Pioneer & Frontier Life

In American history, a pioneer is any of the people who migrated west to join in settling and developing new areas, especially those who settled any territory previously unsettled or undeveloped by European or American society. Though most of us think of pioneers strictly in terms of those who came to the "West", the earliest pioneers settled areas now considered the "East".

The first westward migrations occurred as representatives of the Thirteen Colonies sought to open up new lands for their respective colonies westward. Those whose original royal charters did not specify a western limit simply extended their lands directly and indefinitely westward. After the United States was formed upon the ratification of the U.S. Constitution, federal coordination and legislation began to give settlement a more unified approach.

As western settlement grew, common details emerged. Most pioneers traveled in wagon trains, groups of wagons containing settlers and their families. They banded together for common defense and to combine their efforts. Pioneers in the East often had to clear the land, owing to lush forests there. In the Midwest, the task was to bring agricultural fertility to the Great Plains.

The figure of the pioneer has played a large role in American culture and literature. While much cultural note is also given to other figures of a more transient nature, such as cowboys, trappers prospectors, miners, etc., the pioneer alone represents those who went into unexplored territory in search of a new life, looking to establish permanent settlement.

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American Barns and Covered Bridges
by Eric Sloane
1st edition from Wilfred Funk, Inc.
for 5th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
American Yesterday
by Eric Sloane
15th Printing from Funk & Wagnalls
for 5th-Adult
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$12.00 (1 in stock)
Benjamin Bonneville, Soldier-Explorer
from Julian Messner
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Boy with a Pack
by Stephen W. Meader, illustrated by Edward Shenton
from Harcourt, Brace & Company
for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Boys' Book of the West
by Amy Hogeboom
from Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Buffalo Bill's Great Wild West Show
Landmark #73
by Walter Havighurst, illustrated by John C. Wonsetler
from Random House
for 5th-8th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Children of the Wild West
by Russell Freedman
from Clarion Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$4.00 (3 in stock)
Children of the Wild West
by Russell Freedman
from Clarion Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Daniel Boone
by Daniel Boone
from Applewood Books
Biography for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$14.95 $10.00 (2 in stock)
Daniel Boone: The Opening of the Wilderness
Landmark #21
by John Mason Brown, illustrated by Lee J. Ames
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Davy Crockett
Landmark #57
by Stewart H. Holbrook, illustrated by Ernest Richardson
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Diary of an Early American Boy
by Eric Sloane
from Dover Publications
American History Reference for 4th-8th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$15.95 $8.50 (1 in stock)
Do's and Don'ts of Yesteryear
by Eric Sloane
from Dover Publications
for 5th-9th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$12.95
Do's and Don'ts of Yesteryear
by Eric Sloane
from Avon Books
for 5th-9th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
English Family in the American Wilderness
by Rebecca Burlend
from Western Conservatory of the Arts & Sciences
for 8th-Adult
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Famous Pioneers & Frontiersmen
What a Character! Notable Lives from History
by Marilyn Boyer
from Master Books
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First Four Years
Little House Series #9
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.49
First Four Years
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade
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$16.14
First Four Years (Pictorial Cover)
by Laura Ingalls Wilder; illustrated by Garth Williams
from Harper & Row
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First Four Years - Audio CD
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade
in Audio Books & Dramas (Location: CD-AUDIO)
Frontier Living
by Edwin Tunis
from Lyons Press
Historical Reference for 7th-10th grade
Newbery Honor Book 1962
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$19.95
Frontier Living
by Edwin Tunis
1st Edition from HarperCollins
Historical Reference for 7th-10th grade
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Gold Rush Dogs
by Claire Rudolf Murphy, Jane G. Haigh
from Alaska Northwest Books
for 4th-9th grade
in Gilded Age & Progressive Era (1877-1918) (Location: HISA-19GI)
Hattie Big Sky
by Kirby Larson
from Yearling
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in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.64
Hattie Big Sky
by Kirby Larson
from Delacorte Press
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Hattie Big Sky
by Kirby Larson
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Hattie Ever After
by Kirby Larson
from Yearling
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$11.05
Hero Tales from American History
by Theodore Roosevelt & Henry Cabot Lodge
Paperback, First Printing from Tolle Lege Press
Biography for 7th-10th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
Heroines of the Early West
Landmark #91
