Little House Went Out With a Bang!
Little House on the Prairie ended with an bang, in 1984. Literally, a bang! In the final episode (actually a movie) the residents of that beloved town, Walnut Grove, blow it up with dynamite - the whole town (except the church). One by one, each man blows up his building. What a sight! A surreal albeit bitter sweet end to a timeless series that is still on the air.
The Explosions
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Little House: The Last Farewell
Originally aired, on February 6, 1984, as a two-hour movie. When offered in syndication, it is shown as either a two-part episode or in its entirety.
Little House on the Prairie - Special Edition Movie Boxed Set (Look Back to Yesterday / Bless All the Dear Children / The Last Farewell)
Amazon Price: $31.49 (as of 12/19/2009)
How it all came about...
Why They Blew up Walnut grove
During Charles and Caroline's visit to Walnut Grove, in 1901, the residents of Walnut Grove learn that a railroad tycoon, Nathan Lassiter, actually holds deed to Hero Township.Apparently, when they claimed the land, it had not been legal since it was not deemed as homesteading land. Meanwhile, Mrs. Oleson is seriously ill and is in a hospital in Minneapolis. The residents ask Charles to contact an attorney, but despite their best efforts, the residents are unable to drive Mr. Lassiter away.
When they attempt to resist with force, Mr. Lassiter comes back with a detachment of Union troops who order everyone to leave. Though Mr. Lassiter demands the residents' instant evacuation, the soldiers allow the residents to remain until Easter Sunday.
In a fit of anger about the situation, Laura smashes out the windows of her boarding house. At the town meeting about the problem, Laura tells about breaking the windows and encourages others to do similar damage to their buildings, so Mr. Lassiter does not have it easy taking over their homes and businesses.
Another resident takes this plan a step further by offering a wagon full of dynamite meant for the mines. So, angered at the injustice done to them, the residents decide that they should send a (literally) explosive message to Mr. Lassiter that he can have the land, but not the town. They invite the leaders of nearby towns to see how they dealt with the problem, so Mr. Lassiter would not try to strong arm them as well.
The Last Farewell
This is a cut down edited fan video that highlights the last episode and shows the explosions.
Little House Related Sites
To meet your every Little House whim
- IMDB: Little House on the Prairie (1974)
- Little House on the Prairie on IMDb: Movies, TV, Celebs, and more...
- Wikipedia: Little House on the Prairie
- Little House on the Prairie was an American one-hour dramatic television program that aired on the NBC network from September 11, 1974 to March 21, 1983, bumping the long-running Adam-12 series to Tuesday nights. During the 1982-83 television season, with the departure of Michael Landon, the series was broadcast with the new title Little House: A New Beginning.
- Little House on the Prairie - Official Location
- Laura Ingalls Wilder - The official historical location of Little House on the Prairie
- The Little House on the Prairie
- You've always loved Little House on the Prairie, so do we!
- Little House Books
- Little House in the Big Woods Farmer Boy Little House on the Prairie On the Banks of Plum Creek Old Town in the Green Groves By the Shores of Silver Lake The Long Winter Little Town on the Prairie These Happy Golden Years The First
- Prairie Fans - Your complete guide for everything related to Little House On The Prairie.
- Prairie Fans is dedicated to honoring Laura Ingalls Wilder's legacy by bringing fans and researchers?around the globe information and news related to the books, the television shows, the movies, and the fans!
- Jump The Shark: Little House on the Prairie
- Pinpointing the moment the Little House jumped the shark.
Little House Guestbook
What do you think of this ending to the series?
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Reply
- Gary T Gary T Sep 6, 2009 @ 5:19 pm
- No seems to address the legal premise of this ending.
That lawyer they went to was an unimaginative putz, with no sense of original legal theory. Probably was bought off by Lassiter.
Someone was responsible for the townspeople believing the land was homesteading land, someone and the Bureau of Land Management. The townspeople could have sued the Bureau in claims for their misinformation.
Secondly, although Lassiter may have owned the the real property, the houses etc were not owned by him. The people could have literally moved their houses to another location.
