Walnut Grove Church and School

Walnut Grove Church and School was – as the name implies – the church and school building in Walnut Grove, and is one of the major settings in the TV series Little House On the Prairie.

In addition to serving its dual purposes as a school building and a church, the building serves as a town meeting hall, courthouse, and a makeshift hospital and infirmary.

History

Walnut Grove Church and School was one of the earliest buildings in Walnut Grove, opening not long after the town's founding by Lars Hanson, owner of the town's mill and freight running service. A small baseball field is located directly outside the school building, where many competitions take place both during the school day and on Sundays after church. The church originally had no bell tower, but the community – after fierce debate over its donation to the community – eventually adds one. (Episode 111: The Voice of Tinker Jones) Once the bell is installed, the clanging can be heard for miles around, as a signal for church, a new school day or – sometimes – a warning. A piano, which is not seen in early episodes, is later added.

An unknown number of teachers and pastors had served the community in its early years. When Little House debuted, the school teacher was Eva Beadle, and the pastor was Rev. Robert Alden, both whom had served in their respective capacities for several years prior to Charles Ingalls and his family settling in Walnut Grove.

Walnut Grovce Church

Rev. Alden was the pastor of Walnut Grove Church throughout the entire run of the series. As Walnut Grove Church is the lone church in Hero Township, most of its residents are members of the church, including the Ingalls, Oleson and Garvey families, plus Isaiah Edwards, Dr. Hiram Baker, Mr. Hanson and – late in the series' run – the Wilder (after Laura Ingalls Wilder had married Almanzo) and Carter families.

Among the weddings to have taken place at Walnut Grove Church were Mr. Edwards and Grace Snider (Episode 208: Remember Me (Part 2)) Rev. Alden and Anna Craig (Episode 606: The Preacher Takes a Wife) and Willie Oleson and Rachel Brown (Episode 921: May I Have This Dance?).

While a source and symbol of stability in Walnut Grove, the church was not immune to crises that threatened its future:

• When Walnut Grove faces a severe economic crisis and most of Hero Township's families – including the Ingallses, Garveys and Olesons – move from Walnut Grove, Walnut Grove Church suspends services, with Rev. Alden providing individual ministry needs to the few residents who remained, along with preaching in other nearby communities. (Episode 422: I'll Be Waving As You Drive Away (Part 2)) The church resumes services several months later when the economic crisis passes and residents, including Little House's three main families and many other newcomers, return to Walnut Grove. (Episode 506: There's No Place Like Home (Part 2))
• About a year and a half later, Walnut Grove Church's future was again threatened when a fire-and-brimstone-style preacher and self-proclaimed faith healer began hosting tent revivals and later – at Mrs. Oleson's invitation – services in Walnut Grove, at the same time as Rev. Alden's services. Attendance drops to a bare minimum, and Rev. Alden considers leaving Hero Township altogether. However, the church's future was restored when Charles Ingalls and several others expose the faith healer as a liar and charlatan, and Rev. Alden decides to stay, knowing that what someone tried to tear apart made the congregation stronger. (Episode 610: The Faith Healer)

Walnut Grove School

The school had several teachers during the course of the series' run:

• Seasons 1-4: Eva Beadle remained at the school until shortly after she married Adam Simms and gave birth to a son, Matthew. During the aforementioned economic crisis and with the departure of Mrs. Beadle-Simms, the school is closed for several months, forcing families who remained in Hero Township to either go to the next nearest school or be educated at home. (Episode 422: I'll Be Waving As You Drive Away (Part 2))
• Season 5: Alice Garvey, who became teacher after the series' then-three main families (Ingallses, Olesons and Garveys) returned to Walnut Grove and the school is reopened. (Episode 506: There's No Place Like Home (Part 2))
• Season 6: Eliza Jane Wilder, when she and younger brother, Almonzo, move to Hero Township. She succeeds Alice, who had taken a job at the Harriet Oleson School for the Blind. Early in Eliza Jane's tenure, both Laura and Nellie Oleson graduate from the school.
• Seasons 7-8: Laura Ingalls Wilder, who late in Season 6 had earned her teaching certificate. During this time, she becomes a mother, she and Almonzo welcoming a daughter, Rose, into the world late in Season 8.
• Season 9 and TV movies: Etta Plum, who serves as the last teacher of the school, until it closes at the end of "The Last Farewell." During this time, Michele Pierson (nee Belinda Stevens), who was attending college, serves as a student teacher. Willie Oleson graduates from the school near the end of Season 9; his future wife, Rachel Brown, who attended another nearby school but came to Walnut Grove on occasion, finishes her graduation requirements in Walnut Grove.

Caroline Ingalls, who had a teaching certificate, was a substitute teacher at the school on a number of occasions, including "School Mom" and "Stone Soup." When Miss Beadle is relieved of her duties when she is declared being unable to handle behavior problems caused by the older students), she is replaced by a disciplinarian-style teacher who motivates through intimidation, fear and physical abuse. When the replacement teacher's tactics are eventually exposed and he is forced out, Miss Beadle agrees to return, with the school board agreeing to request to give her more support in the classroom. (Episode 217: Troublemaker)

A few students are known to have died while a student at Walnut Grove School, always leaving their classmates in mourning. These students include, but are not limited to, Ellen Taylor (Episode 403: My Ellen; accidental drowning), Sylvia Webb (Episode 718: Sylvia (Part 2); from injuries suffered from a fall while trying to escape a masked man who was attempting to rape her) and Gideon Hale (Episode 818: Days of Sunshine, Days of Shadow (Part 2); per the series' unofficial bible, from injuries suffered during the Great Tornado of 1886).

Both the church and school are the center for many school plays and concerts, bazaars, parties, graduations, regional academic competitions and other activities related to their respective functions.

Other uses

The primary other use of the Walnut Grove Church and School building was as a courthouse, as Walnut Grove did not have its own courthouse. (In fact, in the rare event residents needed an attorney or law enforcement services, they went outside the community.) Instances where criminal and civic proceedings happened in Walnut Grove included:

• When a local farmer, Judd Larrabee, is accused of arson when a barn owned by Jonathan Garvey burns down, in the midst of a bitter feud between the two men. ("Episode 520: Barn Burner)
• When a circus owner petitions the court to regain custody of a mute boy he was using as a circus performer and feature attraction, and Mr. Edwards, to whom the boy fled to escape abuse, was disputing the petition. (Episode 907: The Wild Boy (Part 2).

During emergencies, the church building saw use as a crisis center, since Walnut Grove did not have its own hospital or infirmary. (The Blind School and, later, Nellie's Restaurant and Hotel would also serve these purposes.) Some instances included:

• When a typhus outbreak strikes Walnut Grove, and with its source is unknown, the ill need to be quarantined until they recover and the source determined. An investigation reveals that rat-infested cornmeal led to the rash of illnesses, and the outbreak is soon contained. (Episode 118: Plague)
• When a sudden blizzard strikes on Christmas eve and the rural students are feared to have become lost in the fast-developing storm, the church is set up as a crisis and reunion center, warming shelter and nursing station (for those who had suffered frostbite and other weather-related injuries). (Episode 311: Blizzard)

The building also serves as an unofficial town hall, where town council meetings take place.

Fate

In 1890, when the townspeople of Walnut Grove blew up the town's buildings, in an effort to stop a corrupt land baron from taking over the town and the land on which they were located, Walnut Grove Church and School was one of the very few buildings they did not destroy.