Experiencing the Life of Laura Ingalls Wilder in De Smet

Laura Ingalls Wilder moved to De Smet, South Dakota in 1879. Many of her books are based on her time in De Smet: By the Shores of Silver Lake, Little Town on the Prairie, Long Winter, These Happy Golden Years & The First Four Years. These stories are why I love the books so much. Laura, Almanzo & their daughter, Rose, eventually moved to Mansfield, Missouri. But, Pa, Ma, and Mary lived the rest of their lives in De Smet and are buried in a cemetery in town. More than 100 years later, in 2006, we took a road trip that was planned around visiting the homes of LIW in De Smet & Walnut Grove.

Laura’s family moved to De Smet even before it became an official town in 1880.

CALUMET AVENUE & THE LOFTUS STORE

De Smet, in 2006, was (and probably still is) a small, quiet town. The main street through town is Calumet Avenue. Located on Calumet is The Loftus Store! This is the original building. In the book The Long Winter, Laura tells about Mr. Loftus selling wheat to all the starving people in town.

SIGNS

Throughout De Smet, Little Town on the Prairie is written on the banners. I am 100% tourist. I love seeing all the little details a town does to remember their history.

Little Town on the Prairie is printed on the street signs and part of Highway 14 is dedicated as the Laura Ingalls Wilder Historical Highway.

WALKING TOUR

The Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Society has a walking tour through town. I left the boys at our campsite & took a couple hours to do the tour. I loved it. I believe they also have a guided tour. But I was in a hurry, so I chose to do the walking tour by myself. At the beginning of the tour was a gift shop, the Surveyor’s house and a replica of the Brewster School. The rest of the tour was within walking distance from the starting point.

SURVEYOR’S HOUSE

Laura and her family lived in the Surveyor’s House during the winter of 1879-1880 as mentioned in By the Shores of Silver Lake. This is the original house, but it has been moved to this location.

I couldn’t take photos inside the Surveyor’s House, so I bought a postcard instead. Because I adore vintage pump organs, I had to get the one showcasing it.

I also bought a postcard of the Ingalls family in 1894: Ma, Carrie, Laura, Pa, Grace, and Mary.

BREWSTER SCHOOL REPLICA

At the age of 15, Laura first started teaching 12 miles from home at the Brewster School. As you can see it was a tiny.

Inside the one room schoolhouse were two rows of desks. Each desk had a slate & a McGuffy Reader. The seats do not look comfy, and I’m sure the kids were not allowed to fidget.

Also on display were hay twists for the fire when they ran out of coal.

THE HOUSE THAT PA BUILT

The next place I was excited to visit was the house that Pa built. Pa quit farming and the family moved to town. Pa, Ma, and Mary lived in this house until they died. The house was eventually sold to a private family and later purchased by the Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Society – thank goodness. What a treasure for all us LIW fans.

Since I couldn’t take pics in the Ingalls’ Home, I bought a postcard to remember what it looked like. It is decorated similarly to the way it was when the Ingalls’ lived there, which is quite nice.

DE SMET’S FIRST SCHOOL

Not far from the Ingalls’ home was De Smet’s first school. Laura and Carrie walked to this school in town from their homestead just outside of town.

I believe the LIW Memorial Society is renovating this old school building. But, when I visited De Smet it wasn’t something you could go in to. There was just a sign out front and a plaque on the wall.

Final Thoughts

Such a fun way to experience the stories I loved as a kid. If you’re a Laura Ingalls Wilder fan, the walking tour is a must.

More on the Ingalls Family

in Keystone, SD

Carrie Ingalls Swanzey in Keystone

in De Smet, SD

Walking Tour in De Smet
Ingalls Homestead in De Smet
Laura Ingalls Wilder Pageant in De Smet

in Walnut Grove, MN

Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum in Walnut Grove
Wilder Pageant in Walnut Grove
Plum Creek in Walnut Grove

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