#18 - Lindbergh Historic Site in Little Falls

We hit upon the Lindbergh Historic Site in Little Falls on their family day. That meant the 4-year-old got to spend over an hour on painting and craft projects while the baby slept. Daddy put up his feet, and mamma toured the Lindbergh home. That's a perfect outing!

I'm not sure if it is always like this, but the tour of the home contained lots of information about Charles as a boy and included hands-on activities. I didn't bring my 4-year-old on it because she was so bored during the 40-minute tour at the Northwest Fur Post in Pine City a few weeks earlier. But I think she would have really liked the tour at the Lindbergh House.

We enjoyed a picnic lunch on the grounds before heading over to the museum. You can see the state park across the road. I'd like to return and check out their cart-in campsites.

Isn't this a  great building? This is the view of the museum from the Mississippi River.

The museum is cut into the hill, and one moves downward as you go through it.

Although he didn't live in Minnesota again after leaving for flight school, he recalled it fondly.

A hands-on flight simulator

Charles and his wife, Anne. She was the daughter of an ambassador. The two were both well-educated, and from important families.

Charles and Anne in later years

I've always been haunted by this kidnapping. Apparently, kidnappings for ransom during this time period were very common. The kids was rarely killed.

How exciting to see a photo of Charles in his later years with Elmer Anderson. In addition to being a former Minnesota governor, Elmer Anderson was the owner of ECM Publishers, a newspaper group I have written for that includes the Isanti County News.

The state park is located across the road and is on part of the former Lindbergh farm. The Lindbergh family donated the property to the state a few years after he crossed the Atlantic, knowing they would never be able to live there again because of the publicity. Treasure-seekers destroyed much of the house and grounds looking. It has been a historic site since the 1970s.

As man of the house, Charles at age 5 was carrying around huge blocks of ice like this. He arranged a pulley system

The place started off as a summer home. When Charles and his mother left in the fall to rejoin his father in Washington, D.C., Charles needed a place to hide his special stuff, including his two rifles. He pulled out a few of the wainscoting boards and had the perfect hiding space. Another fun thing of note in the kitchen is the bullet hole in the door to the hallway, left there by Charles. He was embarrassed because of where the bullet ended up; he was aiming for lower!