Kerr Christian Homeschool Academy

Rocky Ridge Farm, where Laura and Almanzo settled after living for a few years with his parents in Minnesota, moving to Florida and then back to De Smet. The museum complex includes a very nice visitors center (managed by a family that formerly lived in our area of TX) and museum, the Rocky Ridge Farmhouse and the Rock House.  Pictures were not allowed inside, so we enjoyed all the actually artifacts in person and you will have to go in person to see them too.  We saw Pa's fiddle and many of Laura's dresses and other household items.  All very interesting!!   The day we visited, the roof was being replaced on the white farm house.  This is the farmhouse that Laura and Almanzo built room by room.  The tour starts in the kitchen, the first room built and proceeds through each room added.  Because Laura and Almanzo "custom built" their house, the kitchen counters and upper cabinets were all built for short people!  A really likes the si...

This trip, we were able to throw a little genealogy into the mix.  Black Hawk County, Iowa, was where Noah Boyles and his wife Elzina Hackett lived before heading South into Texas.  The county seat, Waterloo, was only 2 hours from Burr Oak, and incidentally, only 45 minutes from Vinton, where Mary went to Blind School. Sunday morning found us ready early (because worship in Iowa starts 15 minutes later than we're use to and we normally have to leave 45 minutes early to get to Bible Class on time), so we took the time to visit the 2 family cemeteries before services. The Boyles and Hacketts and Lents lived in the Union Township area of Black Hawk County.  The 2 cemeteries were across the river from each other, still only about 10 minutes apart. In the Highland Cemetery, we found several Boyles, all of whom I believe are brothers, sisters and nieces/nephews of Noah.  To get to Highland Cemetery, we had to walk down the lane - probably 1/2 a mile.  Our shoes ...