There is a tradition/legend that a young girl died in an identical way to the girl in the episode "My Ellen." Ironically, she is known as the Walnut Girl. Try Googling Walnut Girl Armona California for details. I wonder if the episode writer knew of this or just coincidence.

https://www.weirdfresno.com/2011/02/walnut-girl-of-armona.html

Thanks for the link.

It's interesting that in a later Season 4 episode, "The Stranger," they are going mixed swimming (Laura and Mary with Pa and a boy named Peter) and Peter says, "I don't have a bathing suit." Pa explains, "We swim in our underwear." The guys strip down to long union suits while the girls have on petticoats or something. Pa also throws Peter in and then explains there was no danger as the water is shallow enough to stand up in. It's obvious they not only have changed their swimwear habits, with presumably no more skinny dipping, but gone to a much safer swimming place, possibly with poor Ellen's fate in mind.

^^^
Odd that the girls would have been skinny dipping. Stripped down to bloomers, yes. Bare naked, no.

^^^
Odd that the girls would have been skinny dipping. Stripped down to bloomers, yes. Bare naked, no.

Someone on a message board exclusively devoted to Little House said the same thing, and that in the book they went swimming in old dresses.