Our Family Trip : De Smet, South Dakota!

Suddenly, there on the brown prairie where nothing had been before, was the town.  In two weeks, all along Main Street the unpainted new buildings pushed up their thin false fronts, two stories high and square on top.  Behind the false fronts the buildings squatted under their partly shingled, sloping roofs.  Strangers were already living there; smoke blew gray from the stove-pipes, and glass windows glinted in the sunshine.

-excerpt from 

By The Shores Of Silver Lake

Day 10...

We traveled along the next morning to our next destination, De Smet, South Dakota.  As we traveled I read more from our book, Little Town on the Prairie because after all... that's were we were going.

This "little town" was the town  of De Smet that Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote about in several of her books -the little town near Silver Lake were Laura's family settled so many years ago.

We pulled into De Smet later in the morning, found our RV park and got settled in.  Then we headed into town to look around and have a tour.  Here we are in the gift shop waiting for our tour...

Our tour started with The Surveyors House (below).  We were not allowed to take any pictures inside the house.  This is the actual house, moved to a location in town so that it can be on display for the public.

It would be fun to see the surveyors' house all by herself.  It stood up in front of her suddenly.  It was a big house, a real house with two stories, and glass windows.  Laura opened the door and peeped in.  then she pushed the door back... and she went in.... the largeness of the empty house seemed to wait and listen.  It seemed to know that Laura was there, but it had not made up its mind about her.  It would wait and see...

excerpt from

On the Shores of Silver Lake

Next we went into the original De Smet school where Laura and Carrie both attended school.

Carrie took hold of Laura's hand.  It helped Laura, to know that Carrie was even more scared than she was. Bravely they crossed wide Main Street and walked steadily on along Second Street.  It seemed a long, long way to the schoolhouse that stood on the open prairie with no other buildings near...Laura and Carrie came nearer and nearer. Laura's throat was so choked that she could hardly breathe...There was no time to say anything more, for the teacher came to the door with a handbell, and they all went into school.

excerpt from 

The Long Winter

Pictures taken from inside the original school house with some of the wall pealed back to show the original walls and blackboards...

Our tour guide and Melita in one of the front desks...

Maya was the one who researched and planned our time here at De Smet.  She did a great job of putting together a packed, fun filled day for us.  Because of our need to travel in the morning to get here, we had to rush things a little more than we wanted to.  But it all worked out fine.  Thanks Maya!

Grinding wheat to make flour in a coffee mill, hard work...

"We have a mill," Ma replied.  She reached to the top of the cupboard and took down the coffee mill.  "So we have," said Pa. "Let's see how it works."  Ma set the little brown wooden box on the table... The black iron hopper in the top of the mill held half a cupful of the grain.  Ma shut its top.  Then she sat down, placed the square box between her knees to hold it firmly, and began turning the handle around and around.  The mill gave out a grinding noise... "Can you make bread out of that?"  Pa asked.  "Of course I can," Ma replied "But we must keep the mill grinding if I'm to have enough to make a loaf for dinner."

excerpt from

The Long Winter

Melita with a hay twist that they used to heat there home during the long winter...

Here is the Brewster school, the first school that Laura taught at when she was just 15 years old.  They moved this schoolhouse into town to so they could include it on their tours to the public...

The board wall were not battened.  Streaks of sunshine shined though the cracks upon a row of six  homemade seats and desks that marched down the middle of the room.  In front of the seats stood a big heating stove... and standing around it were the scholars that Laura must teach.  They all looked at Laura.  There were five of them, and two boys and one girl were taller than she was.

Excerpt from

These Happy Golden Years

Inside the Brewster school...

Laura's stove and blackboard...

Stepping into the past...

Our next stop was "the House that Pa Build in 1887" after the family moved off of the homestead and into town.  We couldn't take any pictures inside...

After our tour was complete, we headed to Main Street.  We parked in front of where Pa's original store was located in town and were the Ingalls family live during the Long Winter.  Of course none of the original buildings are here any more but it was fun to see the location of all the places that we read about in the books...

Pa's store building was one of the best in town.  It stood by itself on the east side of Main Street.  It's false front was tall and square-cornered, with one upstairs window in it.  Downstairs there were two windows with the front door between them.  "Can we put up the curtains now?" Laura asked.  The two windows were like strange eyes looking in.  Strangers went by in the street, and across the street the staring store buildings.  Fullers Hardware was there, with the drugstore beside it...

excerpt from'

The Long Winter

We crossed the street and ate at this place (below).  This was the spot of Pa's first building in town and the family lived here for a short time before they moved out to there new homestead.  Then Pa sold the building and it became Couse Hardware.

Laura thought, "I would rather be out on the prairie with the grass and the birds and Pa's fiddle.  Yes, even with wolves!  I would rather be anywhere than this muddy, cluttered, noisy town, crowded with strange people."  And she said, "Pa, when are we going to move to the homestead?"  "Soon as I sell this building;" said Pa.

excerpt from

On The Shores of Silver Lake

Waiting for lunch and donuts.  Sitting not far from where Laura's family would have sat to eat their dinner...

Still a "little town" atmosphere...

Then we walked up and down Main Street, enjoying reading about each building and what used to be at each location.  Below we are in a store that used to be Bradleys Drugstore.

Laura was given a package which surprised her so much that she was sure there was some mistake.  It was a small black leather case lined with blue silk.  Against the lovely blue shone, all white, an ivory-backed hairbrush and comb.  Laura looked again at the wrapping paper; her name was plainly written on it, in a handwriting she did not know.  "Whoever could have given me such a present Ma?"  she asked.  Then Pa leaned to admire it, too, and his eyes twinkled.  " I could not swear who gave it to you, Laura," he said.  "But I can tell you one thing.  I saw Almanzo Wilder buying that very case in Bradley's Drugstore," and he smiled at Laura's astonishment.

excerpt from

These Happy Golden Years

Taking the reins...

We also saw the locations of the Loftus Store, Harthorns Store, Beardsley Hotel,  Wilder Feed Store, Whilmarth Grocery,Hinz Saloon and Clancy's Store...

As Laura sat sewing for Mrs. White in Clancy's store on Main Street, a great commotion aroused her attention.  A man had come out of a saloon on the opposite side of the street.  He apparently had to much to drink. He took one look at the door and stuck his foot through the mosquito netting, tearing it.  He met up with a short little man and together they marched down Main Street, sticking there feet through every screen door until they reached the saloon next to the Mead Hotel.  Arm-in-arm they went into the saloon.  The screen door slammed shut, but that one door's mosquito netting stayed smooth and whole.  Laura thought it was quite funny but Ma and Pa had a different opinion.

from

Little Town on the Prairie

(location of Clancy's store)

(location of Whilmarth Grocery, Mead Hotel, Hinz Saloon,  and Wilders Feed Store)

Finally we ended our town day driving around and going to the cemetery where many gravestones mark the graves of the family and townsfolk.  It was interesting to look around...

Here is the grave of Mother Ingalls, near Pa's and Mary's and other's of the family.  I couldn't help but think that they should have put her and pa's well-known quote on her gravestone...

"All's well that ends well."

There is so much more that I would love to share but this has gotten way to long, and I must END it.  I guess you'll just have to read the books and visit this place.  I highly recommend it!

This wasn't the end of the day for us, though.  Next Maya's plan was for us to go out of town to the Ingalls Homestead!  Coming soon...