Ingalls Homestead!

Thursday, September 5th -- We didn't waste any time in getting going and set out to explore the property!

Close to the RV sites, you can see the corner section of land which was the original Land Claim where the Ingalls family lived in a shanty while they were building their more permanent house. This section of land has been donated to the Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Society, and there is a marker there with more information about the Ingalls family, along with the 4 Cottonwood trees that Mr. Ingalls planted in honor of his 4 girls while he was living there.

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Between the monument area and the RV sites in another small piece of property that gives examples of a shanty house, and a sod house. So small... even smaller than where we live now! LOL. And for 6 people? Good lord! I don't know how they managed!

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On another corner of the property is an old schoolhouse. This particular schoolhouse doesn't have anything to do with Laura, but it is a very good example of a schoolhouse similar to what she would have attended and later taught at. 

You can take the wagon over to the schoolhouse and back. It leaves periodically from the stable area.

But we chose to walk thru the prairie fields, where there are paths, and a another exhibit to see about prairie grasses native to the area. 

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At the opposite corner of the property is a very old church, built in the early 1900s, which was moved to this property several years ago.

Right in front of the RV sites is the timeline building, which has displays about the various places Laura Ingalls Wilder lived and the books that go along with each time period. Lots of great information in here!

Down over the hill, next to the crop areas, is the stables. They have some display exhibits in the barn. And this is where the wagon takes off from when it is headed to the school. They also have a miniature pony grazing in this area, that just runs lose. And they have an adult miniature horse that does pony cart rides. And also a larger horse that you can ride while they walk you around the area. Kids seem to really love this area.

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Next to the stables is the home Mr. Ingalls built to satisfy his land claim. It started off small, and had a few additions made to it over time. 

Next to the house, they have an heirloom garden with many different vegetables growing.

And next to the garden, in a sod roofed small barn, there are 4 chickens and Bright, the baby cow. Bright is so precious! I spent some time with her whenever I could!

The whole homestead was very educational. We had a great time learning about land claims, and the different types of buildings, and all the animals! 

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