Road Trip: Wilder Homestead receives Literary Landmark status

I've lived in New York State most of my life, but it's only been in the last few months that I discovered we are home to the Wilder Homestead - childhood home of Almanzo Wilder, whose experiences there formed the basis of Farmer Boy, by Laura Ingalls Wilder.*

Even cooler, the place is just about to receive Literary Landmark status.

I don't know about you, but a literary landmark is EXACTLY the kind of thing I'm looking to visit on a nice Saturday. Especially if it's already in Northern New York.**

Here's the scoop, copied shamelessly from my inbox:

Wilder Homestead Receives National Recognition

          The New York Library Association (NYLA), in conjunction with the Empire State Center for the Book, has secured Literary Landmark™ status for the Wilder Homestead in Burke (Franklin County).  United for Libraries, a division of the American Library Association, accepted NYLA’s application for the Wilder Homestead to be included in their program that highlights historic literary sites around the USA.  The Homestead, the setting for Laura Ingalls Wilder’s FarmerBoy (1933), is where Laura’s husband Almanzo grew up from 1857 until his family moved to a farm in Minnesota in 1875. 

          The Wilder Homestead plans to have the dedication of their Literary Landmark™ plaque on Saturday, July 11.  A bronze plaque will be unveiled during the ceremony in conjunction with the Homestead’s Children’s Art Event (10 a.m. until 4 p.m.)  There will be art activities for children and 19th century games, along with an awards ceremony for the children’s art show which begins Saturday, July 4.  The public is invited to hear William Anderson, award-winning author and historian, speak about the Ingalls/Wilder family homes.  Museum admission applies to this event.  On Facebook.com, “like” the Almanzo Wilder Farm to receive additional details about the dedication ceremony plans as they are finalized.

Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867 – 1957) first wrote about her childhood growing up on the American frontier in Little House in the Big Woods (1932).  Farmer Boy was the second title in her “Little House” series.  The farmhouse is the only “Little House” venue still on its original property.  The Homestead includes the original Wilder home with period furnishings and an 1860s-era one-room schoolhouse which was added in 2013.  The barns at the farm were rebuilt on the sites of the original ones according to blueprints Almanzo recreated from memory.  There is a small museum gift shop and the Trout River, where Almanzo fished, is across the road.  The Wilder Homestead has been named to both the New York State Register of Historic Places and the National Register of Historic Places.

*Nope, never read it. I'm coming to understand that I will never, ever be able to catch up on all the children's literature I am supposed to have read, but this one just bumped itself closer to the top of my list by being set in the North Country.

**And is also a 19th century farm. Once on my way to St. Louis, I impulsively made a detour to see the Lincoln Log Cabin Historic Site. Will brake for historic farms.