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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Angel Knew Papa and the Dog
by Douglas Kaine McKelvey
from Rabbit Room Press
for 2nd-4th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$11.04
Apples to Oregon
by Deborah Hopkinson
Reprint from Aladdin Paperbacks
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Aurora Means Dawn
by Scott Russell Sanders
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 1st-3rd grade
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By the Shores of Silver Lake
Little House Series #5
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade
1940 Newbery Honor Book
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$8.49
Captive Treasure
by Milly Howard
from Bob Jones University Press
Realistic Fiction for 2nd-5th grade
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Carolina's Courage
by Elizabeth Yates
from Bob Jones University Press
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Child's Day
Historic Communities
by Bobbie Kalman & Tammy Everts
from Crabtree Publishing
for 1st-7th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Children of the Covered Wagon
by Mary Jane Carr
2nd edition from Christian Liberty Press
Historical Fiction for 3rd-5th grade
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$14.24
Children of the Wild West
by Russell Freedman
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in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$4.00 (3 in stock)
Daily Life in a Covered Wagon
by Paul Erickson
from Puffin Books
Historical Reference for 3rd-5th Grade
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$9.99
Daniel Boone
by Daniel Boone
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Biography for 4th-8th grade
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$14.95 $10.00 (2 in stock)
Diary of an Early American Boy
by Eric Sloane
from Dover Publications
American History Reference for 4th-8th grade
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$15.95 $8.50 (1 in stock)
Do's and Don'ts of Yesteryear
by Eric Sloane
from Avon Books
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Farmer Boy
Little House Series #3
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade
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$8.49
Farmer Boy
Little House Series #3
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade
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First Four Years
Little House Series #9
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
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Frontier Fort on the Oregon Trail
by Scott Steedman
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Frontier Village
by Catherine E. Chambers
from Troll Communications
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Going West!
Kalideoscope Kids Book
by Carol A. Johmann, Elizabeth J. Rieth
from Williamson Publishing Company
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$7.50 (1 in stock)
Gold Rush Dogs
by Claire Rudolf Murphy, Jane G. Haigh
from Alaska Northwest Books
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Grandfather's Dance
by Patricia MacLachlan
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Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
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$5.94
Great and Minor Moments in Oregon History
by Dick Pintarich
1st edition from New Oregon Publishers
for 9th-Adult
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Hattie Big Sky
by Kirby Larson
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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
Heading West
by William E. Hill
for 3rd-6th grade
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$1.50 (1 in stock)
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)
If You Grew Up With Abraham Lincoln
If You Were There
by Ann McGovern
from Scholastic Inc.
Historical Non-fiction for 2nd-5th grade
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
If You Traveled West in a Covered Wagon
If You Were There
by Ellen Levine
from Scholastic Inc.
Historical Non-fiction for 2nd-5th grade
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If You Were Me and Lived in... the American West (Volume 7)
by Carole P. Roman
from CreateSpace
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in Western Expansion (1800-1898) (Location: HISA-19WES)
Indiana Days
by Catherine E. Chambers
from Troll Associates
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Jericho's Journey
by G. Clifton Wisler
from Puffin Books
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$3.50 (1 in stock)
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 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 Coloring Book
Clr Csm from HarperCollins
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$16.14
Little House in the Big Woods
Little House Series #1
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade
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$8.49
Little House on Rocky Ridge
Rocky Ridge Years / Rose Years Book 1
by Roger Lea MacBride
from HarperCollins
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Little House on the Prairie
Little House Series #2
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
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$8.49
Little Town on the Prairie
Little House Series #7
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
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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
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$11.04
Log Cabin Cooking
by Barbara Swell
from Native Ground Music, Inc.