by Nancy Wilson Ross, illustrated by Paul Galdone
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
John James Audubon: Painting America's Wildlife
by Janet Stevenson, illustrated by Robert Boehmer
from Encyclopedia Britannica
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$12.00 (1 in stock)
Kit Carson and the Wild Frontier
Landmark #53
by Ralph Moody, illustrated by Stanley Galli
from Random House
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in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Kit Carson and the Wild Frontier
Landmark #53
by Ralph Moody
2005 printing from University of Nebraska
for 5th-8th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$7.50 (2 in stock)
Laura
by Donald Zochert
from Avon Books
for 7th grade-adult
in Little House Materials (Location: LIR-LHM)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Laura Ingalls Wilder Country
by William Anderson
from HarperCollins
Literature Resource for 4th-8th grade
in Little House Materials (Location: LIR-LHM)
$24.95
Laura Ingalls Wilder: A Biography
by William Anderson
from HarperTrophy
for 4th-10th grade
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$8.49
Little House - Hardcover Set
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
for 3rd-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$144.71
Little House - Softcover Boxed Set
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade
in Boxed Sets & Literature Packages (Location: FIC-BOX)
$67.92
Little House Coloring Book
Clr Csm from HarperCollins
for 4th-Adult
in Little House Materials (Location: LIR-LHM)
$16.14
Little Town on the Prairie
Little House Series #7
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade
1942 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.49
Little Town on the Prairie
Little House Series #7
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade
1942 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$16.99
Little Town on the Prairie
Little House Series #7
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade
1942 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$11.04
Little Town on the Prairie
Little House Series #7
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade
1942 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Little Town on the Prairie (Pictorial Cover)
Little House Series #7
by Laura Ingalls Wilder; illustrated by Garth Williams
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade
1942 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Little Town on the Prairie - Audio CD
Little House Series #7
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade
1942 Newbery Honor Book
in Audio Books & Dramas (Location: CD-AUDIO)
Log Cabin Cooking
by Barbara Swell
from Native Ground Music, Inc.
for 6th-12th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Long Winter
Little House Series #6
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade
1941 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.49
Long Winter
Little House Series #6
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade
1941 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$11.89
Marcus and Narcissa Whitman
by James Daugherty
from Viking Press
for 7th-10th grade
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Marcus Whitman: The Great Command
by Nard Jones
2nd edition from Binford & Mort Publishing
for 6th-12th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Museum of Early American Tools
by Eric Sloane
from Dover Publications
for 5th-8th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$11.95
Narcissa and Marcus Whitman
Heroes of God
by Anne West Williams
from Association Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Old Yeller
by Fred Gipson
from HarperCollins
Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
1957 Newbery Honor Book
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$8.49
Old Yeller
by Fred Gipson
from Scholastic Inc.
Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
1957 Newbery Honor Book
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
On to Oregon!
by Honore Morrow
from William Morrow & Company
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
One Big Open Sky
by Lesa Cline-Ransome
from Holiday House
for 6th-Adult
2025 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$16.14
One Big Open Sky
by Lesa Cline-Ransome
from Holiday House
for 6th-Adult
2025 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.64
Oregon & Applegate Trail Diary of Welborn Beeson in 1853
by Bert Webber
for 4th-8th grade
in Oregon Trail (Location: HISA-19OR)
Oregon Trail
by Ted Henson
from Instructional Fair
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
Oregon Trail
by Leonard Everett Fisher
from Holiday House
for 5th-Adult
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Oregon Trail
by Francis Parkman Jr., illustrated by Thomas Hart Benton
from Garden City Books
for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Oregon Trail
by Francis Parkman Jr., illustrated by N.C. Wyeth
from Little, Brown & Company
for 7th-Adult
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Oregon Trail
by Francis Parkman Jr., illustrated by James Daugherty
from Holt, Rinehart and Winston
for 7th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Oregon Trail Diary of Rev. Edward Evans Parrish in 1844
by Rev. Edward Evans Parrish
for 8th-Adult
in Oregon Trail (Location: HISA-19OR)
Oregon Trail, Yesterday and Today
from Caxton Press
for 6th-Adult
in Oregon Trail (Location: HISA-19OR)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Our Vanishing Landscape
by Eric Sloan
from Dover Publications
for 4th-8th grade
in Cultural History (Location: HISMC-CUL)
