Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Laura Ingalls Wilder Home

A couple weekends ago, we drove out to Mansfield, MO to see Laura & Almanzo Wilder's Rocky Ridge Farm, where the Little House on the Prairie books were written. First, let me just say that I am a huge fan of the Little House on the Prairie books. I think they were some of the first chapter books I ever read, and they have inspired me my whole life. All my interest in any kind of crafting, sewing, period costume, gardening, preserving, cooking, baking, travel, EVERYTHING can be traced back to the Little House books. I don't even DO all of those things, but I still tell myself that some day I will make a hat out of straw like Ma did, because Laura's descriptions of everything they did are so detailed that I know I could do it if I just had straw and time. I even own The Little House Cookbook: Frontier Foods from Laura Ingalls Wilder's Classic Stories and have never made a single recipe, but it's there for when I get around to it. If you are like me, you NEED to visit.

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Laura & Almanzo moved there with their daughter, Rose, in 1894, and lived in three different houses on the property. The first was a log cabin and is no longer standing. The second started out as a two room house - just a kitchen and living area - and grew to be a 10 room farmhouse with three porches. The third house, the Rock House, is a house that Rose had built for her parents in the 1920s. They lived there for about 8 years while Rose lived in the farmhouse, but when Rose moved to Connecticut, Laura and Almanzo moved back.

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Unfortunately, no interior photography is allowed inside the homes or museum, and it was pouring rain when we were there, so that's why we scanned in some postcards of the farmhouse for this one. This is the first time I can recall not using photographs taken on site by my or one of my friends! That's how bad I need to talk to my fellow Little House fans about how great this was (and I publicly acknowledge that Francis racked up husband points that will last him a good long time). These are just the farmhouse, though, and all the reasons you need to visit in person are in the museum.

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I read the series just about every other year, always starting with Little House in the Big Woods on Christmas Eve. When you're a kid, you learn all kinds of things about pioneer families lived, and you identify with the books because Laura is a very normal little girl who struggles with being "good", especially compared to her perfect sister, Mary. Reading them as an adult, you notice that while Pa is a very loving father, his constant need to move on to a new place is incredibly frustrating. You know he'd never hold a job in modern times. You feel sorry for Ma, because she loves him and is a good wife but DAMN. Can we just have some neighbors for a minute and let the kids go to school? You also notice how poor they were, especially compared to the Wilder family.

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It's interesting that Laura and Almanzo moved to Mansfield, MO when Laura was 26, and she died on that same farm at the age of 90. No more moving for this gal. I knew she ended up on an apple farm in Missouri, but somehow it never occurred to me that being as this was the last place they lived, all their STUFF would be here. I feel like I will spoil the wonder for you if I say too much, I also have to tell you six or eight more times that it's totally worth it. You can see tintypes of the whole family, and Pa's beard is even crazier than Garth Williams's illustrations. You can see Laura's name cards, as well as those she saved from her friends (even Nellie Owens). You can see all kinds of samples of Laura's needlework throughout her life, and imagine that crick in the neck she complains about while crocheting lace. She even inherited Pa's fiddle when he died, and it's in the museum in a glass case and played once a year. There are things from Almanzo's family as well, which was always hard to imagine since 90% of Farmer Boy is about food, and many things from Rose Wilder Lane's adult life as a journalist.

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I'll be honest with you, it's a pretty dull drive from St Louis since a full hour of it is on Route 5, but it's worth it if you pick a nice, sunny day like we did not. If you are coming from Kansas City or Springfield you will have a much easier time. I just started rereading the series again (a little early this year) because I found out about On the Way Home: The Diary of a Trip from South Dakota to Mansfield, Missouri, in 1894 and picked it up at the on-site book store! I know that there are also several biographies, so if anyone could recommend a good one that fills in the gaps I would appreciate it! In closing, please enjoy this video that Francis made using an old pizza stone, an old-timey filter, and Civil War Font, detailing the weekend in comical fashion, in response to our friends who quit Facebook.



OOPS, I left out the important details. Check out their website for details on hours and admissions. You can also buy these postcards in their online store for only 25 cents each, as well as all the books and other souvenirs!

19 comments:

  1. I loved the books as a child, but I'm a bit afraid to re-read them as an adult! I don't want to have them lose any of their magic (like seeing how annoying Pa might have been).

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    1. Pa is still an AWESOME DAD, so I don't think they lose their magic. It's just that you are more apt to think, "How would I feel in that position?" as a grown up. There are upsides to reading them as an adult, too, because you see how amazing Laura was at writing for children, and you will be anxious to read them with your own kids one day. :)

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    2. I wouldn't worry, Beebers.

      I adored the books as a child, and have reread them many times as an adult, and they have not lost their magic at all.
      (a bit of advice, if you haven't, do NOT watch Escape to Witch Mountain again, I LOVED that film as a child, and hated it as an adult, lol.)

      Some books just don't hold up as well for adults as they did for children, but, I'll keep The Little House books in the same camp as Middle-Earth and Pern for their excitement and beauty for readers of all ages.

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  2. This is one of my absolute favorite places in the state. My husband suffers through a trip every couple of years (He never read the books, so isn't as excited as I am), because this really is amazing. Seeing the fiddle and the house and everything that helped shape who I am today is just wonderful.

    Awesome, awesome write-up.

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    1. thank you so much! I'm so happy there are people who enjoy it as much as I do!

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  3. I too re-read through the series each winter, and each time through I find new hidden gems of color and information about the lives of the Ingalls' and Wilder's. Thank goodness for the Internet and the ability I've had to purchase subsequent books and collections of letters by Laura and Rose Wilder Lane. Someday I too will make the pilgrimage to Rocky Ridge Farm. And though Laura is no longer there; I will bring her a gift of the most beautiful California grown Cara Cara orange I can find. I'm sure such a thing would have brought her much joy.
    Thank you for your wonderful blog and the picture postcard prints.
    Regards, Mrs. Rose Rains, Lindsay CA

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  4. Thank you for sharing. My husband and I took our daughter, Laura Elizabeth to Rocky Ridge Farm, but were too late for the tour, so we need to go back. I gave sets of the books to my grandchildren and they are reading them now. I would love to take a family trip there soon!
    West from Home is a book of letters of Laura when she went with her daughter, Rose to San Francisco in 1915. I also have Pioneer Girl that my best friend gave me for Christmas.I also own The Prairie Primer for homeschooling using the Little House books.

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  5. I just went for the first time!! It was definitely a pilgrimage! I even found the house in Mansfield they lived in for a short time while building their own house. Almanzo's family bought it for them as a wedding gift. It looks nothing like the photograph when Laura lived there.. I feel the same way as you. These books have guided me all my life. I have done a lot of research on Laura, Rose, and now I am very curious about Almanzo. The older I get, the more I want to know! A MUST for books is Libertarians on the Prairie. It reveals A LOT!! Very interesting stuff. If anyone should ask me what public figure I admire most, Laura would be my answer. What a wonder of a woman!!

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  6. Such an interesting post. This is so cool! Roof Contractors

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