We found a fascinating surprise under the circa 1900 lath and plaster in the Masters Store and Hall building! Andy, our carpenter, discovered dimensional 1” x 4” car siding under the lath and plaster on the ground floor. Realizing that this was original interior siding...

Winter has slowed progress at the Store and Hall building. Andy Foster, our wonderful contractor, has committed to removing the plaster and lath on all of the interior walls before spring. This will allow us to determine exactly what is original and what has been added...

When we took possession of the Masters Store building the roof was in serious need of repair. Andy Foster (yes, there is a relation), a local contractor, was hired to reroof the store. The overhangs of the roof were ins terrible shape. The fascia was missing in places...

For years the Darlow Foster house in Walnut Grove was referred to as the “Masters Hotel.” The building sat across the street from the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum and sported a yard sign to that effect. The connection to Laura Ingalls Wilder was known primarily from the...

Pioneer Girl, Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Previously Unpublished Autobiography

By Joel McKinney, Manager of the Collection, Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum, Walnut Grove, MN

Pioneer Girl was written by an almost unknown 63-year-old woman in 1930, in response, largely, to having l...