Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Home & Museum
I have been a huge “Little House on the Prairie” fan ever since I was a little kid. I grew up reading the books, watching the TV show, and pretending I was Laura Ingalls by running around in our hay field with my own bonnet. As I got older, I was more inspired by the fact that Laura Ingalls was a real person and her books are true stories. I think this is probably where my love of autobiographies came from.
It has always been on my bucket list to visit the Ingalls home(s). So when we moved from California to North Carolina I knew making a pit stop to visit the Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Home & Museum in Missouri was a must do!
Quick facts:
- The Rocky Ridge Farm white farmhouse remains as it was in 1957.
- The Wilder’s arrived in Mansfield from South Dakota on August 30, 1894.
- The Wilder’s bought the forty-acre farm with a 1 bedroom log cabin on the property. They built onto the house one room at a time.
- It took 17 years to finish all the home additions.
- The Little House books were written by hand at both homes on Rocky Ridge Farm.
- Rose Wilder had the Rock House built with modern conveniences for her parents as Christmas gift when she returned home in 1928.
- Laura wrote the first four Little House books while living in the Rock House at age 65.
- Laura and Almanzo lived in the Rock House until 1936 when they returned to their beloved Farm House where they spent the rest of their days.
It is located in a small town. The Rocky Ridge Farm property contains two of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s houses: the Farm House and the Rock House. The Farm House is the one Almanzo built for Laura after they moved from South Dakota to Missouri as a married couple. Laura was only 4’11” in height so everything in the house was custom built for her size. The kitchen counters, stove, etc. are all lower than you would see in a typical house.
During our visit in summer 2015, they were doing construction on a new bigger museum (which I hope to visit one day). While we were there there was a small museum and gift shop on the property by the Farm House. The Museum displayed clothes, books, quilts, belongings, etc. owned by Laura Ingalls Wilder. The gift shop had a wide variety of memorabilia items to choose from. We got a couple of teacup replicas of the same blue and white China dish pattern Laura owned and some other small trinkets.
The grave sites of Laura Ingalls Wilder, Almanzo Wilder, and their daughter Rose Wilder Lane are also located in the local town cemetery of Mansfield, MO. We drove by on our way out of town to visit.
Since our visit, they have added the new and bigger museum, restored the Wilder family walking trail (which was commonly used as a walking path between both houses), and a vegetable garden (which honors Laura’s passion for gardening and depicts a 19th century garden).
Note:
During the time of our visit they did not allow you to take photos inside of the homes in order to help preserve the old and delicate items. Hence why I don’t have more photos.
The Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Home & Museum is located at 3060 Highway A, Mansfield, Missouri 65704. You can learn more about the hours, info, events, etc. at their website here.
If you’re making your way through Missouri I definitely recommend making this a pit stop along the way. You will not be disappointed!
