Read more

tiger lily

Native spotted flower of tallgrass prairie.

Read more

Read more

Declaration of Independence

Document renouncing U.S. subjection to Great Britain.

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

James McKee family

Homesteader north of Manchester D.T.

Read more

Read more

rubber

Used for waterproofing.

Read more

Read more

Docia Ingalls / Hiram Forbes

Sister of Charles Ingalls married to railroad contractor.

Read more

Read more

the children’s blizzard

January 12, 1888, blizzard.

Read more

Read more

David Thorp

Walnut Grove teacher 1877-78.

Read more

Read more

President George Washington

First President of the U.S.A.

Read more

Read more

dragon-fly / dragonfly

Mosquito hunter.

Read more

Read more

mosquito bar / netting

Woven cloth bug barrier.

Read more

Read more

“Nobody Ask’d You”

“Where are you going, my pretty maid?”

Read more

Read more

Oscar Rhuel / Röhl

A romantic figure…

Read more

Read more

Old Settler’s Day

De Smet annual reunion.

Read more

Read more

“I Wish I Was Single Again”

1871 J.C. Beckel song.

Read more

Read more

Dolly Varden

NIckname of Edith Ingalls, Laura’s cousin.

Read more

Read more

blueberry

a kind of whortleberry

Read more

Read more

Peytona & Fashion

Currier & Ives print at Rocky Ridge Farm.

Read more

Read more

starch

cloth stiffener

Read more

Read more

bake oven / bake-oven

Coals on top and below.

Read more

Read more

quarter section / quarter-section

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

Read more

Read more

“Bean Porridge Hot”

Bean porridge cold…

Read more

Read more

“The Swan’s Nest”

Elizabeth Barrett Browning poem.

Read more

Read more

basket

Woven container.

Read more

Read more

mother-of-pearl

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

Read more

Read more

“The Blue Juniata”

1841 Marion Dix Sullivan song.

Read more

Read more

De Smet bird’s-eye view

1883 Henry Wellge drawing of De Smet

Read more

Read more

reindeer

Why didn’t they fly over the creek?

Read more

Read more

“Bo-peep has lost her sheep”

Game of hiding and surprise to amuse a small child.

Read more

Read more

black-berry / blackberry

The berry of the bramble, Rubus fruticosous.

Read more

Read more

The Floweret

1842 book of verse by Anna Maria Wells.

Read more

Read more

stone fences

Rock wall enclosure.

Read more

Read more

“nervous as a witch”

restless

Read more

Read more

literary society

Instructional and entertaining gathering.

Read more

Read more

church

Place of Christian worship.

Read more

Read more

vanity cakes

Egg and flour batter fried in oil into golden brown puffs.

Read more

Read more

Will Knight

Walnut Grove revival singer.

Read more

Read more

Mr. Anderson / Niels Kopperud

Hard Winter wheat settler

Read more

Read more

B

bachelor – “by the pale, silver light…”

Read more

Read more

amen / amen corner

Expression used at the end of prayers.

Read more

Read more

Hattie Dorchester

Jake Zickrick’s skating partner.

Read more

Read more

Wilkin School

April 20 – July 10, 1885.

Read more

Read more

Silliman Gilbert family

Kingsbury County farmer.

Read more

Read more

mud hen / mudhen

American coot.

Read more

Read more

Osage Indian Treaty

Legal agreement between nations or sovereigns.

Read more

Read more

railroad cut / fill

How you level a railroad grade.

Read more

Read more

yeast / yeast cakes

Bread-leavening organism.

Read more

Read more

Royal Wilder

Almanzo’s older brother.

Read more

Read more

kerosene / kerosine

Oil used for lighting.

Read more

Read more

The Advance

Weekly family newspaper of the Congregational church.

Read more

Read more

“Uncle Sam’s Farm”

1848 Jesse Hutchinson, Jr. song.

Read more

Read more

dumpling

Dough cooked in liquid.

Read more

Read more

morning-glory

Climbing plant of the genus Ipomœa.

Read more

Read more

Governor of Orleans / The American Remount Association

Registered stallion leased to Almanzo Wilder 1923-1925.

Read more

Read more

K

Kansas – knothole

Read more

Read more

Little House on the Prairie – historical perspective

LHOP history

Read more

Read more

lone cottonwood / lone tree

The big one between the lakes.

Read more

Read more

“Money Musk”

Traditional American dance tune.

Read more

Read more

O

oak – oyster

Read more

Read more

cant-hook / cant-pole

Instrument used by lumbermen to move logs.

Read more

Read more

Burr Oak today

Only Ingalls home in original location.

Read more

Read more

John H. Carroll

Early De Smet banker.

Read more

Read more

handcar

Don’t be left behind!

Read more

Read more

rags for paper

scrap cloth purchased for paper making

Read more

Read more

powder horn / powder-horn

Animal horn in which gunpowder is carried.

