Friday, July 12, 2013

Laura Ingalls Wilder Home ~ Part 3

Is it too early for a tall glass of iced tea?  Not at my house.  Maybe you'd rather have coffee?  Have a seat and I'll pour you a glass or a cup and we'll revisit my trip to Mansfield, MO where Laura Ingalls Wilder lived for 60 years or so.  I have shown photos of her home and told a little bit about her life there in Part One here and in Part Two here.  If you missed them, you might want to check them out.

I'm still kicking myself because we didn't take time to find a place to stop and take photos of the many beautiful coneflowers we saw along the highway on the way to Mansfield.  The one above is in my garden and I recently bought another and planted.  I love these flowers, as you may have noticed!   Okay, now on to Laura's house...


After we toured the museum and Laura's house, we were then given directions for the short drive to Laura's other home that she lived in for 8 years.  As you can see by the sign above, Rose, the daughter of Laura and Almanzo, had a more modern home built for her parents.   Laura wrote articles for magazines and publications and sold her first book "Little House in the Big Woods" in 1932.  Rose was doing very well with her writing and made much more money than Laura did, according to the tour guide.  I was surprised to learn this, I had no idea that Rose was so successful. 


The stone house is beautiful, inside and out.  I really loved it and also the setting in among the trees.  Rose spent a good deal of money to make this house, that was built from a Sears home plan, look like an English cottage.  When she was through making changes, the cost of the house was double the original price.  There are many beautiful built ins, a modern kitchen and a tiled bathroom.  We only saw the five rooms on the main floor, but there's a couple of bedrooms upstairs and a basement where Laura did her laundry.  Photos were not allowed inside.


The house was built using local materials such as the field stone for the siding.  The floors were a beautiful pecan wood.  All of the furniture we saw had belonged to the Wilders including some chairs that Almanzo had made.  

Rose also had a small garage built for her parents and it was sided with the same stone as the house.  In addition to the garage, a brand new car was gifted to her parents, Laura and Almanzo, too.  I didn't get a photo of the garage because the tour was about to start and I had to hurriedly snap the shots of the house and the barn that was partially hidden in the trees.  If you missed seeing the barn, it is shown here.  

As you already know, Laura and Almanzo only lived in this house 8 years.  I asked the tour guide why they moved back to their other house and he told us that Laura said the other house was "home".  I imagine that I would have felt the same way.  Although the stone house isn't really all that large, it must have been quite grand in it's day.  However, there is just something about the other house that was more appealing, at least to me.  It had that homey, cozy cottage feel that I love.  
 
I feel like I should write "The End" now.  But, quite frankly, I didn't want this story to end.  I can't wait to go back and see the museum and homes again.  If you are ever in the Branson area, Mansfield is only about 90 minutes away.    

Until next time...

33 comments:

  1. I love the stone house, my favorite part of it is the front door. it is much bigger than it looked in the first photo, from the side... i am thinking it has the same sq feet as our house, which is all these old bones can take care of these days...

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  2. Yay, another coneflower lover! They are my all time favorite flower!!!

    I loved visiting the Wilder Home when we went there which is probably getting close to 10 years now. Maybe it's time to take another trip there. Thanks for sharing your trip with us all.

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  3. I have alwaysc adored the look of stone houses . I love the Laura Ingalls Wilder story.
    Thank you so much for sharing all this

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  4. I LOVE stone homes! Nice series Cheryl! Coneflowers are a favorite of mine too.

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  5. I would so love to see these homes, Cheryl. I missed part two, and am going to go back and read it now. Thanks for taking us on the trip!

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  6. Thank you so much for doing this series on the Wilder home. You've taken some beautiful pictures of both homes! I haven't been to the stone house. You've sure made me want to go! Have a nice weekend, Cheryl! Twyla

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  7. i wonder how rose felt about them moving back to the original farmhouse after she left for the city. i love the stone finish.

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  8. I want to see both the farmhouse and the stone house! Someday!

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  9. That stone house is a place I could live in...too bad no photos were allowed inside, but understand that many places have this policy. The coneflowers are striking, both this one, and those in the previous post. I used to have some in the front yard, but they never returned to rebloom.

