Springfield, MO

Wilson Creek Civil War Battlefield

Laura Ingalls Wilder Home

I have always loved the Little House books written by Laura Ingalls Wilder, and have visited DeSmet SD and wanted to see where she and Almanzo moved when they left South Dakota.   The first touring we did was to travel to Mansfield, MO, about 50 miles east of Springfield to her Rocky Ridge Farm where she and Almanzo moved in 1894.   She lived there until her death in the 1950's.   It was at the farm at the age of 65 that she started writing her Little House books, at the urging of her daughter, Rose Wilder Lane.   Rose was also an author, and also holds the title as the oldest war correspondent as she was in Viet Nam as a war correspondent at the age of 70.   We visited the farm home and the "rock house" given them by Rose.   The farm also has a nice museum which includes clippings and belongings of Laura, Almanzo, and Rose.   The piece that I personally loved seeing was Pa's fiddle, which Laura talked about so often in the Little House books.

Since Jack and I are history buffs, we couldn't be 12 miles from the Wilson Creek Battlefield and not go to see it!    Saturday was a beautiful fall day, so we packed a picnic lunch to take along, visited the visitor's center to see the introductory film and get a map of the battlefield.   The Civil War in Missouri started with this battle in 1861.   The house at Wilson Creek belonged to the Ray family and it is the original structure.   Mr. Ray watched the battle from his front porch, while his wife and nine children huddled in their cellar with a slave and her four children and a mail carrier.   The Ray house was a Confederate field hospital for the battle.   Union General Nathaniel Lyon's body was brought here at the fighting's end.   The only major fighting on this side of Wilson's Creek was in the cornfield.  
By the Civil War's end, Missouri had seen so many battles and skirmishes that it ranked as the third most fought-over state in the nation!

Our final sightseeing excursion was to the Fabulous Caves.   This cave has the ONLY Jeep-driven tour in the US.   In fact, there are only three in the world (or so they say).   It was an interesting tour, and for once I didn't have to squeeze through narrow crevices, crawl on my hands and knees, or worry about tripping over unforseen rocks!   I rode in a trailer, pulled by the Jeep as I enjoyed the beautiful formations within the cave.  It's interesting to note that this cave was initially explored by 10 women of a local garden club!  

We delayed our departure by one day, so that we could attend the Grand Opening of Springfield's HyVee super market!   For those of you who know us well, know we go out of our way to shop and eat at HyVee.   It was fun to be there on it's opening day.   I do have to admit I was envious that it was in Springfield, and not in North Carolina~!!!!    From here we started our 500 mile drive to Lexington, KY.