Read more

“Am I a Soldier of the Cross”

Isaac Watts hymn.

Read more

Read more

jumping jack / jumping-jack

Jointed acrobat toy.

Read more

Read more

New England States

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

Read more

Read more

Alfred Ely

One of the younger boys in school.

Read more

Read more

ice cream / ice-cream

Sweetened cream, congealed by freezing.

Read more

Read more

freeze drying

sublimation!

Read more

Read more

buck / buckskin

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

Read more

Read more

lime / whitewash

Oxide of calcium mixed with water and used for whitening.

Read more

Read more

A Tribute to the Early Day Teachers

Neva Whaley Harding tribute.

Read more

Read more

pokeberry

For rosy doll cheeks.

Read more

Read more

By the Shores of Silver Lake – historical perspective

Dakota Central comes to De Smet.

Read more

Read more

“What Shall the Harvest Be?”

1850 Emily Oakley poem.

Read more

Read more

Florence Bell

Milliner and dressmaker in De Smet.

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

The Advance

Weekly family newspaper of the Congregational church.

Read more

Read more

“On Jordan’s Stormy Banks”

Long Winter song

Read more

Read more

whalebone

Baleen used in corsets.

Read more

Read more

Santa Claus / Santa Clause

Ho. Ho. Ho.

Read more

Read more

depot / station

Railway station.

Read more

Read more

birthday

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

Read more

Read more

snowplow

Clears the tracks.

Read more

Read more

Charlotte Holbrook

Laura’s “Aunt Lotty”

Read more

Read more

turnip

Cruciferous plant grown for root and greens.

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

Farmer Boy – the fictional story

Almanzo Wilder’s childhood in Burke NY.

Read more

Read more

blizzard

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

Read more

Read more

“Old Dan Tucker”

Mr. Edwards sings it!

Read more

Read more

“Darling Nellie Gray”

1856 Benjamin Hamby song.

Read more

Read more

chilblain

Cold sores on hands and feet.

Read more

Read more

beet

Succulent root vegetable.

Read more

Read more

cranberry

Good ones bounce!

Read more

Read more

Little House on the Prairie – the fictional story

The Ingallses in Indian Territory.

Read more

Read more

name card / name-card

Pasteboard identification.

Read more

Read more

forfeits

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

Read more

Read more

cupola

Dome-like vault on a public building.

Read more

Read more

surveyor

One who measures land and delineates the same on paper.

Read more

Read more

Old English letters

Variety of printing type.

Read more

Read more

Hattie Dorchester

Jake Zickrick’s skating partner.

Read more

Read more

Dolly Varden

NIckname of Edith Ingalls, Laura’s cousin.

Read more

Read more

“Come In and Shut the Door”

Circa 1862 song by J.P.H.

Read more

Read more

“Love’s Old Sweet Song”

1884 song by Bingham & Malloy.

Read more

Read more

claim shanty

Temporary dwelling.

Read more

Read more

Big Sioux River / Sioux River

SD-IA tributary of Missouri River.

Read more

Read more

drop the handkerchief / drop-the-handkerchief

Circle game.

Read more

Read more

These Happy Golden Years – the fictional story

Laura teaches and falls in love.

Read more

Read more

John D. Peirson

Early De Smet liveryman.

Read more

Read more

butter

Edible fatty substance made by churning cream.

Read more

Read more

bastion

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

Read more

Read more

“Merry, Merry Christmas”

Hymn Number 150 in Pure Gold for Sunday Schools.

Read more

Read more

Henry Ford’s Own Story

Industrialist and founder of Ford Motor Company.

Read more

Read more

railroad cut / fill

How you level a railroad grade.

Read more

Read more

slate

Stone used as tablet for writing upon.

Read more

Read more

amen / amen corner

Expression used at the end of prayers.

Read more

Read more

“Uncle Ned”

One of the earliest Stephen Foster songs.

Read more

Read more

elephant

A very large quadruped.

Read more

Read more

oranges

Citrus fruit.

Read more

Read more

blacking / stove-blacking / boot blacking

Preparation used to make things black.

Read more

Read more

what-not / whatnot

An étagère for books & ornaments.

Read more

Read more

“Jerusalem the Golden”

Hymn from Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

Read more

Read more

mantel-shelf

Shelf above a fireplace.

Read more

Read more

swimming hole

Watch out for ankle grabbers!

Read more

Read more

“Camptown Races”

1850 Stephen Foster song.

Read more

Read more

Nellie Oleson Meets Laura Ingalls

Heather Williams book.

Read more

Read more

“Highland Mary”

1799 Robert Burns songs, favorite of Mary Ingalls.

Read more

Read more

Roman candle

Flaming stars and balls firework.

Read more

Read more

“Oft in the Stilly Night”

Song from Lalla Rookh.

Read more

Read more

James Glover family

Students in the Wilkin School.

Read more

Read more

buffalo beans

Prairie ground plum.

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 Ninety and Nine”

Elizabeth Clephane poem.

