Little House Discussed

In the past, I've referred to the Ingalls as the family who founded the town of DeSmet, South Dakota. But the reality is that it's not as romantic as all that.   After reading  By the Shores of Silver Lake ,   I had ad a specific image of the Ingalls family arriving in Dakota Territory. In our minds, Pa, Ma, and the girls are the heart of De Smet. But if you’re a history buff looking at the legal maps and town charters (which I am not), the question of whether they "founded" the town gets a little more nuanced. It’s one of those beautiful instances where the legend and the ledger don't quite match up, but both are equally fascinating. Who Founded DeSmet, South Dakota? When we talk about the "founding" of De Smet, we’re really looking at two different stories: the legal birth of a town and the more human (and interesting) story of the people who were its first inhabitants. If we're going on facts, the Ingalls family didn’t "found" De Smet in...

  If you grew up watching the original TV show or reading the " Little House " books, Reverend Robert Alden is portrayed as the ultimate pillar of frontier morality. He was the kind-hearted man who brought the church to Walnut Grove and famously gave the Ingalls girls their Christmas Bibles. Laura Ingalls Wilder spoke about his with affection. But as is so often the case with the real people behind Laura’s stories, the historical Robert Alden was a lot more complicated and controversial than the saintly figure portrayed by both. You can imagine my disappointment when I l earned about the real Reverend Robert Alden.  The Truth About Reverend Alden While it is true that Robert Alden was a missionary who helped establish the Congregational church in Walnut Grove, his life outside of the Ingalls’ circle was marked by ambition and some very questionable financial dealings. After his time in Minnesota, Alden moved further west, and it was during his years in the Dakota Territory ...

Genevieve Masters.  From the first time she disdainfully muttered " country girls " to new girls Mary and Laura Ingalls, the name Nellie Oleson has become synonymous with the ultimate playground antagonist. However, readers of the original "Little House" books might be surprised to learn that the girl Laura Ingalls described was not actually one person. Instead, the character of Nellie Oleson was a composite super-villain created by Laura Ingalls Wilder, who blended the traits of three different girls she encountered during her childhood on the frontier. Nellie Owens The first and most significant inspiration for Nellie was a girl named Nellie Owens. Much like the character in " On the Banks of Plum Creek ," Nellie Owens was the daughter of a local shopkeeper in Walnut Grove, Minnesota. Her father, William Owens, ran a general store that competed with other local merchants, and the Owens family enjoyed a level of relative luxury that the Ingalls family la...

If you grew up watching Little House on the Prairie on a heavy wood-framed TV, you probably remember Albert Ingalls as the plucky kid who brought a new spark to the show in the later seasons. But if you dig into the actual historical records of the Ingalls family, you’ll find that Albert was a total invention, a fictional addition created by Michael Landon to shake up the script. The true story of the only Ingalls son is much shorter, quieter, and honestly, far more heartbreaking.  Meet Charles Frederick Ingalls. Charles Frederick "Freddie" Ingalls In reality, Charles and Caroline Ingalls had one biological son named Charles Frederick "Freddie" Ingalls, born in late 1875 while the family was living in Walnut Grove. For a father like Pa, who spent his life breaking ground and building homesteads, having a son to carry on the family name was a massive deal. Even a young Laura was reportedly thrilled to finally have a baby brother in a house full of sisters. Unfortuna...

It’s been a few years since I last posted here. Sorry about that, Laura Ingalls Wilder fans. Life simply got in the way. Between starting a new job and the general busyness of the last few seasons, my Little House research ended up on the back burner. But even while I was away, revisiting this blog was never far from my mind. I’ve spent a lot of my hiatus thinking about the real history of the Ingalls and Wilder families especially the parts that didn’t always make it into the books or the classic 1970s TV show. Curiosity About the Real-Life Ingalls and Wilder Families When I started rooting around in this blog again, I noticed something through the comments and search queries: people are still deeply curious about the real-life history of these families. Over the years, I’ve lent my copy of Pioneer Girl to many family members and friends. Most of them are genuinely surprised to learn just how much the TV version differed from reality. Now, I’m not a Laura Ingalls Wilder scholar by ...

Got a spare $439K lying around? Rose Wilder Lane 's former home in Danbury, CT is up for sale! The private 2 acre property located at 23 King Street was built in 1879 and boasts 3,505 square feet. We know Rose liked a bigger home so we can see how this rambling home appealed to her. There's an eat in kitchen, 4 bedrooms, 3 1/2 baths, balcony, French doors, mud room, study (of course!), formal dining room, pantry, and sun room, and the patio is just lovely. Oh, and it's located near a golf course. If you click through to the realtor you'll see the decor is definitely very "old & country." Not that there's anything wrong with that. If you're a writer like Rose was, you're sure to be inspired by this lovely home. If you're a Laura Ingalls Wilder buff like I am, you might wish you could have this property if only for its historic significance. Interested? The Rose Wilder Lane home is listed with Southeby's, you can check it...