Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Society Review

This was an experience that my entire family enjoyed, it was part of our mini Laura Ingalls Wilder tour. The tour begins with some recreation structures and moves to the house that "Ma" and "Pa" Ingalls lived out their days. I recommend paying for the tour it allows you to get access to the recreation building and the Ingalls house. I should mention you do not get access to the Ingalls house or the recreation structures without the tour.

A special place to visit on the Laura Ingalls Wilder Trail.

This is the only original Ingalls home that is still standing. It's an amazing experience to see how they lived!

I was setting on a bench just inside the door reading the plak when a young girl in pig tails looked in and for a moment thought I was a dummies the look on her face when I moved. Priceless.

Wasn't what I expected. Neat but not worth the long drive out of our way.

Absolutely fascinating even if you aren't a "Little House " devotee. Great piece of American history well presented.

Off the beaten path but worth a visit if you are a fan of the books. Lots of hands on activities for kids.

This site has a school Laura taught in and one she attended. It also has a prairie schooner. I did not realize they were so small! There is a shop with lots of period items. All this was free to see except inside the one school. For a price above our family's budget, you could have a tour guide explain lots of things and see inside the one school and a house she lived in. For a price you could also do hands on activities. We were only disappointed that the prices were not family friendly.

Living history, my 7 year old was amazed that "this is the REAL place where <insert scene from any of 5 books> happened!?"
We went for the Pageant which started at 8pm and included live actors, a narrator, horses, and period scene/costumes.
When you go, arrive early to the pageant and enjoy the pre-show activities.
I recommend bug spray and a lawn chair, it's an outdoor show.
Also, there are other Laura Ingalls Wilder things to see and do in town, so make time for those too as long as you're in DeSmet.
Our personal favorite was the shop had a bonnet and apron set for $25, how could we not :)

Informative tour with friendly guide. Unfortunately, masks are required and much of the experience is closed.

Sadly, a lot of the items displayed are not original. For the house, it was disappointing to hear that Carrie Ingals didn't prevent family items from being hauled away when new owners bought the home. $14/person is a lot of money to pay to tour this place.

Our grandchildren thought it was cool to be in the surveyor's house and classroom that the Ingalls were in! And to see the land! Wow

My kids (4 and 9) enjoyed this tour. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and did a fantastic job on the tour.

Great place to visit: fun, historical, interesting and hands on. Great place for kids!

My daughter and I loved it. We did the tour and our guide was friendly and knowledgeable. Our guide pointed out places to visit like Loftus'store and directions to the cemetery and the homestead. The clerk in the Loftus store was very nice and told us some of the history of the store too. The museum has free maps that have all the sites of interest marked so you can also explore on your own if you don't want the tour.

FUN!! It was a little pricey for our large family, but it offered some neat history. We especially enjoyed the Surveyor s House and the house in town. The gift shop had great gift and souvenir options as well. Enjoyed it but wish it was a bit more affordable.

The history was interesting and if you're a fan of the Ingalls you'll learn a lot. We were pretty surprised being a historical musuem that in the school house they had the pledge of allegiance with "One nation under God" in parenthesis... when asked why, they answered so it wouldn't offend anyone. That is literally history. Those are the words to the pledge of allegiance. Because of the censorship of history I can only give it 3 stars. If you're in town and have kids, go to the homestead on the edge of town-it is a blast.

Great little tour with additional information about the Ingalls and Wilder family. Pa, Ma, Mary, and Carrie are all buried in the local cemetery. Worth the time!

So cool! My son read the books so we just had to go show him. Drove from Topeka, KS. So worth it.

Rather upset that they're only open Thursday through Sunday. No way could I be here then, coming from NY.

Take your grandchildren here. Don't have grandchildren? Go yourself. Very fun and informative. Skip amusement parks this year. Costumes not required but highly advised.

Pretty cool to see and read some history of the Ingalls family.

I grew up adoring LHOTP books and The TV show. Our tour guide was knowledgeable but threatened to stop the tour because our children had lost interest in her lengthy lectures. The tour felt uncomfortable and controlled by the tour guide. We should have saved over $40 and did a walking tour on our own.

