Walnut Grove, Minn., is a storied community
Located in the southwest corner of Redwood County, Minn., Walnut Grove may be home to 900 residents, but it is synonymous with a family that lived in the area over 150 years ago: the family of pioneer author Laura Ingalls Wilder.
While no one will find Nellie Oleson eating candy by the handful in her father’s mercantile, or Miss Beadle teaching class in a one-room schoolhouse, visitors to Walnut Grove will find the small-town values, natural heritage and history associated with the famous book series and iconic television show.
On the banks of Plum Creek
Charles Ingalls was always on the lookout for his next opportunity. After living in the “big woods” of Pepin, Wis., and attempting to homestead a tract of land on the Kansas prairie, Charles moved his wife Caroline and their three daughters, Mary, Laura and Carrie, to Minnesota in 1874. There, they settled into a dugout home along the banks of Plum Creek – 1.5 miles north of Walnut Grove.
“It was the funniest little house that we moved into, not much more room than in the wagon,” Wilder recalled in her autobiography, “Pioneer Girl.”
“It was dug in the side of the creek bank near the top. Willows were laid over the top of the hole and grass sods laid on them … the grass grew over the roof tall and thick, and it looked just like the rest of the creek bank.”
The Ingalls family ingratiated themselves into the Walnut Grove community. Laura attended school for the first time alongside her sister Mary, and attended services at the local congregational church, led by the Rev. Edwin Alden. However, after two years of failed crops, Charles’ moved his family – which now included an infant son named Charles Fredrick – to Burr Oak, Iowa, where he took a job managing a hotel. The baby boy died enroute.
In 1877, Charles’ wanderlust led him to move his family, including youngest daughter Grace Pearl, back to Walnut Grove. The town had grown considerably in the two years that they had been away and for the next two years, the Ingalls family lived comfortably on their homestead and tree claim. The hotelier for whom Charles had worked in Iowa also had an establishment in Walnut Grove, and Charles worked there in the winter. He also rented a room in town for a butcher shop and served as a trustee for the church.
In 1879, Mary Ingalls became ill, suffered a stroke and lost her eyesight. To help care for his eldest daughter, Charles took a position as a bookkeeper, company-store keeper and timekeeper for a group of men working on a railroad expansion near Lake Benton, Minn. Charles sold the family’s land to a local man. They left Walnut Grove that summer, ultimately settling in De Smet, Dakota Territory – now located in South Dakota.
A boon for ‘bonnetheads’
Fans of the Little House book series or hit television show are affectionately known affectionately as “bonnetheads,” and many of them say a visit to the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum is a great opportunity to learn more about the real history of the Ingalls family during their time in Walnut Grove.
Established in 1974, the museum’s collections are housed in a series of buildings that include an 1898 depot, a little red schoolhouse, an early settler home and the 1878 Masters Store Hall that Charles Ingalls had a hand in constructing. Visitors can see a quilt owned by Laura and her daughter, Rose, a Bible from the church that the Ingalls family attended and historic letters, photos and articles of the late 19th century.
“Whether you are a fan of the books, the TV show or Laura’s real life, you will find plenty of stuff to learn and do at Walnut Grove’s Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum,” said Sarah Utoff in a Facebook review.
“It really feels like being immersed in her writings,” said Tamara Walberg of Champlin, Minn. “They have done an excellent job in tying the writings to actual history.”
Don’t forget to take part in the Wilder Pageant and Family Festival, which are held each July. The pageant features a live performance each night in which Laura reflects on her life in Walnut Grove and on the banks of Plum Creek, while the Family Festival offers food, fun and festivities for all ages as well as a Laura and Nellie look-alike contest.
Museum curator Palmer Hittesdorf said he is always touched by the enthusiasm and love that Little House fans bring when they visit Walnut Grove. He said it is an honor to share Laura’s story and the rich pioneer history of the community with generations of readers and TV viewers.
“Seeing families connect over the books and the TV show reminds us why preserving this legacy matters so much,” he said. “We are proud to be part of the story that continues to inspire so many.”
Sources:
No2: It’s not Oleson’s Mercantile, but Masters Store and Hall offers visitors a chance to see inside the community hub and dry goods store that Laura and her family visited when they lived in Walnut Grove. (Photo provided by the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum) No3: The interior of a room is depicted in the onion-domed house on the grounds of the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum in Walnut Grove, Minn. The space shows how the pioneers lived and the kinds of household items they might have at their disposal. (Photo provided by the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum) 
No4: While the original one-room schoolhouse building is now a private residence, this re-creation offers a sense of the space in which Laura and her sisters learned some of their earliest lessons. (Photo provided by the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum) No1: Pictured is Grandma’s house at the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum complex in Walnut Grove, Minn. Although the Ingalls family only lived in the area for three years, they are synonymous with the town thanks in part to the popular “Little House on the Prairie” television series of the 1970s and 1980s. (Photo provided by the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum)
