MovieChat Forums > Little House on the Prairie (1974) Discussion > Why exactly did the townspeople move to ...

Why exactly did the townspeople move to Winoka for 5 episodes...

posted 2 years ago by xanthas (3215)
7 replies | jump to latest

...and why did it seem like years and years had gone by when they returned? I never understood this.

I don't get how Walnut grove went bankrupt that they all moved to Winoka in season 5 and then they all moved back, cleaned up the town and then it was like the town was back to normal. I never got that..

[–] xanthas (3215) 2 years ago

I am just wondering if I missed them explaining why that happened. Was it widespread crop failure? A drought?

And at the beginning of season 5 make it seem like Winoka is a long, long journey from Walnut Grove, whereas in later episodes the Ingalls are traveling back and forth between the towns on a regular basis.

[–] myystk (368) 2 years ago

I think Winoka was like a 3 week journey. Winoka was in South Dakota. there was a dispute with the railroads.

[–] wanton87 (934) 2 years ago

I don’t recall the exact reason stated in the Winoka episodes. However, I do have a theory on the basis of these episodes. I believe that these episodes are based on the real life move of the Ingalls, when they left Walnut Grove, and moved to Burr Oak Iowa. There are a lot of similarities to the little house Winoka episodes. This is not mentioned in the children’s books, but the real Ingalls family lived in Walnut Grove twice. I think this was also about the same time that baby Freddie died. They only lived there a year before moving back to Walnut Grove.

In 1876, when Laura was nine years old, the Ingalls family left Walnut Grove, Minnesota, after suffering through two years of grasshopper plagues. They traveled to Burr Oak, Iowa, to help manage the Masters Hotel, owned by their friend, William Steadman, also from Walnut Grove. Burr Oak is often referred to as “The Missing Link” in the Little House book series.

https://www.lauraingallswilder.us/

[–] xanthas (3215) 2 years ago

Very interesting. Thanks for the information!

[–] PaladinNJ (20310) 4 months ago

In real life Charles had trouble settling down. The family actually moved quite a bit.

[–] wanton87 (934) 4 months ago

True. Chuck probably would have been better off having remained a bachelor.

John Muir was another one with the wandering foot. He was rarely with his family at his home in Martinez CA, and was often traipsing about in places such as Yosemite.