The Home of Almanzo Wilder

Happy Monday, everyone! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! Fall has officially hit the Adirondacks, so I will be putting my hiking boots on and getting some great shots to share with you in the weeks to come! We had an absolutely gorgeous weekend, here. Warm, sunny weather, and the leaves are just starting to turn. Beautiful! This weekend, we went to the Almanzo Wilder Homestead, just about 25 minutes away from our house. This year marks Almanzo's 150th birthday, and they had a celebration this weekend. He was raised there, with his family, until he was 18. Then they all moved west. This is the home they lived in, as described in the Farmer Boy book, written by Laura Ingalls Wilder. How about a "virtual tour?" Follow me!

This is the historical plaque in front of the house, by the road. This is the house he grew up in! We visited it as a kid, right after the society bought the house, and before any renovations were done to it. It was just an old, run down, deserted house 25 years ago. They have done fabulous work renovating the house, and making sure every detail is right, and to the period.
This maple stands in the front yard, just off to the side of the house. The society has done research into how old this tree possibly is. After much comparison to trees recently cut in a cemetary in Malone, they say it is probably about 188 years old. BUT one can never be sure of ring thickness, etc. so it could be as little as 138 years, and as much as 246 years old. Pretty cool! Peter and Cody stood in front so you all could see how big it was. Peter is 6 feet tall!

Here is a photo of one of the many buggies, and cutters they have on display. Unfortunately, I could not take any photos inside the buildings, or you would be able to see more!!

Here is a shot of me and Cody in front of the buggy. Peter did well taking photos yesterday!

This is Cody, in a coffin at the Civil War Encampment that they had at the homestead. He has a bit of a morbid streak. A bit disturbing for a Mom to take a pic of her kid in a coffin...good grief. He said he wished he had his vampire teeth in...oh, to be 11 again! The carpenter/undertaker thought it was hilarious, and said tons of people had been doing the same thing!

Because it was a special celebration, Dean Butler, who played Almanzo Wilder for 5 years on the TV series, "Little House on the Prairie" was at the homestead all weekend! While he was there, he brought a crew with him to film a documentary! It is going to be released straight to DVD and be for sale at the homestead gift shop. Pretty cool! We stood in the autograph line, and he signed my 1971 copy of Farmer Boy, and he signed a photo for Cody. Peter got to take this picture of us! So weird to see someone you watch on TV standing next to you....fun!! I know some of you know but many of you probably don't, but I happen to be a bit obsessed with any and all things "Little House on the Prairie". I know most of the show by heart, but have them on in the background most days in the house. Cody really got into them this summer and it was fun to watch him experience the shows for the first time. Now we are starting to read the books over again. The show really didn't follow the books very well, but they are both priceless, in their own way!!

Have a great day, everyone! **Keri