Near De Smet in Kingsbury County, South Dakota — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)
Charles and Caroline Ingalls Homestead
October 24, 2022
1. Charles and Caroline Ingalls Homestead Marker
and their daughters Mary, Laura, Carrie and Grace
In four of her Little House series of stories of pioneering by the Ingalls and Wilder families, Laura Ingalls Wilder, beloved writer for children, has told of the Fall and Winter the family spent at a railway construction camp "By the Shores of Silver Lake" (1879-80) then moved to the townsite of De Smet, "Little Town on the Prairie" a mile west, to live in the Ingalls Store Building briefly, then move to a claim shanty on this site, across The Big Slough from the town. Here Pa planted the cottonwoods that still stand, and Ma made a home for her family. After the October Blizzard they returned to the town to spend "The Long Winter" (1880-81). One of the schools Laura was to teach was a mile south of this site. In "These Happy Golden Years" she told of her romance and marriage to Almanzo Wilder and their life in a claim shanty two miles north of De Smet, where their daughter, Rose Wilder Lane, journalist and author, was born. Mrs. Wilder died Feb. 11, 1957, aged 90, at the farm in the Ozarks near Mansfield, Mo., where they had lived since 1894.
This plot donated by Edward E. May, owner.
Erected
this page online
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Settlements & Settlers. In addition, it is included in the South Dakota State Historical Society Markers series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1879.
Location. 44° 22.099′ N, 97° 32.449′ W. Marker is near De Smet, South Dakota, in Kingsbury County. Marker can be reached from the intersection of Homestead Road and 208th Street, on the left when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 20812 Homestead Rd, De Smet SD 57231, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Homes (within shouting distance of this marker); Site of the Ingalls Homestead 1880 (approx. 0.3 miles away); De Smet Forest / De Smet (approx. half a mile away); John Owen's Law Office (approx. 1.2 miles away); Kingsbury County Bank (approx. 1.2 miles away); Owen Shoe Shop (approx. 1.3 miles away); Surveyors' House (approx. 1.3 miles away); First School of De Smet (approx. 1.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in De Smet.
October 24, 2022
2. Charles and Caroline Ingalls Homestead Memorial
October 24, 2022
3. Charles and Caroline Ingalls Homestead Marker and path from the northwest corner
Credits. This page was last revised on November 21, 2022. It was originally submitted on November 5, 2022. This page has been viewed 290 times since then and 73 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on November 5, 2022.
