Laura Ingalls Wilder

Pepin, Wisconsin

Walnut Grove, MN

Burr Oak, Iowa

Spring Valley, MN

We carry our own environment with us to a certain extent and are quite likely to stand or fall by the same principles wherever we may live. -Laura Ingalls Wilder

Articles:

Laura's Calling Card

Other news and links...

Have you read Laura's books endlessly and dreamed of seeing the prairie sky Laura lived beneath? If you have ever wanted to learn about her as a wife, a mother, a farmer, a thinker, a writer, and a historian, The Homesteader is for you! Click here to learn more and subscribe today!

By John Miller: Here is your chance to get an Autographed copy of Becoming Laura Ingalls Wilder The Woman behind the Legend and Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little Town Where History and Literature Meet! Order them directly from author John Miller.nia

Congratulations to the Ingalls - Wilder - Lane Historic Alliance on placing a historical marker in Westville, Florida, on October 8, 2006. IWL has been the driving force behind markers being placed in Brookfield, Wisconsin, (commemorating the birthplace of Laura’s Ma, Caroline Lake Quiner Holbrook Ingalls) in 1996; and Rothville, Missouri (where the Ingalls family lived for a year, after leaving Pepin, Wisconsin and before moving to Kansas) on October 12, 2003. In 2003, IWL also presented an engraved plaque to the Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School in Vinton, Iowa, where Mary Ingalls attended from 1881-1889. (Photo of marker supplied by Ingalls - Wilder - Lane Historic Alliance)

The Horn Book Virtual History Exhibit presents a scanned image of a letter from Laura.

AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF ROSE WILDER LANE compiled by the WPA

Visit purplehousepress.com to see covers of the Little House books illustrated by Helen Sewell.

Laura Ingalls Wilder's Family tree and genealogy.

This 23-minute video was created by Barb Hawkins, owner of Little House Site Tours LLC. Since the mid 1980s Barb has been to the sites almost two dozen times and here she shares her adventures with you! A teacher for over 35 years, Barb used the books by Laura Ingalls Wilder in her classroom. She narrates this video that includes images of the sites from her personal collection. This video is a great reference tool for educators, home-schoolers and those who want a trip to the Laura Ingalls Wilder sites from their couch!

Order Visting the Homesites of Laura Ingalls Wilder on DVD or VHS for just $19.95 from Little House Site Tours! Click Here.ri

Looking for a great gift for yourself or a friend this year? The Ingalls Family of De Smet is what you need!

"Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Society exclusive! De Smet was journey's end for the Ingalls Family. Ma, Pa, and Mary lived out their lives in the home that Pa built in 1887 on Third Street in De Smet. Laura and her sisters grew to adulthood in De Smet, their lives soon to be separated by many miles and the passing of time."

Order this wonderful book for just $12.95 from the Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Society Book Store! Click Here. Proceeds from the sale of this book go towards continuing restoration and preservation of the Ingalls Wilder heritages in De Smet, South Dakota.n

Create an Almanzo's Breakfast Gift Basket by arranging breakfast items Almanzo enjoyed in Farmer Boy in a gift basket! Place Buckwheat Pancake Mix, Strawberry Jam, jellies (grape, crabapple or cranberry) and plum preserves in a basket. For an added touch, include Spiced Hot Cider and a Farmer Boy Mug. Click here to order a Farmer Boy mug from the Wilder Farm Gift Shop!

Arkansas Traveler features performances by Western music treasure RIDERS IN THE SKY, Grammy award-winning banjo player ALISON BROWN, ANDREA ZONN, JOHN COWAN (New Grass Revival), DAVID OLNEY, and more!
Great American songs include: “Old Dan Tucker,” “The Blue Juniata,” “Dixie’s Land,” “Sweet By and By,” “The Devil’s Dream,” “The Gum Tree Canoe,” “Barbara Allen,” and 30 more! Order your CD now at the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum giftshop in Walnut Grove.

Collector's Corner... 

Collecting Laura Ingalls Wilder and Rose Wilder Lane items has been a hobby of mine for some time. I have been to all of the official homesites and even some of the unofficial ones. At times I have been asked "Where do I buy that?" or "How rare is this?" I do not consider myself an expert but I do share what I know.

There is large number of books and items available at many of the homesites:

Even those books that are out-of-print may be found at used bookstores online. When buying these books or items, the buyer should take into consideration whether the item is really rare and the condition of the item. Factors that also affect the price include the desirability of a particular item.

I have seen many new and used items on eBay that are overpriced and sell double, triple, and even four times what they are available for. Buyers often do not know this and do not know where to go to find these items. However, there are reputable sellers who provide these items at a reasonable cost and who donate their profit to the Laura Ingalls Wilder homesites. Know your seller!

Just a few of the antique treasures that can be found reasonably priced:

• The Youth's Companion (from the late 1800s) usually included stories, games, puzzles, advertisements and more geared towards children. Laura mentions The Youth's Companion in The Long Winter.
• Mother, Home & Heaven was published in the late 1800s and Almanzo gave Laura a copy of this book in 1884. This book is beautiful - full of prose, poetry, and illustrations. The original is on display in Mansfield, Missouri.
• Published in the late 1800s, Millbank is mentioned in On the Banks of Plum Creek.
• The Independent Fifth Reader is mentioned in the The Long Winter and is full of speeches and poems. (The original 5th Reader was donated to the Detroit Public Library by Laura in 1949.)
• The family knew all the songs by heart that are found in the Pure Gold for the Sunday School hymnal. This hymnal is mentioned in By the Shores of Silver Lake.
• Pa's copy of General Butler in New Orleans is on display at De Smet. The inscription reads: Charles P. Ingalls, Dec 25, 1864, Wisconsin.
• Laura received a copy of Tennyson's Poems for Christmas in Little Town on the Prairie.
• In 1863 Ma received a copy of The Land and the Book by WM Thompson for Christmas. (This book is on display at De Smet.)

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