Read more

Read more

gingerbread

Chocolate frosting adds to the goodness!

Read more

Read more

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

1793 Robert Burns poem.

Read more

Read more

chestnut / horse chestnut

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

Read more

Read more

Charles & Martha Harrison / Patterson

Charles and Elizabeth May Rundle.

Read more

Read more

“Home, Sweet Home”

1823 Payne & Bishop song.

Read more

Read more

Timothy Johnson family

De Smet Wagon Shop.

Read more

Read more

“A Life on the Ocean Wave”

1847 Epes Sargent poem put to music.

Read more

Read more

Julia & Amasa Tower

Walnut Grove church friends.

Read more

Read more

dove-in-the-window / bear’s tracks

Patchwork pattern variations.

Read more

Read more

The Long Winter – historical perspective

The Hard Winter of 1880-1881.

Read more

Read more

Becky Newhall / Rebecca Stewart

Classmate of Laura Ingalls in De Smet.

Read more

Read more

“The High Tide”

Jean Ingelow poem.

Read more

Read more

Orion E. Stearns

Caught by blizzard of ’88.

Read more

Read more

Rocky Ridge Farm

The Wilders’ Missouri farm east of Mansfield

Read more

Read more

G

gable – “Gypsy’s Warning”

Read more

Read more

willow

Tree of the genus Salix.

Read more

Read more

Horace / Homer Heath

Railroad-working brothers.

Read more

Read more

honey

Bee-made sweetness.

Read more

Read more

“The May Queen”

Poem in three parts by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

Read more

Read more

handkerchief

Face and hand wiping cloth.

Read more

Read more

Army bugle

Brass military horn.

Read more

Read more

Jim River / James River

A tributary of the Missouri River.

Read more

Read more

badger

Don’t poke it with a stick!

Read more

Read more

gopher

Four don’t go fur…

Read more

Read more

Daniel Loftus

Early drygoods store owner in De Smet.

Read more

Read more

Walnut Grove during the Little House years

Village in Redwood County, Minnesota

Read more

Read more

crow

Large black bird of genus Corvus.

Read more

Read more

Silver Lake

Kingsbury County prairie pothole lake.

Read more

Read more

zebra

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

Read more

Read more

accordion

musical instrument

Read more

Read more

“By Lo, Baby Bunting”

Mother Goose rhyme.

Read more

Read more

George Whiting Ingalls

Bugle-blowing, jigging uncle.

Read more

Read more

muskrat

Their houses predict winter weather.

Read more

Read more

Lizzie

the child bride

Read more

Read more

“Buffalo Gals”

1844 Virginia Minstrels song.

Read more

Read more

catechism

Question & answer book of religious doctrine.

Read more

Read more

I

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

Read more

Read more

twine

A strong twisted thread.

Read more

Read more

P

Pa – pussy-in-the-corner

Read more

Read more

dovekie

Arctic aquatic bird, Alle alle.

Read more

Read more

yoke

Frame worn on the neck for lifting or drawing.

Read more

Read more

candle / tallow

Used to furnish light.

Read more

Read more

icicle

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

Read more

Read more

alley / alleyway

Narrow passageway, distinct from public street.

Read more

Read more

locust

Buy this book.

Read more

Read more

wintergreen

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

Read more

Read more

china shepherdess / little china woman

Ingalls family figurine.

Read more

Read more

“Pull for the Shore”

Sunshine for Sunday Schools hymn.

Read more

Read more

Alfred N. Waters

Attorney and land agent in De Smet.

Read more

Read more

Thomas H. Ruth

President of Kingsbury County Bank in De Smet.

Read more

Read more

Eskimo / igloo

Tribes of arctic America and Greenland. / Snow hut.

Read more

Read more

auk

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

Read more

Read more

Henry O. Quiner family

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

Read more

Read more

Lansford James Ingalls family

Pa’s brother and Laura’s uncle.

Read more

Read more

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

Quilt block pattern.

Read more

Read more

“Yankee Doodle”

Early song brought to America from Britain.

Read more

Read more

dictionary

The words of a language.

Read more

Read more

“Bonny Doon”

1792 Robert Burns song.

Read more

Read more

brakeman

Person who stops the train.

Read more

Read more

barber

Shave and a haircut, two bits!

Read more

Read more

quinine

Medicine used to treat malaria, made from cinchona bark.

Read more

Read more

The New York Ledger

Weekly story paper, published 1855-1898.

Read more

Read more

buttonhook

Curved metal tool for fastening shoes.

Read more

Read more

osage orange

no good to eat or for anything else

Read more

Read more

“Darling Nellie Gray”

1856 Benjamin Hamby song.

Read more

Read more

Mr. Edwards / Edmund Mason

Was he Edmund Mason?

