Travel Missouri: Laura Ingalls Wilder's Rocky Ridge Farm

Maybe I have just been living under a rock all these years and I am just now learning what everyone else has always known.

I watched Little House on the Prairie everyday after school. I even read and wrote reports on her books and it still didn't dawn on me that what I read truly happened.

Better to come to the party late than not at all I guess.

Laura Ingalls was born on February 7, 1867, in Pepin, Wisconsin. She moved with her parents to various places across the Midwest before finally settling in De Smet, South Dakota. It's here that she met and wed Almanzo Wilder.

In 1894 after several catastrophes, including their home being destroyed by fire, the Wilders moved to Mansfield, Missouri. With $100 that they had saved and hidden during the six-week journey from South Dakota to Missouri, they purchased what would be Rocky Ridge Farm.

Also included in the tour is Laura and Almanzo's rock house. Rose built this for her aging parents to give them a home with the modern conveniences of the day.

The Rock House, as Laura termed it, is located just down the road from Rocky Ridge Farm. Although beautiful, Laura and Almanzo longed for their little farmhouse and lived only eight years here before they moved back "home". 

The Rock House has only recently been added to the tour. The Wilders sold it shortly after they moved out, and it has changed hands several times through the years. The Laura Ingalls Wilder Home Association was finally able to purchase it, and after seven years of restoration, it's now included in the price of admission.

This home doesn't have as much furnishings as the Rocky Ridge house and doesn't looked lived in at all. It looks as if they are still in the process of returning it to its original state. It's still beautiful and worth the small drive from the farm to see it.

Perhaps the most interesting bit of information I learned while touring this house is the fact that it was a Sears house kit. I've seen pictures of kit homes, but I've never actually been inside one. I wish they were still sold. The Rock House is beautiful, functional, and surprisingly modern.

The tour guide told us there were several outbuildings that used to be located in the pasture below the house. Almanzo still wanted to do farm work, even though he was 75 years old, and so he took up goats.

The story is that everyday he would walk to the pen, milk the goats, carry the milk bucket in one hand, his cane in the other, and walk up the hill to the springhouse where the milk would be stored.

When I visited, there was a groundhog that was down by the creek. I'm from Florida, and the only groundhog I've ever seen is Punxsutawney Phil on television. I wanted a picture, so down the hill I went.

All I can say is that Almanzo must have been in good shape for 75. I was out of breath climbing that hill back up to the house and I was carrying only a camera!

Next to the Rocky Ridge Farm house is a museum dedicated to Laura and her daughter.

This museum houses artifacts that are over 150 years old.

It starts out by giving the history of Laura's parents and has several items and furniture that belonged to them.

There are pictures of each member of Laura's family. From Ma and Pa, Mary, Carrie, and Grace, to other family members you haven't been introduced to, you can see what Laura's family was like.

In a special protected case in the middle of the museum is Pa's fiddle. On special occasions the fiddle is actually taken out and played. It's a wonder to be able to hear the same fiddle that Laura listened to in places such as Plum Creek and Walnut Grove.

On display are letters to and from various family members. You can read about Laura's sister, Mary, (who never married) in a letter from Grace to Laura about Mary's final days. So sad and poignant.

Laura's daughter, Rose, was also a author. There are many of Rose's personal belongings on display, as well as souvenirs from her travels around the world.

One thought that struck me while visiting this museum is how personal some of the items are in the museum: a glove, shoes, clothing, little notes tucked in books. These were items owned, worn, and used by everyday people just like you and I. What would it be like to know that 150 years after you wore something that 300,000 people a year were paying money to see it!

My aunt has been to their Christmas celebrations, and I think that it might be the best time to visit. The house tours are free of charge and they are decorated as how a home would be for Christmas at the turn of the 20th century. The refreshments served are actually made from Laura's own recipe collection.

Also in September the farm hosts what is called "Wilder Days". Every year a different character from the television show speaks and is available for autographs. It is during this event that Pa's fiddle is played for everyone to enjoy.

Ava Drug Company - Visit an old-fashioned soda fountain where ice cream is still a nickel!

Tour Mills of the Ozarks - A complete guide to mills in the south central Missouri Ozark region.