laura ingalls wilder memorial

I read every book - multiple times - as a child, and dreamed of seeing the places Laura lived. Last year, my 4th grade son read the books and was hooked, too. We had to go, and De Smet was a fairly easy add-on to our already planned vacation. After 40 years of waiting, it did not disappoint. It was a thrill to walk in Laura's shoes - on her prairie, in her house, in her school, in her town, and at the cemetery. Even my husband (who barely knew who she was) loved it. I caught him reading more about Laura later that night at the hotel!! The other unexpected pleasure was how genuinely nice, helpful, and accommodating everyone was, everywhere we went in South Dakota. It was our first trip to the state, but it certainly won't be our last.

This was the best guided tour we (two adults) took on our ND, SD, WY vacation. Whether you are a fan of the LIW books or the TV series or just a history buff, you will find the tour guides professional and full of interesting information about the pioneers who conquered this area. Tour includes the Ingalls first home (surveyor's house) in the Dakotas, the school where Laura attended, a replica of the school where Laura taught and the last home that Pa Ingalls built in town. On your own, you can view the gravesites of most of the Ingalls family (not Laura), and you can go out to the original homestead site where there is a plaque. (Map provided by the tour guide.) The cottonwood trees that Pa planted from seed are still standing there as well. The downtown of De Smit has many historic buildings with plaques to explain their significance as they relate to the LIW books. Very interesting. We bought shirts for family members in the gift shop, and and while they were pricier than some places, the profit is to maintain these properties. This association receives no financial support from the LIW fortune, which went to Rose Wilder's lawyer and his family upon her death. Don't miss this tour!

De Smet was the last “Laura” stop on a four-state Laura Ingalls Wilder homesite tour that I took in July with my 8-year-old daughter. The Memorial maintains several Laura historic and replica buildings. They also provided a nice map with different Laura sites to see. We arrived at the visitor center and bought tickets for the 11:30 a.m. tour on Monday, July 14. The museum attendant explained that there are activities in the Discovery Center across the street, and in the room in back of the visitor building. We had about a half hour before the tour, so we crossed the street to the Discovery Center. Inside the Discovery Center building (which is historic in its own right) we found several learning areas. There was a worksheet with instructions on how to write your name in Braille. There was an activity that allowed kids to decide what they would take if they were going to travel west by covered wagon. There was a little old-time kitchen that my daughter enjoyed playing in. My daughter was excited to see a pedal sewing machine there to be used, but even with both of us pushing on the pedal, we couldn’t get it to work. Kids also could make their own paper covered wagons (we grabbed one to go as she didn’t have time to complete it there). The tour began outside the visitor center. We walked down to the Surveyors' House. Laura described the house in detail in “By the Shores of Silver Lake,” and the house is just as she described, with a set of stairs leading to the second floor, a big pantry, and even (fake) food items as noted in the book. Unfortunately, you’re not allowed to take photos inside the house. Throughout the tour, the guide did a great job remembering the prepared tour spiels. However, it would be nice if she learned facts outside the prepared spiels. A woman in my tour asked if the family had lived in the Surveyors' House during The Long Winter. The tour guide incorrectly told her that yes they had. Next we walked to the First School of De Smet. This is the actual school house where Laura battled with teacher Eliza Jane Wilder in “Little Town on the Prairie.” The guide told us interesting facts about the acquisition and restoration of the building. Each desk had a slate with various sayings from the “Little Town” book. There were coffee grinders on a table in the building, with wheat you could grind (like they had to do in “The Long Winter.”) My daughter and the other kids enjoyed grinding the wheat. After that school house, we walked next door, to a replica of the Brewster School, where Laura taught her first term of school. The guide gave information about what it was like for pioneer school children. Next on the tour is the Ingalls Home, which is a house that Pa built after they sold the homestead and moved to town. It was several blocks away, so most people drove there. Once we all arrived, the guide told us about the house, the Ingalls family, and a few facts about Laura’s daughter Rose. She also showed us photographs of the family members. The home was very nice. I liked seeing that Pa, Ma, and Mary lived out their lives in such a comfortable home. Be sure to see Pa’s Big Green Book, which was mentioned in several of the “Little House” books. We also were able to go upstairs to see the bedrooms. Also look carefully through Mary’s room so you don’t miss anything. The gift shop was disappointing. There wasn't much selection, and most items were priced higher than at the gift shops at other homesites. Overall, this is a good tour, but if you’re a Laura fan, be sure to also visit the Ingalls Homestead right outside of town.

