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This is a list of specifically named locations in the Kirsten Series.

Battery Park[]

A park in New York City, next to a river (likely the East River). There are tall oak trees and in June the grass is dry as straw. There are many boat piers located nearby and a path leading into the park. The Larsons (and others) rest here before going to the boarding house while Anders secures tickets for travel to Chicago, and Kirsten watches women and girls go by in floral, tiered dresses with many ruffles, and men in tight trousers and white jackets.

When Kirsten is lost, she is escorted back here by a woman with brown hair once she is able to communicate the issue.

Broadway[]

The wide, cobblestone street in New York City where Anders, Peter, and Kirsten walk along to shop for food. It is noisy and crowded with movement with many people, buggies, carts, and horses, and various shops and stands such as candy shops, tobacco stores, tinware, cloth, meat, and fish. Pigs root through the trash thrown in the gutters.

Kirsten is distracted along this street when stopping to look at a gray-haired berry seller, is bumped into by a boy carrying fish, and trips over a black boy shining shoes; she is separated from Papa in the process. She turns off this street in her confusion and distress.

Side Street[]

A side street off Broadway, crowded with houses and no shops. Kirsten, after getting separated from Papa among the chaos of Broadway, ends up on this street in her distress. There is a brown house with steps where Kirsten sits and weeps before a young woman (who lives there) finds her and assists her in returning to the park.

Bread Shop[]

A bread shop located on Broadway; there are round loaves of wheat bread stacked inside the shop window. Anders buys several rolls for the family for two American coins.

Chicago[]

A large hub city in the Midwest; in the 1850s, it was not yet in the top ten largest cities of the US with a population just under 30,000. Kirsten and her family take the train from New York City to here, while Marta's family instead goes via ferries. Hot strong wind blows up dirt from the streets, but Kirsten doesn't care because she can move about again after days on a train.

Chicago Boarding House[]

A boarding house in Chicago, located in the part of the city known as Swede Town. (Welcome to Kristen's World) It reminds Kirsten of their big barn they had in Sweden. There is along, upstairs sleeping room like where hay was stored, and filled of rows and rows of beds and crowded with many people's belongings. The kitchen has big tubs where laundry can be done, a backyard to move about in, and a long porch.

The Larsons rest here before continuing the trip to Minnesota, and reunite with Marta and her parents (who traveled to Chicago on a separate route).

The Eagle[]

The Eagle is a small sailing ship. It carries the Larsons, Marta and her family, and eighteen other Swedish families from Sweden to the US along with various cargo. The trip takes about three months (ten weeks; Kirsten later says that she spent her ninth birthday aboard the ship). Six people died aboard during the journey and were buried at sea.

Kirsten and Marta find a coil of rope to hide in and talk before Anders finds them and escorts them back downstairs; they are underneath until the storm passes.

The Eagle docks in New York City near Battery Park, where the immigrants must be inspected by the health inspector before they can leave the ship. When Kirsten is lost in the city she is able to draw a picture of the Eagle to communicate to the woman that helps her.

Kirsten remembers her time on the Eagle when seeing a model ship Miss Winston shows her.

Steerage Compartment[]

All twenty families are in the same small steerage compartment aboard the Eagle, located under the decks at the lower levels of the ship. Each family shares one or two bunks--the Larsons have two--and their trunks are stored at the ends of the bunks. A ladder leads down into the room, and is closed off with a trapdoor to keep water out during storms. The room is dark and only lit by one oil lamp (which, during a storm, is knocked loose).

Larson Farm[]

A farm owned by Olav Larson, and worked by the rest of his family. There is a house, a large barn, and a tiny cabin; several cows, and a fence around the land; there is also a nearby creek.

Kirsten's family lives in a cabin on the land from their arrival until they move into the Steward home.

Barn[]

Cabin[]

The Larson family home. It's a one-room cabin on the Larson farm, built before their arrival in Minnesota. It is made of split logs and has a bare plank floor, one tiny window, and a small fireplace. Nearby Kirsten can see a maple tree through the window.

The cabin is destroyed in Changes for Kirsten when a raccoon kit knocks over a lamp and causes a fire.

House[]

Maryville[]

A nearby town that the Larsons plan to visit in Kirsten and the Thief. A Swedish settlement is there and it has a church. A pastor will be visiting to hold weddings and christenings, and the Swedish settlers will have a celebration afterward.

Milk Shop[]

A milk shop located along Broadway. Kirsten is headed here with Papa and Peter when she is separated from them.

New York[]

A large city on the East Coast; in the 1850s, it had a population of over 515,000 people and was the largest city in the nation (as well as the first city in the US to surpass 500,000 in population). The Eagle docks here once it arrives from Sweden, and the Larsons stay overnight in a boarding house before leaving. There are agents among the population--both honest and not--who assist immigrants, as well as many thieves who will steal anything (according to Greta).

Powderkeg School[]

The one room school the Larson children attend. Miss Winston is the teacher when Kirsten starts.

The Redwing[]

A riverboat that takes the Larsons from Chicago to Minnesota. It is white with a set of wings painted in bright red, broad decks, and a big paddle wheel. There are two levels; a wide upper deck for richer travelers and a more cramped lower deck with a small walking space, separated by a set of stairs with a rope while the Larsons and Marta and her family travel on the cheaper lower deck. There is also a sick bay where any ill passengers are quarantined to; Marta is sent here once she develops cholera.

The boat buries those who die on board along the shore (including Marta after she dies).

Riverton[]

A small settled town, and the town closest to Kirsten's farm. The Larsons disembark The Redwing here; it's raining, so Kirsten sees wet houses, trees, and horses pulling wagons with wet logs.

When Anders says he cannot afford the cost of a wagon to drive the trunks to the farm, they are stored in the warehouse here from their arrival until the winter of 1854, when they are picked up by Kirsten and Anders.

Secret Fort[]

A secret fort in the woods where Anna, Lisbeth, and Kirsten play and keep hidden from the boys. It is located in the woods, off the main path and the path to it hidden by a pine branch; the path to it is lined with pine needles to hide their footprints. To enter, the girls must get on their knees and crawl into a tunnel made of sumac branches, that ends underneath a wild cherry tree. The cherry branches make a small, cool room under the tree. Lisbeth and Anna have made small doll beds of sticks and braided grass inside, and Kirsten selects a mossy spot for Little Sari (and then Sari, once she has her back).

The "loft" is reached by climbing into the cherry tree and then sitting on a strong branch; the branch is strong enough to hold all three girls and is a lookout point for if any boys are seen. The rule is to get down low and be quiet if any boys are spotted.

Sioux Indian Village[]

A nearby village, which is the home of Singing Bird and her people, the Dakota Tribe.

Stewart Home[]

The home where Mary Stewart and John Stewart live.

When the Stewarts immigrate and leave for Oregon, Mr. Steward sells the house to the Larson family.

Swedish Farm[]

The farm the Larsons left behind in Sweden when they immigrated. Kirsten hopes that her new American home will have a maple tree outside like her old home (and the cabin does).

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