DeSmet, SD Part 3

It was after 6pm and we were getting hot and tired, but we fit in a few more sightseeing sites in DeSmet. On the corner of the Ingalls Homestead there is the Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Site. This corner was donated to the Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Society in 1957. This is where the 5 cottonwood trees remain from Pa's homestead claim. Laura said during her 1937 visit to DeSmet, "Yes, these are trees my Pa planted".

This is the original Loftus Store. It was closed by the time we got there. It is interesting that it is still there.

Then we went to the DeSmet Cemetery and saw the graves for Carrie Ingalls Swanzey, Mary Ingalls, Infant son of Laura and Almanzo Wilder, Caroline Ingalls (Ma), and Charles Ingalls (Pa). We walked a few more steps to see the graves of Nathan and Grace Ingalls Dow. There are many other people mentioned in the Little House books in the cemetery but we didn't take the time to look for those graves. It is a huge cemetery with some headstones dating back to 1881.

I already blogged about the rest of our day. We drove to Watertown, SD and ended up eating at Culver's and then hurrying to get some shopping done and getting home around 11pm. It was a very full day. We were all glad that we went to the Society museum sites first and the Homestead second and then ended with a little more sightseeing at the end. There was more that we could have done in DeSmet but I think we hit the highlights of the town. I would love to go back again. I am thankful that we did take a day and do as much as possible.