Very authentic something for everyone all of the furniture is what was actually there at the time the family lived there. If you want to know about pioneering life.... life on the Prairie... this is the place to go. They have the in town tour...and they are very knowledgeable

Must see for Laura Ingalls Wilder fans. This tour is only part of several to experience while you are in DeSmet, SD. Convenient times for tours. Knowledgeable staff.

Well done tribute on Pa Ingalls' 160 acre homestead site south of town. Reconstructed house, example of dugout, school where Laura taught, horse rides, Barn cats and kittens, campsites.

14 bucks an adult for a tour. dont go there pictures are free

Tons of stuff for kids to do and entertain them with. Awesome history here.

If you love the Laura Ingalls Wilder books, you will love this place! Tours are $15 per person. This is the original surveyor's house! A very exciting experience.

Enjoyed the visit. Had me thinking of "Little House on the Prairie" theme song the whole time I was there.

Very pleasant paced tour with a great deal of information about the whole Ingall's family history. Tour includes the Surveyor's house which the Ingalls family lived in, the school the girls attended, a REPLICA of the school Laura taught in, and the house Charles Ingalls built later on. Well worth the time to get there.

Did the tour. Very interesting guide. Enjoyed our tume thwre

Very educational hands on experience of life in prarie towns. Allow at least 3 hours.

Childhood dream fulfilled, great displays and history.

Didn't get to finish tour (dog) but guide very informed and interesting. Loved seeing their first home and school.

It's all very simple, but you can tour the grounds on your own, or join the guided tour. It's a very nice display of the pioneer history!

Unbelievably the surveyors house where Laura Ingalls lived with her family is still standing and in excellent condition and so is the school she attended in De Smet. The original blackboard that Laura would have written on also exists as does the last house Pa built for Ma and Mary to live in (until they died). There were many relics from her family in the family home and we were given a very informative tour (everyone wearing masks). This is an excellent, informative and historical place to visit and well worth making it a destination in itself.

We had a great time. The people were so nice and gave lots of great information about the Ingalls. Sleeping in the coverd wagon was so much fun. Highly recommend the stay.

Haven't need there since I was a kid. Maybe that should change.

Covers portions of her life not covered by the TV show or early books but really fills in gaps.

So much to see. And well done. Very much enjoyed this, with my whole family.

Great place to check out for anyone who has read the books. This place and the surrounding town really adds some perspective to the stories.

Take the time to go and see this historic sure and take the tour. Stay for the pageant is you are there in the summer months.

It gave a good feeling for the conditions and technology in residences in the early 20th century.

It's a very good and historical place for all ages. The staff is very friendly and helpful.

This was a very interesting day so far. Speaker is very knowledgeable about the family.

We really enjoyed the different tours they offered. Also a great gift shop.

Neat area full of history.
Even if you go during closed hours.
Great photo opportunities
The area has a Covered wagon, school building, statue, information and much more.
Free maps of the area with other tourist sites for Laura Ingalls Wilder

I learn something new every time I go. A great place to immerse yourself in history.

Will return someday for the full tour. Good digs for the kids in the gift shop.

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It was fine, a nice stop to stretch our legs on our journey back from the black hills. I wouldn't go out of my way to go here, unless you are VERY into the Little House stories and history.

Great reminder of how people used to actually work for their daily bread.

Loved this historical tour. Plan for at least 2hrs to see and hear the tour. It's worth the $14 adult admission

Loved it. So much fun. If you love Laura this will be worth the visit.

It cost a lot of money for something that was poorly put together. They don't seem to be on same page as the homestead and it isn't very interesting for kids. It should be cheaper. The tour guides don't know much and memorized scripted information. Overall disappointed.

So interesting to see true artifacts and the tour guides are extremely knowledgeable!

Interesting tidbits, even if much is merely a replica. Surprising that there are not more actual artifacts there from the Ingalls family.

Very interesting tour with a lot of great background history of the area and not just about the Ingalls although certainly focused on them.