Everyone was so nice. The tour guide was amazing. She was so knowledgeable and interesting. It was so amazing to stand in the surveyors house. If you are a fan of LIW you must go. It was so fun and educational.

This was a great way to picture what was going on in the books. We had read them beforehand and it was good to do it that way.

I have been a LIW fan since I was a child and in recent years I've had the opportunity to visit many of her landmarks. This is one of the last I've gotten to. I'm trying to encourage my 9-year old daughter to read the books, thusfar with no luck. We were only "up to" one of the attractions in De Smet and we chose the in town option. Thanks to a marvelous tour guide, I'm so glad we chose correctly. I wish I could remember her name (retired lady with short brown hair & glasses) but she was a fantastic storyteller who kept us engaged for 2 hours. What the site might have lacked in actual artifacts (in comparison with other sites) it made up for in engagement. Worth time and admission fee. Oh....and my daughter now tells me she wants to try the books! :)

I have read all of the books so many times, and REALLY appreciated being able to tour the surveyors house and school. The authenticity is what resonated with me. My thoughts were that the tour guide was terrific. She really went out of her way to encourage people to experience each of the buildings. The guide went above and beyond to share other local sites to visit. Wile I genuinely respect the decisions of others. to me I felt like this tour beat the Laura's Living Homestead Museum hands down.

This tour is conducted by the Laura Ingalls Wilder Preservation Society and includes three buildings and a home that the Wilders built after Laura had married and left. It was worth seeing once, but I am not sure that the $12 per person fee was worth what we got to see.

WOW... great place...friendly volunteers...surveyors house, Pa's house in town, cemetery where the family is buried...except Laura, Almanzo and Rose who are buried in Mansfield MO. Loftus store is STILL there and open.

First, the summer exhibit with family artifacts is well worth the admission price. The two schools are interesting to see unless you have visited a lot of one-room schoolhouses. The surveyor's home and Ingalls home were enjoyable to see in person. My only concern is that our guide mixed up the book order, and we went from Eliza Jane as teacher, to the Long Winter, and then to Laura's experience leaving school in a blizzard and catching the side of the Meade's Hotel. Totally backwards.Must have read the books to really enjoy the experience.

It was an ok option for something to do. A little expensive for only an hour but good info. The host was really nice and knew a lot about The family

Our first trip to South Dakota was enhanced by a day trip to De Smet. Our family group of eight, including, a 12 and 14 year old, all agreed our time was well spent with the guided tour and exhibit here. The guide was excellent in content and delivery of information along with keeping the group engaged with occasional questions. Our 12 year old was especially pleased to give a correct answer-the result of having read all of the books!

The memorial itself is not much more than a gift shop unless you pay for the tour. The tour leaves at certain times and takes about 90 minutes. At one point you need to get in a car and follow the tour guide somewhere else. We opted to not take the tour.

We stopped here first and saw the Surveyor's house, the school building, replica of a school building and the discovery center. It was ok. The tour was good. The exhibit of the farmstead site outside of town is much better, it is too bad they cannot put everything there, so it is all in one place? I grew up loving Laura's books and now am getting my 9 yr old daughter into them, so it is fun to share the story of our pioneer background with her!

We thought the guided tour was a bit pricey. It was well kept up and the guide knew the family history. You get in your car and drive to one house and we also went to the cemetery.