Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Society - De Smet

IMAGES
of America

DE SMET

These young Dakota children stand in a garden of flowers behind the caf that faced Calumet Avenue. The caf, operated by Carrie Ely, was moving into a new era, along with Mungers Caf, owned by Howard and Flossie Munger, and Loranes Caf, owned by Lorane Washburn. (Courtesy of an anonymous collector.)

ON THE COVER: The Pony Brigade rides down Calumet Avenue. (Courtesy of the Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Society.)

IMAGES
of America

DE SMET

Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Society

Copyright 2015 by Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Society
ISBN 978-1-4671-1355-7
Ebook ISBN 9781439649503

Published by Arcadia Publishing
Charleston, South Carolina

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014958861

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This book is dedicated to the early settlers of De Smet and to the future residents who will maintain its history.

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

With some gentle prodding by Dennis Goreham and through their love of De Smets history, the authors, Cheryl Palmlund and Sharon Peterson, set about to bring you the history of De Smet through the use of postcards and pictures.

Appreciation is extended to the people of the community who gave of their time and knowledge to assist the authors in putting this book together.

The authors are grateful to Dennis Goreham for loaning his extensive collection of De Smet postcards, as well as to the Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Society and an anonymous collector. They are thankful to those who loaned their family pictures and organization pictures, including the following: De Smet Fire Department, Caryn Hojer, James Brandt, Bob and Nancy Montross, Greg and Kay (OKeefe) Wolkow, Fred Peschl family, Denise (Pratt) Larson, Dollie Purintun, Margaret Schultz, Gordon Skyberg, Patti Ward-Slater, and Dr. Richard Tschetter. Unless otherwise indicated, all images are from the Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Society.

It is hoped this book will instill in others how important it is to be a caretaker of the past, so that our future can always be guided by what has been achieved.

INTRODUCTION

What caused the pull of the prairie? Did it beckon with the promise of great fortunes or the promise of free land? What brought the early settlers to De Smet? To hear the actual truth, one would need to visit face-to-face with a settler. Since that is not possible, it can be surmised that the free land brought most of the early settlers because of the hope of improving their status in life.

The original Dakota Territory consisted of parts of Idaho, Wyoming, Montana and the two Dakotas. In 1873, only the two Dakotas made up the territory. In that same year, Kingsbury County was created, but it was rearranged in 1879 and organized by Governor Howard. Kingsbury County was named for George W. Kingsbury, an editor, historian, and legislator.

As settlers arrived and railroads were built, towns began to spring up all over the countryside. De Smet was platted by the Chicago and North Western Railway on March 28, 1880. Even though Father Pierre De Smet, a Jesuit Catholic missionary to the Indians, was never in the vicinity of De Smet, the railroad deemed to call this early settlement De Smet, Dakota Territory. A railroad construction camp was located on the shores of Silver Lake, just on the northwest edge of De Smet. The first construction train went through De Smet around May 1, 1880, and the first passenger trains whistle was heard on May 10 of the same year.

The small town of De Smet was incorporated September 22, 1883, and was known as Cream City in the late 1800s and through the turn of the century. Settlers came from the eastern United States, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, England, and Denmark, to name a few.

There was no guarantee that towns would survive, but survive De Smet did. In fact, it became the county seat of Kingsbury County in 1888.

Laura Ingalls Wilders book exploded on the market in 1932, and De Smet became the setting for the bygone days of yesteryear. De Smet is the setting for five of her books and is a history lesson for all who read them. The Little Town on the Prairie is privileged to receive thousands of visitors each year as people seek to walk the prairie that Wilder writes of in her books.

Harvey Dunn, illustrator, teacher, and painter of the prairie, was born approximately eight miles from De Smet and adopted the small town when he became friends with Aubrey and Laura Sherwood. The community shares a rich heritage of Dunns paintings on display at the Hazel L. Meyer Memorial Library. The citizens of De Smet recognize Dunns efforts when they hold a yearly Plein Aire Event art show during the summer.

Old Settlers Day is commemorated each year by the City of De Smet. From its inception until the early 1960s, the celebration was always held on June 10, unless it fell on a Sunday. At the present time, the celebration is held on the weekend closest to June 10. The event is believed to be the oldest continuous celebration in eastern South Dakota, dating back to 1890.

The lakes have long shared a prominent place in the history of De Smet. Fred Dow, homesteader of De Smet, claimed in 1879 that he had never seen anything like Silver Lake, which lies just southeast of De Smet. Caroline Ingalls named the lake because of its shimmering water. Unfortunately, today it can only be see through the many rushes that have made their home within its waters.

Lake Henry has been a favorite for fishing, skating when frozen, and duck and goose hunting. In 1910, when it was a resort-type area, picnics and ball games took place on its shores. For many years, the lake had little water, and activities on it became almost nonexistent.

Lake Thompson, the twin to Lake Henry, had a rebirth in 1988. In 1975, it was named a National Natural Landmark by the National Park Service because the lake illustrated the succession of reverting from open water to emergent vegetation (having most of the vegetation growth above water). From 1984 to 1986, weather conditions caused the ground to become supersaturated, and 110,000 acres of existing cropland and pastureland were flooded. In 1987, Lake Thompson became the largest natural lake in South Dakota, with surface acreage of 17,856 acres and water depth of 1,690 feet. The enormity of the rebirth has restored fishing and waterfowl hunting in the De Smet area even though the water has receded in many places.

Today, as one visits the city of De Smet, he or she will find a city with a good quality of life. The community offers a shopping district, medical facilities, development park, accredited educational system, mainstream churches, swimming pool, golf course, motels, bed-and-breakfast accommodations, and restaurants.

With every generation, there is additional history in De Smet, whether it is on a grand scale or a small pinch. There are so many sweet memories to talk about, that it is difficult to know which are the good old days? Is this the best, or is it yet to come?

One

IN THE BEGINNING