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  10. I love that stone home! Beautiful... and I bet it is cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

    Rose was very good to her parents... wouldn't you love to have your Daughter be so sucessful that she had a home built for you?

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  11. I LOVE stone houses. This is charming to be sure. Thanks for sharing. Didn't know it was so close to Branson.

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  12. I had no idea that Rose even wrote! Well she is surely not as well known as Laura. The house is just charming! It really does look like an English Cottage! I am sorry this has come to an end!

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  13. I would love to visit there some day. Her books are some of my favorites and I love seeing historic old buildings. I've been to Branson a few times and didn't realize it was close by either! Great photos!

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  14. I wasn't even aware of Rose much less that she was more successful financially than her mother. Interesting.
    I love the stone house but can see why it wasn't home for Laura. Our homes are personal and can't really be picked out for us. I would think it must have hurt Rose a bit to have her lovely present rejected.

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  15. I have always been fascinated by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I am so glad youhave taken us along with you on your trip. It has been very interesting and enjoyable. Thank you ever so much.

    Susannah

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  16. I've always loved the "Little House" books. Thanks for showing us the homes at Mansfield MO.
    I live not far from where she lived on the banks of Plum Creek at Walnut Grove, MN. Each year for the last 36 years the town of Walnut Grove has put on a pageant depicting life there. It's all done with people from the area playing the parts of the Ingalls and Oleson families. They do a really wonderful job with the pageant.

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  17. Hi Cheryl Thank you for sharing the story over the 3 posts. very interesting and this stone house is wonderful in this post. Have a great weekend. Margaret

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  18. If I ever get to the Branson area, this will be on my list of "must sees". You did a great job with the tour and now my interest is peeked to get a peek inside these lovely places.
    My coneflowers are having their best year ever. I'm sure it is the result of all this rain.

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  19. Ahhhh.... I can see why you would hate to get to "the end" of this story. =) blessings ~ tanna

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  20. Love the story and the coneflowers.

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  21. Thanks so much for sharing all of this with us, Cheryl. I love reading your thoughts about the history. So many people just post photos with no explanation... Yours are GREAT.

    That type of field stone is popular around here --and is sold in the town of Crab Orchard (and that is why it is called Crab Orchard Stone around here).... I love it.

    Thanks.
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  22. Hi Cheryl~

    I have always loved the, "Little House" books and Laura! I think I will agree with Laura, I liked her white house much better! I didn't even realize that she had another one! What fun - thanks for sharing!

    Hugs,
    Barb

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  23. I'm so behind, but looking and reading all your posts I can tell you've had some good days and some bad. The pictures are all awesome!

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  24. So they had two houses - gee the stone one is pretty - but it doesn't look like hers.... sandie

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  25. The stone house is gorgeous,but it doesn't surprise me that Laura was more comfortable in the home she and Almanzo made together.
    I wonder if one can find Rose's books to read?

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  26. I always have a problem with homes of note not being lived in by a family. Something sad about that. We have a few of them here in our town..I have toured them and it's just an odd feeling.

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  27. what a great story cheryl and such a beautiful home!

    i just adore small, quaint homes with special qualities!

    have a happy sunday!!

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  28. I very much like the looks of this house. What a shame you were not allowed to take photos inside.

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  29. My granddaughter was Christened this weekend and I was busy all week preparing. I finally had a chance to catch up tonight and loved all your posts about the Laura and Almanzo's houses. I never knew their daughter Rose was such a successful writer! I really enjoyed your photos and commentary.

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  30. Thank you for taking us with you on your visits to Laura's homes. As much as I have read of Laura's life, I don't remember reading about this particular home. (Of course, that doesn't mean I haven't read it, just that I don't remember it.) I am fascinated that she and Almonzo returned to their farmhouse after Rose moved, leaving their brand new, more luxurious home. I love that!

    It's also fascinating that Rose made so much more money than Laura did, and yet Laura's writing was more lasting. Lots to think about here...

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  31. I would so love to see this...and I think with some house, you can just feel the living that has been done there...all the dreams it has held. I probably would have preferred the old home, too...but this one sure is beautiful.

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  32. How fitting that she wanted the cottage feel. I love that, actually, though that stone house is pretty gorgeous from the outside.

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  33. I love Laura Ingallas Wilder! Thanks for sharing your visit!

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