A horse-drawn wagon carrying a couple and a young girl pulled up the fog-shrouded driveway of Laura and Almanzo Wilder's farmstead recently, marking the 100th anniversary of the family's move to Missouri.
The Wilders left De Smet, S.D., in July 1894, demoralized by four years of crop-withering drought, the death of a newborn son and illness. It took them 45 days to complete the 650-mile trip by covered wagon to Mansfield, where they operated a 200-acre dairy, fruit and poultry farm.Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867-1957) wrote the popular "Little House" children's book series at the farm, where she lived for 60 years. The farm, located about 60 miles east of Springfield, is now a museum that attracts about 30,000 visitors annually.
As part of the anniversary celebrations, Mansfield fourth-graders dressed in pioneer clothes sang songs and a bronze plaque erected by Missouri school children was unveiled at the Wilder home.