Read more

Read more

“The Blue Juniata”

1841 Marion Dix Sullivan song.

Read more

Read more

poor man’s fertilizer

Snow plowed into a field.

Read more

Read more

mustache

Hair above the lip.

Read more

Read more

gopher

Four don’t go fur…

Read more

Read more

poll

No horns.

Read more

Read more

Yankton, Dakota Territory

1879 land office town.

Read more

Read more

Bibliography

LIW / RWL books & articles

Read more

Read more

Laura Speaks

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

Read more

Read more

Syndicate Hotel

Laura & Almanzo stayed there!

Read more

Read more

links

Helps you find what you’re looking for.

Read more

Read more

Little Georgie Dwight

He could not learn his letters!

Read more

Read more

Come Into the Garden, Maud

1855 poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

Read more

Read more

Samuel O. Masters / William J. Masters families

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

Read more

Read more

“Haste to the Wedding”

Traditional Irish fiddle tune.

Read more

Read more

Alice Maria Wilder

Older sister and playmate of Almanzo Wilder. She lived 1853-1892.

Read more

Read more

The Long Winter – historical perspective

The Hard Winter of 1880-1881.

Read more

Read more

cat hole / cat-hole

Jack will keep other animals from using it.

Read more

Read more

checkers

Game played on a board of 64 squares.

Read more

Read more

anvil

Iron block to hammer upon.

Read more

Read more

Hide the Thimble

You’re getting warmer…

Read more

Read more

“America”

1832 Reverend Samuel F. Smith song.

Read more

Read more

Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Birthday

Happy Birthday, Laura!

Read more

Read more

“The Mulligan Guard” / “The Skidmore Guard”

Harrigan & Hart minstrel show.

Read more

Read more

fanning-mill

Machine for winnowing.

Read more

Read more

“Buffalo Gals”

1844 Virginia Minstrels song.

Read more

Read more

ante-over / anti-over / anteover

Game in which a ball is thrown over a structure.

Read more

Read more

“Old Grimes”

1822 Albert Gorton Greene poem.

Read more

Read more

John Ensign family

Quit crying, Howard.

Read more

Read more

“The New Year’s Come”

1842 “Why chime the bells so merrily?”

Read more

Read more

“I Wish I Was in Dixie’s Land”

1860 Daniel Decatur Emmett song.

Read more

Read more

handcar

Don’t be left behind!

Read more

Read more

Charles H. Tinkham

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

Read more

Read more

whip

A lash tied to a handle.

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

twin lakes

Lake Henry & Lake Thompson

Read more

Read more

Becky Newhall / Rebecca Stewart

Classmate of Laura Ingalls in De Smet.

Read more

Read more

oyster

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

Read more

Read more

William O’Connell

Fictional Bill O’Dowd.

Read more

Read more

Fred Fields / Big Jerry

Railroad boss and his brother-in-law.

Read more

Read more

Charles Trousdale

De Smet drayman and his performing sons.

Read more

Read more

Good Templars Lodge

International temperance fraternal organization.

Read more

Read more

“Daisy Deane”

1863 song by Union soldiers.

Read more

Read more

galumphing

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

Read more

Read more

De Smet during the Little House years

The Ingalls family moved here in 1879.

Read more

Read more

Old Settler’s Day

De Smet annual reunion.

Read more

Read more

“The Evergreen Shore”

1861 William Hunter song.

Read more

Read more

Little House on the Prairie – historical perspective

      The Ingalls and Quiner families...

Read more

Read more

fever ‘n’ ague / malaria

malaria

Read more

Read more

Willard Seelye

De Smet teacher, 1881-1882.

Read more

Read more

shoe pegs

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

Read more

Read more

“Here’s to the Maiden”

1780 R.B. Sheridan drinking song.

Read more

Read more

the children’s blizzard

January 12, 1888, blizzard.

Read more

Read more

Wilder feed store

Shhh. There’s wheat in the wall!

Read more

Read more

“The Rock of Ages”

Painting at Rev. Brown’s.

Read more

Read more

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

1793 Robert Burns poem.

Read more

Read more

“The Whip-Poor-Will’s Song”

1865 Harrison Millard song.

Read more

Read more

certificate

Written testimony of fact.

Read more

Read more

“Yankee Doodle”

Early song brought to America from Britain.

Read more

Read more

Laura’s Sorosis Club speech

“My Work”

Read more

Read more

The Floweret

1842 book of verse by Anna Maria Wells.

Read more

Read more

scour / scouring brick

To rub hard for the purpose of cleaning.

Read more

Read more

“The Burial of Sir John Moore”

1817 poem by Charles Wolfe.

Read more

Read more

“Gentle Words and Loving Smiles”

Hymn 139 in Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

Read more

Read more

“Ben Bolt”

1842 Thomas Dunn English song.

Read more

Read more

twine

A strong twisted thread.

Read more

Read more

orthography

The art of spelling words correctly.

