Little House on the Prairie
Founder's Day
TV Flash files “Founder's Day” as the last listed hour of season 1 — Little House on the Prairie (1974–1983) on NBC, season 1, episode 23, aired 1975-05-07, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S01E23: listed hour 23 of 200 in the Little House on the Prairie guide, last listed hour of season 1. It aired 1975-05-07 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “To See the World” (S01E22). Next is “The Richest Man in Walnut Grove” (S02E01).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
With a Founder's Day event approaching for Walnut Grove, everyone prepares for the celebration, complete with games and heated competition. Everyone in the Ingalls family ends up participating, most notably Charles, who meets an unlikely nemesis in the log-splitting competition. Fun Fact! This episode opens with Jack at the creek getting himself a drink of water and then running back towards the house. This video clip is the same opening scene, music and everything, as the opening of the episode "Country Girls". Did you know? This episode celebrates the anniversary of the founding of Walnut Grove. The historic town of Walnut Grove was surveyed in 1874 and officially incorporated in 1879.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Founder's Day sit in the Little House on the Prairie guide?
S01E23 is listed hour 23 of 200 — last listed hour of season 1, season 1 episode 23.
When did Little House on the Prairie S01E23 air?
Founder's Day aired 1975-05-07 and is listed at 60 minutes.
Do I need the Wilder books first?
No. The series adapts the Little House novels into NBC family-hour drama. The books are cousins, not a required syllabus.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Michael Landon's Charles Ingalls dispenses pioneer virtue while Melissa Gilbert's Laura becomes the eyes of Walnut Grove. Laura Ingalls Wilder's books turned into NBC family-hour hardship, disaster, and comfort without sneering. Frontier sincerity as a genre: tears included, freeze-frame sweetness not required.
Walnut Grove, 1974: NBC wants a western that will not die of gunfighter myth, and Michael Landon bottles pioneer virtue until the living room weeps on schedule. Little House on the Prairie (1974–1983) drew from Laura Ingalls Wilder's books and ran nine seasons, some two hundred hours, with Landon producing, starring, and directing enough of the hour to make sincerity a brand. Melissa Gilbert's Laura is the eyes of a generation; Karen Grassle's Caroline and Melissa Sue Anderson's Mary complete the homestead.…
Filed against
- Michael Landon as Charles Ingalls
Michael Landon’s Little Joe Cartwright is the matinee face of Bonanza — the youngest son as Sunday-night color, the through-line who remained when the Ponderosa roster broke. NBC’s glossy family western treated the ranch like a parish;…
- Karen Grassle as Caroline Ingalls
Karen Grassle’s Caroline Ingalls kept Little House on the Prairie’s Walnut Grove human — Michael Landon’s Charles dispensing pioneer virtue, Melissa Gilbert’s Laura as the eyes of the books, NBC family-hour hardship, disaster, and comfort…
- Melissa Gilbert as Laura Ingalls
Melissa Gilbert’s Laura Ingalls became the eyes of Walnut Grove on Little House on the Prairie — Michael Landon’s pioneer virtue, NBC family-hour hardship, disaster, and comfort without sneering. Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books as 1970s…
- Melissa Sue Anderson as Mary Ingalls
Melissa Sue Anderson’s Mary Ingalls held the quieter half of Little House on the Prairie’s Walnut Grove — 1970s NBC family-hour hardship beside Melissa Gilbert’s Laura, Michael Landon’s pioneer virtue, Wilder sincerity without a sneer. TV…
- Lindsay Greenbush as Carrie Ingalls
Lindsay Greenbush wore the little-sister braids as Carrie Ingalls on Little House on the Prairie — Walnut Grove’s youngest weather, pioneer hardship without a sneer, NBC family-hour tears included free of charge. Michael Landon’s virtue,…
- Sidney Greenbush as Carrie Ingalls
Sidney Greenbush was Carrie Ingalls on Little House on the Prairie — the youngest eyes in Walnut Grove while Michael Landon dispensed pioneer virtue and Melissa Gilbert's Laura narrated the hardship. NBC family-hour tears included, free.…