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On the grave marker, he is remembered as "Baby Son of A. J. Wilder." The Ingalls family went back to Wisconsin where they lived for the next three years. Those experiences formed the basis for Wilder's novels Little House in the Big Woods and the beginning of Little House on the Prairie .
The Great Depression, coupled with the deaths of Wilder's mother in 1924 and her older sister in 1928, seem to have prompted her to preserve her memories in a life story called Pioneer Girl. She also hoped that her writing would generate some additional income. Around this time her daughter, Lane, began intensively encouraging Wilder to improve her writing skills with a view toward greater success as a writer than Lane had already achieved. As a start, Lane helped Wilder publish two articles describing the interior of the farmhouse, in Country Gentleman magazine. For the ultimate "Little House on the Prairie" experience, hit De Smet during theLaura Ingalls Wilder Pageant. Held during the middle of each summer, the pageant features more than 100 volunteers combining talents to perform a family-friendly drama based on Wilder’s writings.
Laura Ingalls Wilder: A Writer's Life (South Dakota Biographies) By Pamela Smit
Try sewing on a treadle sewing machine, dress up like a pioneer and learn to read braille. Complications from a life-threatening bout of diphtheria in 1888 left Almanzo partially paralyzed. Although he eventually regained nearly full use of his legs, he needed a cane to walk for the remainder of his life. These trials were documented in Wilder's book The First Four Years . They found, however, that the dry plains they were used to were very different from the humidity they encountered in Westville.
They diversified Rocky Ridge Farm with poultry, a dairy farm, and a large apple orchard. Wilder became active in various clubs and was an advocate for several regional farm associations. She was recognized as an authority in poultry farming and rural living, which led to invitations to speak to groups around the region. On December 5, 1886, Wilder gave birth to her daughter, Rose. In 1889, she gave birth to a son who died at 12 days of age before being named. He was buried at De Smet, Kingsbury County, South Dakota.
Planning a tour
The Depot Museum and Harvey Dunn Schoolhouse are open Monday through Friday in June, July and August. The closest you can come now is when you visit Ward's Bakery. Ward's is a great place for lunch or breakfast and is located across the street from what was once "Pa" Ingalls' store. Ward's owner, Patti Ward Slater, has converted it to her family living quarters, but she has retained many of the best architectural features of the old theater. Take a step back in time to the early days of De Smet area residents.
Around 1874, the Ingalls family again moved to Walnut Grove, Minnesota, living in a dugout (“On the Banks Of Plum Creek”). After crops had been destroyed two years in a row, the Ingalls then moved to Burr Oak, Iowa. Charles helped run a hotel while they lived in Burr Oak.
Laura Ingalls Wilder
Familiar names from the Little House of the Prairie television series and from Laura’s books are also found on many of the gravestones. Each summer since 1971, the Laura Ingalls Wilder Pageant has welcomed visitors from around the world to watch Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books come to life on the outdoor stage. Just across the road from Charles Ingalls’s homestead land, overlooking cottonwoods he planted and the Big Slough, visitors watch the sunset during the show. This town is the setting for most of Laura's books, and visitors can tour the Surveyor's House and Ma and Pa's 1887 home, which contains many family possessions, as well as the new Discover Laura Center.
Drive a covered wagon, attend a one-room schoolhouse, twist hay, grind wheat, make rope, wash clothes, experience the homesteading history that shaped our nation. Do you remember reading the “Little House on the Prairie” books growing up? Check out the Ingalls Homestead in De Smet, South Dakota, where Pa Ingalls first set his claim in 1880.
The lake, which is modest in size, is often inquired about by many of De Smet’s visitors. The Memorial Society preserves and presents the largest collection of Ingalls family memorabilia, with over 2000 original artifacts. Children are invited to try an old fashioned sewing machine, dress like a pioneer and learn how to read Braille at the Discovery Center.
Ingalls Wilder's birth site is commemorated by a replica log cabin at the Little House Wayside in Pepin. Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books capture the founding of De Smet and her family was De Smet’s first residents. Laura grew up on her family’s homestead, attended school in De Smet’s first school, worked her first job on our main street, went courting with Almanzo across the prairie, and started her own family here in De Smet. From Ingalls family home tours to our historic main street, covered wagon rides to outdoor theater, De Smet offers a great opportunity to explore our pioneer heritage.
Camping A few RV sites are available at the Ingalls Homestead. Nearby Lake Thompson, one of the ‘Twin Lakes' in Laura's books, has a very nice campground. Leaving DeSmet and heading east along Highway 14 takes you across the Big Slough to the site of the Ingalls Homestead. This is the land that Pa would have lost had Mr. Edwards not overheard the men who planned to jump him when he went to stake his claim. Though the original house and barn are long gone, the buildings have been recreated using Pa's descriptions and drawings.
From the settlement, the library received enough to start work on a new building. Following Wilder's death, possession of Rocky Ridge Farm passed to the farmer who had earlier bought the property under a life lease arrangement. The local population put together a non-profit corporation to purchase the house and its grounds for use as a museum.
An entire section of the store is devoted to all things Laura and this is the perfect place to pick out a prairie dress or bonnet. To find out more about the Laura Ingalls Wilder Homestead, visit their website, or connect with them on Facebook or Instagram. There is also a website dedicated specifically to the Laura Ingalls Wilder Pageant. The homestead also has several RV hookup spots, and allows tent camping in the designated camping area. There are currently two cabins available to rent during the camping season, and they're really cute! "Pioneer Girl is out!" Archived December 4, 2014, at the Wayback Machine.
