I have a confession to make: I was 50 before I read Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House on the Prairie series. I can hear the collective gasp of all the shocked women reading this post. Blasphemy, I know!
In my defense, when I was about the age when all the other little girls were madly absorbing these books, playing "Holly Hobbie" dress up and dreaming about being Laura, my local librarian marched me over to the adult section of the town’s public library and handed me an Agatha Christie novel. I never stepped foot in the children’s section of the library again. Looking back, I’m not sure what I was doing when the television series came out because I didn’t watch that either. Oh, I saw an episode or two, but without the background of the books, I just really didn’t get it. Maybe it was just too “girly” for me; I hated pink, didn’t play with dolls, and was the only kid in my neighborhood with a complete football uniform, shoulder pads, and all. Needless to say, my husband was more than a bit skeptical when I suggested driving up to DeSmet, South Dakota, for a “Little House on the Prairie” weekend.
Five of the nine Little House books were based on Laura Ingalls Wilder’s life while she was living in DeSmet, South Dakota. She and her family moved to the DeSmet area in 1879 at the beginning of the book By the Shores of Silver Lake, and she spent her teenage years living here.
Our First Stop was the Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Society at 105 Olivet Ave SE. Be sure to pick up a map of all the downtown locations, and if you have the time, take the guided tour. A couple of significant buildings have been moved onto the Memorial Society property. They even have a recreation of the Brewster School, where Laura first taught. After a tour of the interiors of these buildings, we followed the tour guide over to the Ingalls Home that Charles built in town.
In the book By the Shores of Silver Lake, Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote about living in this house during the first winter the Ingalls family spent on the Dakota Prairies. Charles Ingalls worked for the railroad, and the family moved into the Surveyor House for that first winter in South Dakota.
It is the oldest building in DeSmet. The railroad built this railroad company house on the north shore of Silver Lake around 1879, a year before there was even a town located here. It was then moved into town in 1884. According to Pa’s journal, the Ingalls family moved in on December 1, 1879. The family only spent their first winter in the house. After that, the house often served as a hotel for the many homesteaders coming through the area.
It as a building standing all by itself. It had windows on each side, a stovepipe that wasn’t in use at the time and a boarded in entry. All the desks were patent desks made from wood, varnished as smooth as glass and had black iron feet. A large heating stove stood in the middle of the room.
Only used one year, by 1885, it had been sold and remodeled into a house. Many families lived in it over the years. The Laura Ingalls Wilder Society purchased the home in 1999 and restored it to the days of Laura Ingalls Wilder. The original chalkboards were found under many layers of wallpaper.
This building is a recreation of Brewster School, the first school where Laura Ingalls Wilder taught after earning her teaching certificate at sixteen. Brewster School was located 12 miles southwest of DeSmet.
A quote from These Happy Golden Years, about Laura teaching at Brewster School: Only yesterday she was a schoolgirl, now she was a school teacher. This had happened so suddenly. But tomorrow she would be teaching at Brewster settlement. It was twelve miles from town and Laura did not know what it would be like. She did not know anyone there.
It was the first time Laura had slept away from home, and living with the Brewster family while teaching at the school was very trying. Mrs. Brewster was apparently clinically depressed, and one night, Laura awoke to find Mrs. Brewster threatening her husband with a knife.
During this time, Laura and her future husband, Almanzo Wilder, started courting. Laura was miserable, but every Friday, no matter what the weather, Almanzo Wilder arrived to take Laura home to her family for the weekend. Laura was determined to finish the term as her money helped send Mary to the College of the Blind in Iowa.
The Ingalls home that Pa built in town was started in 1887. In the beginning it only had three rooms. The rest of the house was built one room at a time as money, time and weather permitted. The 5 bedroom home was finally completed in 1889. The house stands in its original location. All windows, doors, woodwork, siding, hinges and interior windows are original. The cupboards that Pa built for Ma are still in the kitchen.
Laura never actually lived in this house. She married Almanzo Wilder in 1885 and they were living on their own homestead while Pa was building it. This house was never mentioned in any of the Little House books. In October of 1901, Laura’s youngest sister, Grace was married in the parlor. A year later in 1902, Pa passed away of a heart attack. Ma and Mary rented out the upstairs part of the house for extra income after that. In 1918, Ma became ill. She passed away on Easter Sunday in 1924. After Ma passed, Mary decided to visit Carrie in Keystone, South Dakota. Mary suffered a stroke while in Keystone and passed away in 1928. She never returned to this house. Carrie inherited the house. In 1944, she decided to rent it out but later sold it to the Ferguson family.
