Mary Power: A Quiet Life Beyond the Prairie
Mary Power was one of Laura Ingalls’ dearest friends during her teenage years in De Smet, South Dakota. Readers of the Little House series will recognize her from Little Town on the Prairie and These Happy Golden Years, where she appears often as Laura’s companion at school, socials, and church events. Though her presence in the books is warm and familiar, the real Mary Power went on to live a quiet life that took her far from the prairie.
A Familiar Face in De Smet
Mary Power lived just a short distance from the Ingalls family home, and the two girls quickly became close. They shared many milestones together—school days, Sunday evenings at church, buggy rides, and the excitement of growing up on the frontier. Their friendship is lovingly portrayed in the later Little House books, where Mary is often shown as sensible, cheerful, and loyal.
A Life Beyond the Books
Despite the closeness of their teenage years, Laura and Mary eventually lost touch. When Laura later wrote a letter to her readers, she mentioned that Mary had passed away young. That turned out to be untrue—Mary lived a much longer life than Laura realized.
Mary married Ed Sanford, a banker in De Smet, in 1890 and the couple settled just across the street from Ma and Pa Ingalls’ home. Though they never had children, they seemed to enjoy a steady and comfortable life together.
A New Chapter Out West
In the early 1900s, Mary and Ed made a big move to Bellingham, Washington, far from the small town life of De Smet. This relocation likely explains why Laura lost contact with her old friend—communication across such distances wasn’t easy in those days, and life often moved forward without a chance to look back.
Mary died in 1929.
Remembering Mary Power
Though she may not have made it into the public eye or the history books in a big way, Mary Power’s role in Laura’s life—and in the Little House series—remains important. She represents the lasting bonds of friendship formed during those formative prairie years. And while Laura’s readers once believed Mary’s story had ended too soon, history quietly reveals that she lived a long and full life, even if it unfolded away from the spotlight.
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