Getting Real With Shadra Bruce

Today, we drove to De Smet to see the Laura Ingalls Wilder homestead. I must admit, I felt like this was a bit of an indulgence for our youngest daughter, who has read and re-read the Little House on the Prairie books at least twice, was Laura Ingalls Wilder for her wax museum at school, and plans to be Laura Ingalls Wilder for Halloween. As it turns out, we all enjoyed the day much more than we imagined we would, and of course, Anika was flat out delighted with the experience. She now wants to move to De Smet (instead of Utah) and attend a one-room school and live at the homestead.

There’s probably nothing different about the Ingalls family than any other pioneering family of the era, but because Laura (and all of her sisters, who worked at various times for local newspapers) was such an exceptional writer, she brought history to life in her books. I read them as a kid and watched the show, but Anika has been fascinated (almost obsessively) with the pioneer experience. (It’s fun, in a way, because she likes doing “chores” – like carrying buckets of water to the flower beds and scrubbing floors. OK, sure honey!)

The Laura Ingalls Wilder homestead is the original 160 acres of land that Charles Ingalls claimed under the Homestead Act. To meet the requirements and gain ownership to the land, the family had to live on the land for five years and farm at least 10 acres each of the five years. De Smet was the last of many places Charles took his family in his quest for land, and like the Bruce family, he had the travel bug and tried to move on from De Smet a number of times. Being a man of honor, however, he stayed because he had promised Caroline he would (and she held him to it for the rest of their lives, simply saying “Charles, you promised” each time he mentioned moving again).

The homestead features the dugout, shanty, and reconstructed house that Charles built for Caroline. The kids get to experience several hands-on activities, from washing clothes on a washing board to playing a pump organ. The tour includes a covered wagon ride to the schoolhouse, where a retired teacher who used to work in a one-room school house holds class for the kids, who all get a chance to ring the school bell at the end of their session.

The land itself is privately owned and has passed from one owner to another who has always honored the historical preservation of the site. It was an amazing experience, and we were pretty excited to learn that Charles Ingalls was born in Cuba, New York (not too far from where we live) and Almanzo Wilder was born in Malone, New York (toward the Canadian border).

After spending several hours at the homestead, we drove on into the town of De Smet to visit the cemetery where Charles, Caroline, Mary, Carrie, Grace are buried. Laura and Almanzo’s infant son is also buried there, but Laura and Almanzo, along with their daughter Rose, are buried in Mansfield, Missouri. We drove by the town home Charles built for Caroline when they moved into De Smet from the homestead and stopped in at the historical society (they give tours of the key sites in the town as well).

It was fascinating to learn about the family. Having been on the road for quite some time ourselves, we were shocked to learn that in the wagons, they could only travel 15 miles a day and that during the course of their travels, they went more than 1,500 miles. It makes our trip (in our air conditioned car that can go 600 miles when needed) seem like nothing at all.

Anika was thrilled to find four books from the Rose years that she didn’t yet have – I have no doubts she will have them all read before we arrive home.