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!
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.
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.
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.
The Ingalls Homestead:
South of town, south of Big Slough, is the actual Ingalls’ homestead!
There is a mockup of a barn, a church, and a one-room schoolhouse, among other sites you can tour.
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.)
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!
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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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