For those who grew up reading the stories of Laura Ingalls Wilder, the town of Malone, New York is remembered as the childhood home of Almanzo Wilder.

The book, “Farmer Boy”, describes the weekly travel into town for Church services, the occasional trips for supplies, and the adventure of the young Almanzo finding a wallet and returning it to its owner at a store in the town of Malone.

Malone is in the northernmost region of New York State, almost at the St. Lawrence River.

(The town was ransacked by British troops from Canada during the War of 1812.)

It is surprising that the Wilder family prospered there; it is not the best agricultural region.

(The family did resettle in Minnesota when Almanzo was older.)

This hand-colored photograph was made about 1920, some sixty years after the time Almanzo lived there.

The population of the area grew from about 6500 in 1860 to more than 10,000 in 1920.

Nevertheless, those readers who were fond of “Farmer Boy” may find the postcard illustration a happy reminder of the industrious child.

The postcard was not mailed.