Ingalls-Wilder-Lane

01/12/2026

Free Event(s)
Date: SAT. FEB. 7th
Time: 11AM-5PM
Location(s): see attached flyer

01/09/2026

Let's start with a History Tidbit to start off January.
It was January of 1878 when the Ingalls family moved back to Walnut Grove, Minnesota. They had been residing in Burr Oak, Iowa working at the Masters Hotel. They had decided that this location was not where they wanted to have permanent residence, so they moved back to Minnesota to think on their next venture.

01/08/2026

Stay tuned, more to follow…

01/05/2026

01/05/2026

This Thursday, 1/8, join author and researcher Cindy Wilson for a virtual program on Charles Wood Irish, an Iowa City native whose railroad survey helped shape the American West. 🚂 During this “lunch hour webinar” Wilson will present an Irish’s incredible American tale:

📍As a surveyor for the Chicago & North Western Railroad, Irish was tasked with mapping a route from Tracy, Minnesota, to Deadwood in Dakota Territory. The job demanded endurance, precision, and diplomacy, including negotiating access across the Great Sioux Reservation.

📸 Using historic photographs, original documents, and modern drone imagery, Wilson brings Irish’s story to life, from his family background to key moments from the railroad survey. The program concludes with a compelling research journey to locate the campsite where Irish and his crew were caught in the October 1880 blizzard, ushering in the infamous Hard Winter of 1880–81.

🔗 Learn more and sign up to watch/listen for FREE at https://history.iowa.gov/events/iowa-history-101-iowa-citys-charles-wood-irish-and-dakota-territory-railroad-survey-1879-81

(FREE Webinar) Iowa History 101: Charles Wood Irish & the Dakota Territory Railroad Survey

01/03/2026

🎂HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ELIZA JANE! --- There was a time, not too many decades ago, when Little House fans didn't really know when Eliza Jane's birthday was (just like there are Little House fans today -- like me -- who don't know what year Almanzo Wilder was born, but that's a whole nother can of worms).

Many sources still give January 1, 1850, as the date of Eliza Jane’s birth. That's because all anyone had to go on was the 1900 census, which recorded her birth as “January 1850” because only the month and year was asked. As the 1st was the first possible day her birth might have been, that's what started appearing in print.

Thanks to the fact that Eliza Jane got her knickers in a twist when her homestead claim final proof was questioned and possibly up for rejection, she wrote lengthy letters explaining to the good people in Washington, D.C. exactly why she'd been away from her homestead way longer than was allowed by law (she had) but they should give her a patent anyway (they did).

In one of the letters, Eliza Jane just happened to mention that she had “worked out of doors 5 hours on the 3rd day of January 1884…” (when the weather was quite severe) and she “remembered the day for it was [her] birthday.”

📍 l-i-n-k-s:

ELIZA JANE WILDER
http://www.pioneergirl.com/blog/archives/11406

CLAIM FILE LETTERS TRANSCRIPTION
http://www.pioneergirl.com/homestead_letters_ejwilder.pdf

01/03/2026

12/30/2025

12/24/2025

12/24/2025

Commonly known as "The House That Pa Built", this was the final home of Charles "Pa" and Caroline "Ma" Ingalls, mother and father of Laura Ingalls Wilder. After years of moving from state to state and often living in rather rustic conditions, Caroline persuaded Charles to sell the homestead outside of town and move into the town of De Smet, South Dakota and live in a more permanent residence and with better educational opportunities for the younger daughters. Charles began work on this house in 1887 and completed the work in 1889. Both Charles and Caroline Ingalls lived the remainder of their life in this house located at 210 Third Street, De Smet, South Dakota. Not only did "Ma" and "Pa" live here but also three daughters: Mary (after returning from the School for the Blind in Iowa), Grace and Carrie. Grace was married in the parlor of the house in 1901. Laura never lived in this house as she had married Almanzo Wilder in 1885, two years before the house was built.

The Ingalls family moved to De Smet in 1879; first living in town and then on a homestead claim just outside of town. Laura and Almanzo Wilder left De Smet in the summer of 1894 and traveled to Mansfield, Missouri where they settled and lived the remainder of the lives. The rest of the Ingalls family continued to live in De Smet where Charles "Pa" died in 1902 and Caroline "Ma" died in 1924. Charles, Caroline and daughters Mary, Grace and Carrie are all buried in the De Smet Cemetery.

Four of the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder are set in locations in and around De Smet, South Dakota: By The Shores of Silver Lake; The Long Winter; Little Town on the Prairie; and These Happy Golden Years.

Numerous Laura Ingalls Wilder related photos including her birthplace, the homes where she wrote the Little House book series, the graves of Laura Ingalls Wilder and Almanzo Wilder, Charles "Pa" Ingalls, Caroline "Ma" Ingalls, and Rose Wilder Lane can be viewed here:
http://mygenealogyhound.com/vintage-postcards/Laura-Ingalls-Wilder-historic-photos-vintage-postcards-and-images.ht

12/24/2025

Researchers please note that the Hoover Library Reading Room closing at 1:00 p.m. on December 31st and remain closed through January 1, 2026.