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The Charles and Caroline Ingalls House, De Smet, South Dakota, photo

The Charles and Caroline Ingalls House, De Smet, South Dakota, photo

Commonly known as "The House That Pa Built", this was the final home of Charles "Pa" and Caroline "Ma" Ingalls, mother and father of Laura Ingalls Wilder. After years of moving from state to state and and often living in rather rustic conditions, Caroline persuaded Charles to sell the homestead outside of town and move into the town of De Smet and live in a more permanent residence and with better educational opportunies for the younger daughters. Charles began work on this house in 1887 and completed the work in 1889. Both Charles and Caroline Ingalls lived the remainder of their life in this house located at 210 Third Street, De Smet, South Dakota. Not only "Ma" and "Pa" lived here but also three daughters: Mary (after returning from the School for the Blind in Iowa), Grace and Carrie. Grace was married in the parlor of the house in 1901. Laura never lived in this house as she had already married Almanzo Wilder in 1885, two years before the house was built.

The Ingalls family moved to De Smet in 1879; first living in town and then on a homestead claim just outside of town. Laura and Almanzo Wilder left De Smet in the summer of 1894 and traveled to Mansfield, Missouri where they settled and lived the remainder of the lives. The rest of the Ingalls family continued to live in De Smet where Charles "Pa" died in 1902 and and Caroline "Ma" died in 1924. Charles, Caroline and daughters Mary, Grace and Carrie are all buried in the De Smet Cemetery.

Four of the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder are set in locations in and around De Smet, South Dakota: By The Shores of Silver Lake; The Long Winter; Little Town on the Prairie; and These Happy Golden Years.

De Smet is the county seat of Kingsbury County, South Dakota.

Numerous Laura Ingalls Wilder related photos including her birth place, the homes where she wrote the Little House book series, the graves of Laura Ingalls Wilder and Almanzo Wilder, Charles "Pa" Ingalls, Caroline "Ma" Ingalls, her sisters, and Rose Wilder Lane can be viewed here:
Laura Ingalls Wilder - Little House related photos

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