Our Second Laura Ingalls Wilder Road Trip: to Rocky Ridge

Come with us on a trip to Rocky Ridge. Ten years ago, we headed off for our first Laura Ingalls Wilder road trip. When my kids were only 13, 9, 7, and 3, I loaded them all up and took off across the prairie (and the forest) to seek out the sites full of so much history of one of America’s literature greats—Laura Ingalls Wilder. We had read her books many times over,  listened to Cherry Jones read her words for hours, and enjoyed the show—even though it was quite different from Laura’s real stories.

We went on a loop starting in the Twin Cities, MN to Pepin, WI and the Big Woods, the Maple Grove, MN and we ate plums on the shores of Plum Creek, and finally to DeSmet, SD and walked the wide open prairie, just like Laura.

But one spot has been missing from our Laura adventures was visiting her last home—Rocky Ridge in Mansfield, MO. That is, until recently when we found ourselves only an hour from the site for a conference. There was no way we were going to be that close and not visit.

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The bittersweet part about this trip was that my boys weren’t with us. I couldn’t help but remember our first Laura trip when my kids were much younger—I miss it. But I am still so grateful to have been able to take the trip with my little ladies.

So consider this my much-later postlude to my earlier post on our first trip—everything we saw and why Laura is a writer every child should know.

Mansfield, Sleepy and Green

Driving through Mansfield felt much like pulling into my own small hometown. It was sleepy and a little run down. I wonder how different it looked when Laura and Almanzo were living there. Their farm is on the edge of town, surrounded by lush, green trees and rolling hills. Beautifully quaint farms surround their old farmstead and I also wondered how it would feel to be neighbors with Rocky Ridge.

This site definitely has some of the most prized possessions. Pa’s fiddle is there! Laura’s desk, just how she left it. Her apron hanging in the kitchen. In fact, the houses are largely untouched from when she died, which I loved.

The Farmhouse on Rocky Ridge

After getting our tickets in the main building, we walked up the hill to the farmhouse. This is the home that Laura and Almanzo built when they arrived in Missouri. Their daughter, Rose, was just a little girl of 8 and they had had a series of difficult events happen in their lives—the loss of a baby, serious illness, failed crops, a devastating fire taking their home.

Missouri was meant to be a fresh start and a reprieve from the harsh weather of South Dakota. Even though he was permanently injured from illness, Almanzo was incredibly capable. He built a small house for his family and they lived in it while he grew the farm around them.

They had thousands of fruit trees and hundreds of acres of gorgeous farmland. Laura kept chickens too.

After several years of living in the tiny home, they eventually picked the entire home up, set it on logs, and rolled it to the site where they would continue to build and extend upon it. This is the home we can tour today.

The tour is self-guided, but a docent is there to answer questions and their shared love for Laura is very obvious. Talking with them felt like meeting old friends.

Walking through that house was a little surreal to me. The other Laura sites are also incredible, but this one felt like she had been there so…recently.

The kitchen countertops were sized just right for Half-Pint’s petite height. The blue, English china was on the shelves. The wall calendar was set to the same month Laura passed—time standing still.

Her desk was just as she left it—papers scattered here and there, a piece of Plexiglass holding it all in place.

My favorite part of the house was the living room area with the build-in library. It was a small, closed-in area on the side of the living room, lined with shelves and full of their books. The entire room was just so cozy—I loved it.

The Rock House

After taking some photos on the front porch of the farmhouse, the girls and I headed down the walking path to the Rock House. This house was a gift from Rose to her parents upon their retirement. She wanted them to have a home with more modern conveniences. She loved her parents dearly and wanted them to be comfortable.

Laura and Almanzo moved into the Rock House and Rose moved into the farmhouse, but her work and travel took her away a lot. Though Laura and Almanzo loved the gift, they never truly felt at home in the Rock House. They lived there 7 years and moved back into the farmhouse and renters moved into the Rock House.

It was a quick drive from the farmhouse to the Rock House, but we preferred the ¾ mile walk through the woods. We walked by mulberry trees—which they used to press into wine, wildflowers, butterflies flitting about. We rounded a bend and saw the top of the Rock House come into view and it was truly the most charming house. Like something from a fairy tale.

Rose had inquired upon the talents of an architect to plan the details of the home and were based on plans from Sears, Robuck and Company.

I don’t normally disagree with Laura, but the charm of the Rock House was such that you’d have to pry me out of that house if I had owned it. Every corner was just so sweetly detailed, from the brick patio in the front with the French doors that opened out from the living room, to the tiled bathroom, to the lead hinged windows. The girls and I walked around drooling over it all.

The thing about each home though—they exuded peace. It reminded me of the famous quote Laura said, “Home is the nicest word there is.”

I believe she embraced those words. Her homes both had a peacefulness about them that can’t be created with just going to Target and buying the next new thing. It takes time and collecting. It takes really living in your home. I believe no matter where you live, you can curate it to exude this peace, it just takes a love of being there.

The Museum

Finally, we walked back to the main building where the ticket booth, the museum, and the gift shop were housed. The museum was really well done. Again, Pa’s fiddle was there!! I think a little tear may have snuck out at that sight of it. So many memories tied to that instrument.

The girls and I gawked over Rose’s fine clothing, Mary’s impeccable needlepoint and quilting, and Laura’s pretty wedding dishes. We could have walked around the museum for hours!

Not to go home empty-handed, we filled our basket in the gift shop with locally-made preserves, stick candies, a print to frame and hang near our bookshelves, and even a list of all the books Laura had in her home library.

Our Laura field trip was wonderful. I loved every minute. I highly recommend getting lost in some Americana lore and get your kids excited about it too. Technology is rapidly changing our landscape and the greats of our beloved country should be remembered and passed on to our children—and I’m remembering Laura. I hope you will too.

When we do these fun excursions, I love to support the local establishments and we had a lovely Italian dinner  at Vaccaro’s Pizza & Pasta on our way out of Mansfield. It was delicious and friendly and a perfect way to end our day.

If you are near Mansfield, I highly recommend visiting Laura’s homes–it’s a piece of American history everyone should see.

You Also Might Like:

• Our Favorite Laura Ingalls Wilder Resources
• Learning American History Through Literature
• Our (First) Laura Ingalls Wilder Field Trip