$5.50 (1 in stock)
Outlaws of the Pacific Northwest
by Bill Gulick
from Caxton Press
for 7th-Adult
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
Outrageous Women of the American Frontier
Outrageous Women
by Mary Furbee
1st edition from Jossey-Bass
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Over the Applegate Trail to Oregon in 1846
by Anne Billeter, Bert Webber
for 8th-12th grade
in Oregon Trail (Location: HISA-19OR)
Overland Migrations
by David Lavender
from National Park Service Division of Publication
for 6th-10th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
Path to the Pacific
by Neta Lohnes Frazier
from Quarto Knows
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Patty Reed's Doll
by Rachel K. Laurgaard
from Tomato Enterprises
Historical fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$5.60 (3 in stock)
Pony Express
Landmark #7
by Samuel Hopkins Adams, illustrated by Lee J. Ames
from Random House
for 5th-8th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Pony Express
Spencer Press Landmark #8 (RH#7)
by Samuel Hopkins Adams
from Spencer Press
for 5th-8th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Rainbow's Gold
by Vera Martin Lynch
from William W. Lynch
for 6th-12th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.40 (1 in stock)
Santa Fe Trail
Landmark #13
by Samuel Hopkins Adams, illustrated by Lee J. Ames
from Random House
for 5th-8th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Santa Fe Trail
Spencer Press Landmark #6 (RH#13)
by Samuel Hopkins Adams, illustrated by Lee J. Ames
from Spencer Press
for 5th-8th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Seasons of America Past
by Eric Sloane
from Dover Publications
American History Reference for 4th-8th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$17.95
Seven Alone
by Honore Morrow
from Scholastic Inc.
for 5th-9th grade
in Oregon Trail (Location: HISA-19OR)
Sophie of the Lazy B
by Myra Richardson, illustrated by Nicholas Panesis
Stated First Edition from Robert M. McBride & Co.
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$24.00 (1 in stock)
Stories of Young Pioneers
by Violet T. Kimball
from Mountain Press
Historical Non-fiction for 6th-11th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$14.00
Story of Daniel Boone
Signature Books #15
by William O. Steele, illustrated by Warren Baumgartner
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 4th-8th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
$9.60 (1 in stock)
Story of Davy Crockett
Grosset & Dunlap Signature #3
by Enid LaMonte Meadowcroft, illustrated by C. B. Falls
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 4th-8th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of Kit Carson
Grosset & Dunlap Signature #16
by Edmund Collier, illustrated by Nicholas Eggenhofer
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Stout-Hearted Seven
Sterling Point
by Neta Lohnes Frazier
from Sterling Publishing Co.
Non-fiction/Biography for 5th-9th grade
in Oregon Trail (Location: HISA-19OR)
Tales of the Mountain Men
by Lamar Underwood
1st edition from Lyons Press
for 8th-12th grade
in Western Expansion (1800-1898) (Location: HISA-19WES)
$16.95
These Happy Golden Years
Little House Series #8
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade
1944 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.64
These Happy Golden Years
Little House Series #8
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade
1944 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$18.69
These Happy Golden Years
Little House Series #8
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Library edition from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade
1944 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
These Happy Golden Years - Audio CD
Little House Series #8
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade
1944 Newbery Honor Book
in Audio Books & Dramas (Location: CD-AUDIO)
$25.95
They Loved to Laugh
by Kathryn Worth
from Bethlehem Books
Realistic Fiction for 6th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$12.71
To California by Covered Wagon
Landmark #42
by George Stewart, illustrated by William Moyers
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Tragic Tale of Narcissa Whitman and a Faithful History of the Oregon Trail
by Cheryl Harness
from National Geographic
for 4th-8th grade
in Oregon Trail (Location: HISA-19OR)
Trails Plowed Under
by Charles M. Russell
from Doubleday & Company
for 7th-12th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Trappers and Traders of the Far West
Landmark #29
by James Daugherty
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
True Adventures of Westward Trails
by Alfred Powers
First Edition from Little, Brown & Company
for 7th-10th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
We Were There on the Oregon Trail
by William O. Steele
from American Home-School Publishing
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
We Were There on the Oregon Trail
We Were There #1
by William O. Steele, illustrated by Jo Polseno
from Grosset & Dunlap
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
in We Were There Series (Location: VIN-HIS)
We Were There with The Pony Express
by William O. Steele
from American Home-School Publishing
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Westward on the Oregon Trail
by Marian T. Place
from American Heritage Publishing Co.
for 6th-10th grade
in American Heritage Junior Library (Location: VIN-HIS)
Where the Broken Heart Still Beats
by Carolyn Meyer
from Graphia
for 5th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.49
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