Grow a Piece of Little House History
The Wilder farmhouse at Rocky Ridge Farm — home of the orchard Laura wrote about.
Before Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote the Little House books, she and Almanzo raised an orchard. At Rocky Ridge Farm in Mansfield, Missouri, the home where every one of her books was written, a thousand young Stark Bro’s apple trees helped lift the Wilder family to prosperity.
As a new generation falls in love with Laura’s story all over again, we’ve gathered the heirloom varieties of her era: time-tested trees and plants you can grow in your own backyard, guaranteed for a full year.
1816
Stark Bro’s Nurseries founded in Louisiana, Missouri.
1894
The Wilders buy Rocky Ridge Farm, planted with 1,000 Stark Bro’s apple trees.
1912
Almanzo shares his orchard methods in a farm journal.
1932
Laura publishes the first Little House book, written at Rocky Ridge.
2026
Little House returns to the screen for a new generation.
Today
A new generation plants heirloom orchards of their own.
The Wilder-Era Heirloom Apple Collection
We went back to Laura’s orchard
Filmed at Rocky Ridge Farm with the Laura Ingalls Wilder Home & Museum. The farm’s original deed, still on file at the Hartville courthouse, records the Wilders’ orchard purchase from Stark Bro’s Nurseries.
Watch as we plant a new apple tree at Rocky Ridge, following Almanzo’s own instructions from 1912.
Heirloom Fruit Trees for the Homestead
Berry Plants for a Homestead Garden
When Laura and Almanzo found Rocky Ridge Farm, they were excited to learn it came with a thousand young apple trees, every one of them from Stark Bro’s.
Mansfield, Missouri - where every Little House book was written
The Orchard That Raised a Family
The Wilders knew hardship. Readers remember the family chasing wild hogs from the young trees, and spending a whole night in the orchard beating back a forest fire with wetted burlap sacks.
Almanzo never came home from town with an empty wagon. Manure from the livery stable or wood ash from the stave mill always came back for the trees. He grew the garden between the rows and let the quail keep the insects down.
When the orchard came into bearing, its crop carried the family above the poverty line, and gave Laura the security to sit down, years later, and write
At Stark Bro's, We're Committed to Your Success
The same nursery that grew the Wilders’ orchard ships to your door today — with step-by-step instructions and a 1-year Survival Guarantee. Read more about our warranty policy.
At Stark Bro's, We're Committed to Your Success
The same nursery that grew the Wilders’ orchard ships to your door today — with step-by-step instructions and a 1-year Survival Guarantee. Read more about our warranty policy.
At Stark Bro's, We're Committed to Your Success
The same nursery that grew the Wilders’ orchard ships to your door today, with step-by-step instructions and a 1-year Survival Guarantee. Read more about our warranty policy.