Furthermore, a claim could be made that since Lassiter didn't assert any ownership rights for 20 years, he may have forfeited control rights, even if not ownership rights, meaning even if the people didn't own the property, he could not evict without cause, albeit permittedly charging them with rent.
Given some thought, I am sure other legal actions could have effected.
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- AnnieMcMahon AnnieMcMahon May 19, 2009 @ 3:01 pm
- My kids are now discovering the series, which used to be my favorite. I'm re-discovering it as well. Thanks for this wonderful lens!
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- WhitU4ever WhitU4ever Apr 28, 2009 @ 12:01 am
- My favorite... I admit that I have watched every episode possible at least twice!
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- GumboWriters123 GumboWriters123 Apr 24, 2009 @ 12:35 am
- I love the Little House
Great lens
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- kab kab Apr 23, 2009 @ 1:04 pm | in reply to Cari_Kay
- I LOVE Avonlea. I completely attribute the recent increase in the names Abigail and Olivia to that show.
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- Cari_Kay Cari_Kay Apr 23, 2009 @ 12:54 pm
- I've watched the series with the children. Because of subject matter, some episodes were skipped but we did see the final episode. Wonderful series. We're now watching Road to Avonlea which I recommend to anybody who loved the Little House series.
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- CeleryStalker CeleryStalker Apr 23, 2009 @ 12:54 pm
- I used to watch this show but didn't know about this either... neat! I hope it didn't help encourage other people vandalizing someone else's property though, today's economy sure is leading to a lot of people destroying their homes when they can't pay for it :(
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- tandemonimom tandemonimom Apr 23, 2009 @ 10:44 am
- Never knew about this episode! I agree with Evelyn but I tend to think of the books and the tv series as completely separate entities. One is one of the best book series ever written, and factual; the other is complete fiction but also enjoyable.
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- enslavedbyfaeries enslavedbyfaeries Apr 23, 2009 @ 10:39 am
- Are you kidding me? I had no idea that this was how the show ended and I watched it all the time as a kid. What an unbelievable and truly surprising ending. Totally awesome lens!!
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- BevsPaper BevsPaper Apr 22, 2009 @ 5:26 pm
- I loved Little House but did not remember the final episode. Great lens!
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- papawu papawu Apr 22, 2009 @ 12:12 pm
- I wasn't a big fan of the show when I was a kid. I did watch it on occasion, but definitely do not remember the ending. They blew up the town??!!! OMG.
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- Treasures-By-Brenda Treasures-By-Brenda Apr 22, 2009 @ 9:57 am
- I had no idea...and I watched Little House on the Prairie!
Nicely done lens;blessed by a Squid Angel!
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- Timewarp Timewarp Nov 2, 2008 @ 12:22 am
- The Star Wars vs. Walnut Grove clip is hilarious.
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- acautrell acautrell Nov 19, 2007 @ 9:57 am
- Great lens! I read all the Little House books as a child before I saw the Little House series (in reruns by then). I always wondered what Laura Ingalls Wilder would have thought about what they did to her life story. The final episode was sad and bizarre at the same time.
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- Evelyn_Saenz Evelyn_Saenz Oct 29, 2007 @ 4:17 am
- I love the Little House books but find that the TV series takes away from the original stories. At the very least I believe that one should read the books first in order to get a feel for the real characters, the history of the time, and the issues of the time.
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- dcabasada dcabasada Sep 5, 2007 @ 9:58 pm
- I love little house....I can watch it over and over and it never gets old to me. The best that was ever made
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- joanv334 joanv334 Jul 25, 2007 @ 5:17 pm
- I love Little House...enjoyed your lens! 5 stars
Star Wars vs. Walnut Grove
Public Reactions to the Watching the Explosions
Best of:
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- retweet | reply katwoman327
- Watching the Little House on the Prairie where they blow up the whole town. Going to sleep in my huge, fluffy bed tonight!! :)
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- retweet | reply Michelle31AXO
- I'm watching the very last episode of little house on the prairie...makes me so sad that they had to blow up walnut grove.
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- retweet | reply mitchm
- watching a little house on the prairie movie...they are blowing up the town of walnut grove. (via @youcanknowgod)
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