Independence, Kansas, is mentioned in Little House on the Prairie as being the nearest town to the Ingalls’ cabin in Indian Territory. The historical site is located 13 miles southwest of Independence.
Contact Information:
Little House on the Prairie, Inc.
Box 110
Independence, KS 67301
(620) 289-4238
Little House on the Prairie — the official historic site
www.littlehouseontheprairiemuseum.com
Lawsuit — Information on the lawsuit filed against the Little House on the Prairie historic site (link coming soon)
Laura Ingalls Wilder, Frontier Girl — information on Kansas’ Wilder-related sites
liwfrontiergirl.com/independence.html
Independence Visitors Bureau — information on other things to do in and around the Independence area
http://www.indkschamber.org/things_to_do_in_independence.htm
Kansas Travel — more information about the Little House on the Prairie site
http://www.kansastravel.org/littlehouseontheprairie.htm
Lodging — Planning a trip to Independence and need a place to stay? Click here for lodging information in the Independence area (provided by Google Maps)
Restaurants — Restaurant information in the Pepin area (provided by Google Maps)
Comments8
Little House on the Prairie Museum in Independence, KS has a new website in the works. You can find us at http://www.littlehouseontheprairiemuseum.com
Also, to get the latest news and updates, become a fan on Facebook. Look for Little House on the Prairie Museum.
We are closed for the season and will re-open on April 1, 2011 for the new season with a new website, gift shop and management.
If you need info between now and our opening in the Spring please feel free to contact me directly at lhopmuseumks@gmail.com
Thanks,
Michelle Martin, LHOP Museum
Historical Advisor/Living Historian
My daughter loves reading the Little House on the Prairie books and I am planning to take her to Mansfield Missouri and Independence Kansas to visit. Are both places open to visit March 21st thru 26th. Also are there any additional places to visit on pioneer history. She also loves reading history books especially on pioneers. We also may go to Hutchinson Kansas and visit the Space museum and salt mines. Do you know anything about those places. I would be greatly for any information that you could provide. Thank-you very much and I look forward to hearing from you.
In the book it states Charles said they were settling 40 miles from Independence. It took him 4 days to get supplies from town and 4 days to return. Historical site 13 miles from Independence……hard to believe that to be true.
Edith
First off someone had a TERRIBLE sense of distance. Either Pa told Laura wrong or she was no judge of distances. I really think it was the second. There are several places in the books where distances are just plain wrong.
In Independence they have a theory that it was a farther distance by trail before they could travel closer to how the crow flies now with modern roads, and so that maybe it was roughly 40 miles round trip.
I thought Wendy McClure’s guess in THE WILDER LIFE was the most likely one: that Pa told Laura FOURTEEN and Laura heard/remembered FORTY.
Really, Laura had a terrific memory as far as I’m concerned. How many of us recall exactly what our fathers told us?
I also agree with the twisty trail idea and the thought that trips we consider inconsequential today were a big deal then. I know that even in the 1920s and 1930s, our local paper reported people visiting relatives in nearby towns (7-15 miles away) as though they were expeditions!
I have a question related to Independence. From lots of different sources (some with questionable facts) I’ve read quite a bit about the Bender serial killers. Some time ago, I somehow happened upon the story and realized the Benders and Ingalls could have briefly crossed paths, so I began to look up possibilities, including Laura’s own words in The Saturday Evening Post. While most experts conclude that the date the Ingalls departed and the date the Benders began operating their “inn” were near misses, it is possible that, for a few weeks (in early 1871) the recollections Laura had of Kate standing in the doorway could have been genuine. My question is this: there was a movie being shot in Cowtown, Kansas, about the Benders. Has anyone seen anything on the current status of the movie? Link here: http://www.kansas.com/2013/07/10/2882445/bender-movie-to-film-at-old-cowtown.html
Actually, here’s an even better “Bender” story, different angle
Lol, forgot to paste link. Here it is: http://www.kansas.com/2013/08/24/2962349/the-bloody-benders-140-year-old.html
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