrument used by lumbermen to move logs.

Read more

Read more

patent / title

official property ownership document

Read more

Read more

Will Barnes

Walnut Grove acquaintance of the Ingallses’ in the 1870s....

Read more

Read more

Ella & Robert Boast

Friends of the Ingalls family in De Smet.

Read more

Read more

Belgian horse

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

Read more

Read more

Turkey red

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

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

“The Tides” / The moon is at its full

1860 William Cullen Bryant poem.

Read more

Read more

water alcove

Railroad car water for drinking.

Read more

Read more

“Darling Nellie Gray”

1856 Benjamin Hamby song.

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

“Don’t Leave the Farm, Boys”

Song from The Conqueror.

Read more

Read more

Brownsville, Texas 1906

Did Eliza Jane sell fruit to these soldiers?

Read more

Read more

beet

Succulent root vegetable.

Read more

Read more

Henry O. Quiner family

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

Read more

Read more

acre

4840 square yards of land.

Read more

Read more

Hattie Dorchester

Jake Zickrick’s skating partner.

Read more

Read more

jumping jack / jumping-jack

Jointed acrobat toy.

Read more

Read more

“The Campbells are Coming”

Traditional Scottish jig.

Read more

Read more

tattoo

Sounds like beating drums!

Read more

Read more

Old Settler’s Day

De Smet annual reunion.

Read more

Read more

Hide the Thimble

You’re getting warmer…

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

Millbank

1871 novel by Mary Jane Holmes.

Read more

Read more

claim jumper / Mr. Hunter / Jack Hunt

One who ousts another from their land.

Read more

Read more

drop the handkerchief / drop-the-handkerchief

Circle game.

Read more

Read more

hatchet

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

Read more

Read more

“Money Musk”

Traditional American dance tune.

Read more

Read more

Lizzie

the child bride

Read more

Read more

“The Old Time”

Mr. Boast’s favorite song.

Read more

Read more

Frogs at School

“Twenty froggies went to school…”

Read more

Read more

Willard Seelye

De Smet teacher, 1881-1882.

Read more

Read more

By the Shores of Silver Lake – historical perspective

Dakota Central comes to De Smet.

Read more

Read more

South Troy / Zumbro Falls today

Little town along the Zumbro River.

Read more

Read more

Almanzo Wilder

The Man of the Place

Read more

Read more

scour / scouring brick

To rub hard for the purpose of cleaning.

Read more

Read more

“A Motto for Every Man”

1868 Harry Clifton song.

Read more

Read more

axle grease

Lubricant for wagon wheels and other machinery.

Read more

Read more

dictionary

The words of a language.

Read more

Read more

Mr. Clancy / Chauncey Clayson

Drygoods store owner, Chauncey Clayson

Read more

Read more

The Advance

Weekly family newspaper of the Congregational church.

Read more

Read more

twine

A strong twisted thread.

Read more

Read more

auk

Extinct sea bird used to describe dovekie found by Charles Ingalls.

Read more

Read more

apron

Garment protector.

Read more

Read more

“Give us this day our daily bread”

“The City, a Mc Kee plain glassware pattern.

Read more

Read more

emigrant car

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

Read more

Read more

antelope

Antilocapra cervicapra of North America.

Read more

Read more

Jacob Hopp

Printer and De Smet newspaper owner.

Read more

Read more

mosquito bar / netting

Woven cloth bug barrier.

Read more

Read more

Missouri Pool

Smoked a pipe & grew pretty flowers.

Read more

Read more

reindeer

Why didn’t they fly over the creek?

Read more

Read more

carding-machine

Straightens fibers by combing.

Read more

Read more

Thomas H. Ruth

President of Kingsbury County Bank in De Smet.

Read more

Read more

Laura’s wedding silver

Wm. Rogers’ “Crown” silverplate.

Read more

Read more

Governor of Orleans / The American Remount Association

Registered stallion leased to Almanzo Wilder 1923-1925.

Read more

Read more

Ingalls office / store in De Smet

NW and SE corners of Calumet and Second.

Read more

Read more

ice-house

Stores ice blocks in warm weather.

Read more

Read more

willow-ware

Blue-and-white tableware with Chinese story paintings.

Read more

Read more

picket rope / pin / line

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

Read more

Read more

fichu

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

Read more

Read more

needle grass

Ouch! Something bit me!

Read more

Read more

nickel

The metal. Or five-cent piece.

Read more

Read more

“A Life on the Ocean Wave”

1847 Epes Sargent poem put to music.

Read more

Read more

album

Blank booklet for collecting autographs or photos.

Read more

Read more

dickcissel / dickie-bird

A semi-nomadic finch, Spiza americana.

Read more

Read more

Great American Desert

Varying area of North America, believed at times to be uninhabitable by civilized man.

Read more

Read more

“Rock of Ages”

1760s Augustus Toplady hymn.

Read more

Read more

legal cap

legal document paper

Read more

Read more

building paper / tar paper

Crude building paper used for covering.

Read more

Read more

spelling / speller

The order of letters in a word. / A book of exercises on the order of letters.

Read more

Read more

clear, pure green sky

Sunlight separated into colored bands at sunset.

Read more

Read more

Will Knight

Walnut Grove revival singer.

Read more

Read more

consumption

A wasting disease, pulmonary tuberculosis.

Read more

Read more

missionary barrel

Collection of items distributed to the needy.

Read more

Read more

the children’s blizzard

January 12, 1888, blizzard.

Read more

Read more

Charles Barker

Early De Smet grocer.

Read more

Read more

“Life Let Us Cherish”

1796 Swiss song translated to English.

Read more

Read more

cat hole / cat-hole

Jack will keep other animals from using it.

Read more

Read more

storm apron

Rain protection for buggy.

Read more

Read more

chewing gum

Long white sticks of chewiness.

Read more

Read more

primer

Used to teach someone to read.

Read more

Read more

“The Gum-Tree Canoe”

1847 Steele & Winnemore song.

Read more

Read more

turntable

Revolving railroad platform.

Read more

Read more

herd

A number of large beasts assembled together.

Read more

Read more

cat’s cradle

Game played with string twisted on the fingers.

Read more

Read more

Quiner graves

Abandoned cemetery off Playhouse Road.

Read more

Read more

hogshead

100-140 gallon cask.

Read more

Read more

Come Into the Garden, Maud

1855 poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

Read more

Read more

“It’s a Long, Long Way to Tipperary”

1912 Judge & Williams song.

Read more

Read more

Thomas Huleatt family

Neighbors of Ingalls family in Pepin Co.

Read more

Read more

gopher

Four don’t go fur…

Read more