Visit the Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Homes

In this post, I review our visit to the home of my childhood hero!

 

When the Tranquil Trekker was a little girl, I LOVED the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder! (We watched the TV show some too, but I always liked the books better.)  I read the entire series numerous times and had half the story memorized!

If you had told the Little Trekker that in 30 years I would be living in the SAME STATE as Laura I would have freaked! 😂  

For the last decade that we’ve lived in South Dakota, whenever we drive down I-90 through the eastern part of the state and see the sign for the Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Homes, I would say, “We really need to visit there sometime!”

Well, we had plans to travel for a conference for Mr. Trekker’s work one fall, and he suggested we leave a few days early and stop at “Laura’s House” on the way.  I readily agreed!–The eight-year-old Tranquil Trekker was fangirling hard that day!

We knew I had surgery (and a lengthy recovery) looming in the next several months, so after our visit, Mr. Trekker got me several of my favorite Little House books for Christmas that year. I LOVED rereading them again during my convalescence!

A black and white picture of a woman standing next to a seated man. They are both wearing overcoats and the woman is wearing a fur hat.
Laura and her husband Almanzo, later in their marriage

Where are the Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Homes?

The Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Homes museum is located in the tiny town of De Smet, in eastern South Dakota. The main museum and visitor center is found right off of US 14, almost downtown.

There are a few other sites related to Laura’s life scattered around the local area, as well. These include a marker to her husband, Almanzo, on Route 25 North and the Ingalls’ Homestead, an open-air museum, located off of 25 South.

You can also do a driving or walking tour through town and see where many of the buildings are (or used to be) from some of her later books. (If you stop at the main museum first, they have maps that show you all the other locations.)

For more information on visiting the museum, click here.

Large rock on the ground that reads, ""The true way to live is to enjoy every moment as it passes. It is in the everyday things around us that the beauty of life lies".
This rock was inscribed with a quote of Laura’s, “The true way to live is to enjoy every moment as it passes. It is in the everyday things around us that the beauty of life lies”–she was mindful! No wonder I liked her! 😁

What you will see at the Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Homes

At the main, museum site you can tour the Surveyor’s House, where the family actually lived their first winter in De Smet. There are several other structures located on-site, as well that are available to tour, including a schoolhouse and a mock-up of a covered wagon.

While many of the structures are original this was not their original location. Some have been moved from their true location to the museum site to make touring easier. Others are re-creations and some are from a similar period even if they weren’t the actual buildings Laura and her friends used.

The Surveyor’s House:

The Surveyor’s House is the actual home Laura and her family lived in their first winter in De Smet.  This story is portrayed in the book By the Shores of Silver Lake.

A poster describes the significance of the Surveyor's House to Laura's story

3 black and white photos of a baby, a couple and 3 young women
Photos of the Ingalls on a wall of the Surveyor’s House (Baby Grace is on the left, Pa and Ma are in the middle and Carrie, Mary, and Laura are in the 3rd picture–Laura is standing, Mary is sitting)

 

The Final, Ingalls Home

In town, a few blocks from the main museum is the final home the Ingalls all lived in as a family. The house still contains furniture, mementos, and pictures from when the family lived there.

A white house stands in town
The final home the Ingalls lived in together in De Smet

A lounge chair surrounded by a desk, table and bookcase.

Large cabinets with dishes and cooking ingredients/equipment
Ma’s kitchen where Pa built the cabinets by hand!

The Ingalls Homestead:

South of town, south of Big Slough, is the actual Ingalls’ homestead!

5 cottonwood trees stand in a field
The actual, five cottonwood trees Pa planted for “his girls” in the book “On the Shores of Silver Lake” are all still standing!

There is a mockup of a barn, a church, and a one-room schoolhouse, among other sites you can tour.

A white church stands amongst some trees in a field with a dirt path leading to it

A white schoolhouse sits in a field
A model of the type of schoolhouse Laura would have attended and taught at

A wooden barn stands in a field near an old windmill

There is also a mockup of the shanty the Ingalls lived in on the prairie as well as an earthen dugout that some people used then (similar to what the Ingalls family lived in, in the book, On the Banks of Plum Creek.)

A papered shanty with no door stands amongst trees
This is a model of the shanty houses used during the time of Laura’s books
A small table, iron stove and wooden dressing inside a rock and mud duggout house
A model of the type of dugout home Laura and her family lived in, in the book “On the Banks of Plum Creek”

There is a wagon ride that runs at certain times throughout the year that will take you to these sites.

This is also a decent walk/hike if you’re able and interested–this is a great way to release some energy for the two–and four-legged–“kids” in the family (just remember the four-legged kids have to stay outside the buildings).

This site is a great historical place to visit that is educational but fun too. I’ve talked to several parents who said their children still love the Little House books (boys and girls). While they are definitely “stories about girls” they are much more “pioneer stories” than they are “girl stories”.

So if you’re looking for something educational and active to do in eastern South Dakota, check out the Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Homes!

 

Did you enjoy this post? Pin it!

A collage of 4 pictures: 1) A white house stands in town; 2) Old, brown and white photograph of a man and two women sitting with three other women standing behind each of them; 3) A wooden barn stands in a field near an old windmill; 4) A small table, iron stove and wooden dressing inside a rock and mud duggout house. Pin reads, "Laura Ingalls Wilder Home"

 

Have you visited the Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Homes in De Smet, South Dakota?  Did the site bring back fond memories of the Little House books from your childhood?  Tell me what you thought in the comments! 

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