Mrs. Marian Forrester
The wife of Captain Forrester, she is a small town aristocrat. Niel falls in love with what she represents, and is dismayed to discover that she has a lover, Frank Ellinger. After her husband's death she allows Ivy Peters to run her estate. She eventually leaves the town and marries an Englishman, dying before Niel ever sees her again.
Captain Daniel Forrester
A strong man who made his fortune building track for the railroads in the old pioneering days. He is proud of his beautiful wife. The novel opens at a time when he has already been physically destroyed by a fall from a horse. After suffering two strokes he eventually dies, signifying the end of the pioneering era.
Niel Herbert
The main character, Niel is a young boy when he meets Mrs. Forrester. He falls in love with what she represents and struggles to preserve his boyhood image of her. After watching her first have an affair with Frank Ellinger and later Ivy Peters, he finally gives up on her. Niel realizes by the end of the novel that his perception of Mrs. Forrester is based on the Captain's influence over her.
Judge Pommeroy
Niel's uncle, he is a lawyer that falls on hard times much the way the Forresters do.
Ivy Peters
An elder boy who knocks down a woodpecker and slits her eyes before releasing her. He is cocky and pretentious and becomes a lawyer. Later in the novel he becomes very wealthy and eventually he succeeds in owning the Forrester estate.
Frank Ellinger
A large man, he is a bachelor at the beginning. Frank is Mrs. Forrester's lover and visits her when the Captain is away from the house. He later marries Constance Ogden.
Constance Ogden
A girl Niel's age whom he tries to entertain at the Forresters, she later marries Frank Ellinger.
Black Tom
Judge Pommeroy's black servant, he often works for the Forresters as well.
Adolph Blum
One of Niel's friends, he accidentally comes across Mrs. Forrester and Frank Ellinger in the cedar grove.
Cyrus Dalzell
The president of the Colorado and Utah and a good friend of the Forrester family.
Mrs. Beasley
The town phone operator, she listens in on all long distance calls.