Read more

Read more

“The Evergreen Shore”

1861 William Hunter song.

Read more

Read more

hair receiver / hair-receiver

Container to save strands of hair in.

Read more

Read more

buffalo / bison

bison

Read more

Read more

Adam / adam’s apple

The first man, the progenitor of the human race.

Read more

Read more

Thomas P. Power family

De Smet tailor.

Read more

Read more

peddler’s cart / wagon

A little store on wheels.

Read more

Read more

drop the handkerchief / drop-the-handkerchief

Circle game.

Read more

Read more

Big Tracy Cut

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

Read more

Read more

elephant

A very large quadruped.

Read more

Read more

“Elizabeth, Elspeth, Betsy, and Bess”

Nursery rhyme wordplay on the name Elizabeth.

Read more

Read more

birthday

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

Read more

Read more

wristlets

Knitted bands worn around the wrists for warmth.

Read more

Read more

album

Blank booklet for collecting autographs or photos.

Read more

Read more

forfeits

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

Read more

Read more

cranberry

Good ones bounce!

Read more

Read more

butter

Edible fatty substance made by churning cream.

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

blizzard

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

Read more

Read more

name card / name-card

Pasteboard identification.

Read more

Read more

Marshall, Minnesota

Almanzo Wilder farmed here in 1879-1880.

Read more

Read more

Mr. and Mrs. Scott

Indian Territory neighbors of the Ingallses.

Read more

Read more

The Story of Art Smith

1915 Rose Wilder Lane serial about an aviator.

Read more

Read more

axle grease

Lubricant for wagon wheels and other machinery.

Read more

Read more

ash withe / ash-withe

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

Read more

Read more

galluses / suspenders

Straps worn for holding up pants.

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

Frogs at School

“Twenty froggies went to school…”

Read more

Read more

spring tonic

Bitter purifying medicine.

Read more

Read more

Peter Pfeiffer family

John May’s son-in-law.

Read more

Read more

Indian camps

Look! Beads!

Read more

Read more

“Jesus Holds My Hand”

Hymn #85, Pure Gold for the Sunday Schools

Read more

Read more

Ernest & Minnie Green

This is not Mary & Edwin Sanford!

Read more

Read more

Alfred Thomas

He was MARRIED, people!!

Read more

Read more

“Home of the Soul”

1865 E.M.H. Gates hymn.

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

“Nellie was a Lady”

…last night she died

Read more

Read more

Henry J. Stebbins

Railroad contractor who inspired a song.

Read more

Read more

lantern

A light meant to be carried.

Read more

Read more

Silas Rood

Rude by name & nature?

Read more

Read more

Hide the Thimble

You’re getting warmer…

Read more

Read more

oranges

Citrus fruit.

Read more

Read more

lief

Gladly; willingly; freely.

Read more

Read more

Henry Burvee

One of the first settlers in Kingsbury Co.

Read more

Read more

dried-raspberry sauce

Dried sauce good on biscuits.

Read more

Read more

“Captain Jinks”

1868 comedic opera song.

Read more

Read more

thunder-pumps

American bittern, a member of the heron family.

Read more

Read more

George Wilmarth family

Owner of early grocery store in De Smet.

Read more

Read more

poll

No horns.

Read more

Read more

Belgian horse

They’d pull a barn, if hitched to it.

Read more

Read more

breast-pin / brooch

Ornament worn on clothing.

Read more

Read more

“Merry, Merry Christmas”

Hymn Number 150 in Pure Gold for Sunday Schools.

Read more

Read more

Timber Culture Act / tree claim

Passed by Congress, March 3, 1873.

Read more

Read more

“yell like a Comanche”

Imitated Indian battle cry.

Read more

Read more

saleratus / soda

Leavening agents used in baking.

Read more

Read more

Syndicate Hotel

Laura & Almanzo stayed there!

Read more

Read more

tomahawk

War hatchet used by American Indians.

Read more

Read more

Mansfield history

Town in Wright County, Missouri.

Read more

Read more

muff

A warm covering for receiving the hands.

Read more

Read more

ambition

Act of obtaining an object of desire.

Read more

Read more

Burr Oak during the Little House years

Town in Winneshiek County, Iowa.

Read more

Read more

“The Silver Moon”

Sail on, silver moon…

Read more

Read more

Laura’s wedding silver

Wm. Rogers’ “Crown” silverplate.

Read more

Read more

pieplant

Rhubarb.

Read more

Read more

P A T

one seven seven ought

Read more

Read more

“Jerusalem the Golden”

Hymn from Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

Read more

Read more

spider

Legged cooking vessel.

Read more

Read more

threshing

Beating to separate.

Read more

Read more

Dr. Alfred Starr

His wife wanted Laura.

Read more

Read more

Missouri Ruralist

The Missouri Ruralist. A twice-monthly Missouri farm periodical...

Read more