houses

In Laura's Houses

Quizzes	Vocabulary	Children from the 1870's	Laura Ingalls Wilder	Learn about her houses
Why did Laura write her books	Learn about survival in the 1870's	Our Pioneer Families	More Laura Ingalls Sites	Bibliography

Laura’s houses were much different than the houses we have today. Laura lived in cabins for half of her life. For example, when she lived on the prairie she lived in a one roomed cabin. Laura’s family had to travel by wagon from one house to another. Laura lived a hard life.

In 1869 the Ingalles family moves to Montgomery County Kansas. They lived in a log cabin with 1 big room with 2 beds, cradle and a table. The inside of the cabin looked similar to the inside of the dugout they lived in Walnut Grove, Minnesota. The land the Ingalls lived on in this story belonged to the Native Americans.

The Ingalls moved to Pepin, Wisconsin in 1871. In Pepin they lived in a log cabin in the woods.The cabin had three rooms including the kitchen and the pantry. In the bedroom it only had one bed. The family moved in1874 to Walnut Grove Minnesota.

In 1874 Laura’s family moved to Walnut Grove, Minnesota. In Minnesota they lived in a dugout. A dugout is a house that is dug up from the ground. Inside the dugout there was a little room with two beds, table, and a little stove. They also had a bridge going across a brook.

In De Smet, South Dakota, Laura lived in a Surveyors house. A surveyor is a person who watches over something or someone. When the surveyor left to visit his family Pa had the opportunity to watch over the equipment and get paid extra. The surveyors’ house consists of six rooms. The two bedrooms the pantry, kitchen, storage room, and the lean to room. The girl’s room was upstairs on the second floor. Before Pa's opportunity came up the Ingalles lived in a shanty. The Surveyors house was the nicest house Laura had ever lived in.

After Laura was married, Pa built this house in De Smet.

Map of Laura's homes