Read more

Read more

“nervous as a witch”

restless

Read more

Read more

Western Reserve

Land in Ohio, given to Connecticut upon agreement to give up claim to lands in Pennsylvania.

Read more

Read more

John James Ingalls

Senator from Kansas.

Read more

Read more

claim jumper / Mr. Hunter / Jack Hunt

One who ousts another from their land.

Read more

Read more

“For the Sake o’ Somebody”

1794 Robert Burns poem.

Read more

Read more

perforated paper embroidery

Stitched designs.

Read more

Read more

Sale of School Lands on the Osage Diminished Reserve

LHOP cabin was on Section 36

Read more

Read more

water alcove

Railroad car water for drinking.

Read more

Read more

“A Shelter in the Time of Storm”

Ira Sankey hymn.

Read more

Read more

Edelbert Harthorn family / Frank Harthorn & Mabel Burd

Father and son owners of early drygoods store in De Smet.

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

Lost, between sunrise and sunset…

Horace Mann quotation from his Writings, published in 1872.

Read more

Read more

“Rock of Ages”

1760s Augustus Toplady hymn.

Read more

Read more

“The Gypsy King”

Young Laura and Mary’s favorite song!

Read more

Read more

George A. Williams

Superintendent of Schools, 1883.

Read more

Read more

crocheted rag rug

Crocheted floor covering made of strips of cloth.

Read more

Read more

Charles Philip Ingalls

Father of Laura Ingalls. He lived 1836-1902.

Read more

Read more

Silliman Gilbert family

Kingsbury County farmer.

Read more

Read more

Reverend Stewart Sheldon

American Home Missionary Society Superintendent 1874-1886.

Read more

Read more

copper

Cu

Read more

Read more

“Mary of the Wild Moor”

1845 song by Joseph W. Turner.

Read more

Read more

Julia & Amasa Tower

Walnut Grove church friends.

Read more

Read more

“Marching Through Georgia”

Union song from American Civil War.

Read more

Read more

The Long Winter – the fictional story

Winter for seven months!

Read more

Read more

clinched nail

Bent at a right angle.

Read more

Read more

stockade

Enclosure of posts or sticks.

Read more

Read more

On the Banks of Plum Creek – the fictional story

Farming struggles in Minnesota.

Read more

Read more

buttonhook

Curved metal tool for fastening shoes.

Read more

Read more

copyright / permissions

Please do not plagiarize.

Read more

Read more

A Modern Musketeer

In which Rose becomes a great actress.

Read more

Read more

Charles Lamson

Almanzo’s cousin.

Read more

Read more

“My Jenny Jerusha Jane”

1868 A.G. Chase song.

Read more

Read more

ticket

All aboard!

Read more

Read more

Ingalls office / store in De Smet

NW and SE corners of Calumet and Second.

Read more

Read more

Jerome Bisby

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

Read more

Read more

Frank M. Cooley family

On the Way home travelers.

Read more

Read more

“The Gypsy’s Warning”

1864 Henry Coard song.

Read more

Read more

nickel

The metal. Or five-cent piece.

Read more

Read more

candy hearts

Mary’s had a candy poem on it!

Read more

Read more

coal / coal hod

Carbonized plant matter mined and used as fuel.

Read more

Read more

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

Quilt block pattern.

Read more

Read more

“The Old Time”

Mr. Boast’s favorite song.

Read more

Read more

greenhorn / greeny

Immature, raw, awkward.

Read more

Read more

“Life Let Us Cherish”

1796 Swiss song translated to English.

Read more

Read more

Declaration of Independence

Document renouncing U.S. subjection to Great Britain.

Read more

Read more

chapel

Place of worship.

Read more

Read more

pumpkin

The plant and fruit of Curcubita pepo

Read more

Read more

“The Lotos Eaters”

Tennyson poem.

Read more

Read more

wigwam

What Almanzo’s shocked oats looked like.

Read more

Read more

Henry J. Stebbins

Railroad contractor who inspired a song.

Read more

Read more

roller towel

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

Read more

Read more

crow

Large black bird of genus Corvus.

Read more

Read more

spoon holder / spoon-holder / spoonholder

Any vessel used to hold and display spoons.

Read more

Read more

antelope

Antilocapra cervicapra of North America.

Read more

Read more

mother-of-pearl

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

Read more

Read more

Carrie Ingalls, Homesteader

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

Read more

Read more

Will Knight

Walnut Grove revival singer.

Read more

Read more

Congress

Legislative body of a country.

Read more

Read more

“De Boatmen’s Dance”

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

Read more

Read more

“Don’t Leave the Farm, Boys”

Song from The Conqueror.

Read more

Read more

spinning wheel / spinning-wheel

Turns wool into yarn.

Read more

Read more

Uncle Sam

Figure symbolizing the United States.

Read more

Read more

Burke / Malone during the Little House years

Almanzo Wilder birthplace.

Read more

Read more

Quaker meeting

Parlor game in which players try to remain silent.

Read more