This was the spot where Almanzo and Laura Ingalls Wilder's homestead claim shanty stood, located on the hilltop.
It was the birthplace of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s only surviving child, Rose Wilder Lane. Mrs. Lane became a well-known novelist, journalist, and political essayist. Her last reporting assignment took her to Vietnam in 1965, where, at 78, she was the oldest war correspondent. Rose was responsible for convincing her mother, Laura Ingalls Wilder, to write the Little House books. This is where the Wilders lived during their early married life, experiencing the fire that destroyed their home, the death of an infant son, and other natural disasters that were part of the daily lives of the South Dakota pioneers. Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote about the pioneering life: No one who has not pioneered can understand the fascination and terror of it.
We next headed over to the Ingalls Homestead at 20812 Homestead Rd.
This shanty and livestock barn sits on the homestead of Charles Ingalls. Laura Ingalls Wilder lived on this property from 13 through 18 when she and Almanzo Wilder married on August 25, 1885. In 1886, Charles filed final papers and put the declaration in the DeSmet News. This 157.25 acre homestead cost Charles and Caroline $16.00 in filing fees. The rest of the family lived on the homestead for eight years until Charles was so tired of struggling to make a living off the land that he sold the homestead, and they moved into the house that Pa built in town.
Like many other settlers arriving in the 1880s, the Ingalls family was lured to the Dakota Territory by free land. In February 1880, Charles Ingalls filed for this homestead at the land office in Brookings and built a small shanty in preparation for the family's move.
In the spring of 1880, they moved to the quarter-section of land Pa chose as his homestead. The location of the Ingalls Homestead met their wishes, for it is only a mile from DeSmet. This land was perfect in many ways. It had good water, and he could easily dig a well. The family lived and worked the homestead except for the winter months of 1880-1881 and 1881-1882 when they moved into town in the room above Pa's store.
Pa built the family's claim shanty in three stages.
Stage One—In the spring of 1880, he built a 140-square-foot half-house for his family of six. Laure described it as having a slanted roof. Stage Two – In 1881, he added the second half, an addition of another 140 square feet. Laura wrote that the new part created two tiny bedrooms with a window. Stage Three – While attending the Iowa School for the Blind, Mary learned to play the organ. Pa and Laura worked and saved money to purchase a pump organ as a surprise for Mary’s homecoming. Pa built a 12-foot by 16-foot addition to accommodate the new organ. Once completed, Ma declared the shanty a real home. The reconstruction of Ingall's claim shanty was built according to the description Pa provided in his proving-up papers. To obtain ownership of a homestead claim, the Testament of Claimant forms were required.
The horse-drawn wagon at the livestock barn gives rides out to the one-room schoolhouse on the opposite side of the property.
This one room schoolhouse sits on the Charles Ingalls Homestead. Complete with a teeter-totter and American flag. It was placed here to house the Laura Ingalls Wilder Traveling Exhibit.
This drive links all the sites where Laura and her family lived in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and South Dakota. The Little House on the Prairie website has a wealth of information and lists all the historic locations.
I have since read all the books and am an avid fan! Next, I plan to conquer the television series.
Visit my South Dakota Collection for more images from the Little Town on the Prarie in DeSmet, South Dakota.
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6 Comments
Meshea
2/5/2018 08:08:25 pm
Another home run 💯😊👏🖒😁
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Susan
2/5/2018 08:47:53 pm
Thanks so much!
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2/6/2018 09:09:15 am
How fun! I would love to do this tour! And the images are spectacular. Wonderful, Susan. - Alison
Reply
Susan
2/6/2018 07:56:59 pm
Thanks so much for stopping in and taking the time to comment, Alison. I hear they put on a good play in the summer. I wish I could have timed my trip correctly to see it. I had a blast visiting, I know you would love it!
Reply
Susan
2/6/2018 07:57:31 pm
Thanks so much, David!
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AuthorI am the 8th photographer in 4 generations of my family. Back in 2006, my husband accepted a job traveling, and I jumped at the chance to go with him. Categories
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February 2025
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