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$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
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$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
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$11.89
Lucretia Ann on the Oregon Trail
by Ruth Gipson Plowhead
from Caxton Press
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Martha of California
by James Otis
from A Beka Books
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$4.00 (34 in stock)
More Perfect Than the Moon
by Patricia MacLachlan
from HarperCollins
for 4th-6th grade
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$6.79
Mountain Men: The History of Fur Trapping - Coloring Book
by Jeff Prechtel
from Dover Publications
for 3rd-6th grade
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$3.39
Museum of Early American Tools
by Eric Sloane
from Dover Publications
for 5th-8th grade
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$11.95
My Book of Little House Paper Dolls
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperFestival
for 2nd-6th grade
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$14.99
My Little House Crafts Book
by Carolyn Strom Collins & Christina Wyss Eriksson
from HarperCollins
Arts and Crafts for 3rd-6th grade
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$13.99
Night of the Full Moon
Stepping Stones: A Chapter Book
by Gloria Whelan
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for 4th-6th grade
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$5.09
On to Oregon!
by Honore Morrow
from William Morrow & Company
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One Big Open Sky
by Lesa Cline-Ransome
from Holiday House
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2025 Newbery Honor Book
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$7.64
Oregon Trail
Penguin Classics
by Francis Parkman Jr.
from Penguin Classics
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in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$17.00
Oregon Trail
Tales of the Wild West Volume 1
by Rick Steber
from Bonanza Publishing
for 4th-7th grade
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$2.50 (1 in stock)
Oregon Trail
by Ted Henson
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Oregon Trail
by Rinker Buck
from Simon and Schuster
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$17.84
Oregon Trail #01
Choose Your Own Trail!
by Jesse Wiley
from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
for 3rd-6th grade
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$8.49
Oregon Trail #02
Choose Your Own Trail!
by Jesse Wiley
from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
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$8.49
Oregon Trail #03
Choose Your Own Trail!
by Jesse Wiley
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$8.49
Oregon Trail #04
Choose Your Own Trail!
by Jesse Wiley
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$8.49
Oregon Trail #05
Choose Your Own Trail!
by Jesse Wiley
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$6.79
Oregon Trail #06
Choose Your Own Trail!
by Jesse Wiley
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$6.79
Oregon Trail #07: Gold Rush
Choose Your Own Trail!
by Jesse Wiley
from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
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$8.49
Oregon Trail #08
Choose Your Own Trail!
by Jesse Wiley
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$8.49
Oregon Trail #1-4 - Boxed Set
Choose Your Own Trail!
by Jesse Wiley
from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
for 3rd-6th grade
in Boxed Sets & Literature Packages (Location: FIC-BOX)
$33.99
Oregon Trail, Yesterday and Today
from Caxton Press
for 6th-Adult
in Oregon Trail (Location: HISA-19OR)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Our Only May Amelia OSI
by Jennifer L. Holm
from HarperCollins
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Our Vanishing Landscape
by Eric Sloan
from Dover Publications
for 4th-8th grade
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$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)
Pioneer Children on the Journey West
by Emmy E. Werner
from Westview Press
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Pioneer Crafts
by Inc. Kids Can Press
from Kids Can Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Pioneer Days
American Kids in History
by David C. King
1st edition from John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
for 3rd-6th Grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Pioneer Sampler
by Barbara Greenwood
from Houghton Mifflin
for 4th-6th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$15.99
Pioneers
Tales of the Wild West Volume 11
by Rick Steber
from Bonanza Publishing
for 4th-7th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Prairie Songs
by Pam Conrad
from Scholastic Inc.
for 5th-7th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$1.60 (1 in stock)
Prairie Visions
by Pam Conrad
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
1992 NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
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)
Ranch of the Golden Flowers
by Constance Lindsay Skinner
from Bethlehem Books
for 2nd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$15.95
Reverence for Wood
by Eric Sloane
from Dover Publications
for 4th-7th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$12.95
Reverence for Wood
by Eric Sloane
from Ballantine Books
for 4th-7th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
Sallie Fox
by Dorothy Kupcha Leland
1st edition from Tomato Enterprises
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.46
Sarah Whitcher's Story
by Elizabeth Yates
from Bob Jones University Press
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.64 $3.60 (1 in stock)
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
Secret School
by Avi
from Scholastic Inc.
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$2.00 (1 in stock)
Secret School
by Avi
from Sandpiper Books
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Seven Alone
by Honore Morrow
from Scholastic Inc.
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Sod Houses on the Great Plains
by Glen Rounds
from Holiday House
for 1st-4th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
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
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
They Loved to Laugh
by Kathryn Worth
from Bethlehem Books
Realistic Fiction for 6th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$12.71
Three Names
by Patricia MacLachlan
from HarperCollins
for 2nd-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.49
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