Trail Of The Unexpected: House-proud on the prairies of Kansas

In 1900, one L Frank Baum wrote a book about a farmhouse (with a girl inside) being picked up by a tornado and deposited in a strange land. His book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was popular, but when MGM dropped the "wonderful" and made it into a film in 1939, tourism to the State of Kansas – for that had been the location of Dorothy's farm – received a boost that continues to this day.

But I hadn't come to Kansas in search of a rainbow, a wizard, or even any friends of Dorothy. No, my interest was sparked by a television series that originally ran in the US between 1974 and 1983.

Published in 1935, Little House on the Prairie was the best known of several books (known collectively as the "Little House series") by Laura Ingalls Wilder. She grew up in a corner of Kansas during the late 19th century and her books were largely autobiographical. Sometimes confused with The Waltons (the one with John Boy, which was set in rural Virginia during the 1930-40s),the Little House on the Prairie was set in Kansas in the last decades of the 19th century. I'd come to see the site of the original little house.

Virtually all of the episodes were filmed on the Big Sky Ranch in California's Simi Valley. But for a more authentic experience you have to head into the southeast of the State of Kansas. Take Highway 75 between Caney and Independence, and, when you're about halfway, look for a green and white turn-off to the east, signposted "Historical Site". Follow this for just under a mile and you'll come to the actual site of the Ingalls house. After studying the descriptions in Ingalls Wilder's books, a replica of the original log house was constructed in 1977 by local volunteers.

Two original buildings – the one-room Sunny Side schoolhouse and the Wayside post office – were moved here to augment the experience. There's an old wagon and, this being the US, a gift shop. The state of Kansas has (quite rightly) designated this as a historic site, but trouble may be afoot: out of the blue Little House on the Prairie was back in the US headlines in mid-October when the makers of the television series sued the company operating this Kansas site over alleged trademark infringements. "Nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky," as they say.

Back in Kansas, much of the countryside around the site remains open and undeveloped. I was only sorry that I hadn't timed my visit to coincide with the second Saturday in June for the "Prairie Days" festival, with bluegrass music, a watermelon-eating contest, re-enactments of Little House on the Prairie stories, and much more.

Independence, 13 miles away, is the closest town of any significant size, and in its Mount Hope Cemetery you can visit the grave of George A Tann (known as "Dr Tan" in the book), who treated the Ingalls family for "fever'n'ague" (as malaria was known back then); he died in 1909, of natural causes.

Covering over 82,000 square miles, Kansas is still a huge wheat-producing state. Not far to the west of the Little House are the Flint Hills, which cover acres of undulating, virtually treeless prairie. This is the largest remaining segment of true tallgrass prairie in the United States. For aeons, buffalo roamed what is now Kansas, but by the early 1870s they had been hunted to near extinction. Through programmes at several of the state's ranches and wildlife refuges, buffalo numbers are slowly rising again. All those rolling grasslands, abundant cattle and buffalo can't help but make you think about cowboys, and Kansas is well worth considering for a riding holiday.

Talking of westerns, the star of the Little House on the Prairie television series was Michael Landon, who played Laura's father, Charles Ingalls. Prior to that, Landon had starred as Little Joe Cartwright in another hugely popular and long-running show, Bonanza – but that is another story.

Getting There

No airline offers direct flights between the UK and Kansas, there are several options if you change planes, such as US Airways from Gatwick via Philadelphia to Kansas City or Delta from Manchester or Heathrow to Wichita via Atlanta.

Staying there

Ranch America (0845 277 3306; ranchamerica.co.uk) offers a week at Sun Rock Ranch (in the Flint Hills just over 60 miles from Independence in the Flint Hills) from £1,275 including full board, most ranch activities, gratuities, ranch transfers and return flights from London (valid for departures from April 2009).

Visiting there

Ingalls House (001 620 289 4238; littlehouseontheprairie.com). Open 10am-5pm (Sundays from 1pm), from mid March to October, admission free.

STATE LINES: Kansas

Population: 2.5 million
Area: 10 times the size of Wales
Capital: Topeka
Date in Union: 29 January 1861
Flower: Sunflower
Motto: "To the stars through difficulties"
Nickname: Sunflower State