Our first stop on the guided tour was the surveyor's house, which the Ingalls family stayed in during their first winter at Silver Lake. Besides the Boast family which stayed in a nearby shanty, they were the only ones to winter in that area.
The house, which Laura describes as a mansion, hosted up to 15 men a night that spring as folks came to the area for railroad work. Ma, Mrs. Boast and the girls cleaned and cooked for the men, saving up enough money to start Mary's college fund. Pa was farming back East to earn additional money.
Let's just say the home Natalie and I had pictured in our minds was not what we saw in De Smet. Honestly, I can't even imagine how 15 full-grown men slept on that floor. The entire main room is about the size of Gavin's bedroom and houses the stove and kitchen table as well as a few chairs. It was cozy quarters for sure. (Unfortunately, no photos were permitted inside the home.)
The next stop was the school that Laura and Carrie attended. The kids sat at desks, listened to our guide and imagined what it would be like to learn in that room. The society is currently in the process of restoring the school's interior and has even discovered some original blackboards underneath wallpaper.
We also visited the home of Eliza Jane, which she later sold to Pa. The Ingalls lived in that home the rest of their lives and they are buried in a nearby cemetery. We looked at many photographs, dishes, quilts and other items owned by the family. The home was enormous in comparison to others we'd seen and included an upstairs with three bedrooms.
Finally, on our way out of town, we stopped by Loftus General Store. The store is still open, more than 130 years later and stands in its original location. What a treat to see something with so much history.
What a treat to see all of these historic buildings.
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