Ma & Pa Ingall's home in De Smet.
Photos by Arlene Tschetter
De Smet, located just 35 miles east of Huron on Hwy. 14, is the "Little Town on the Prairie" made famous by author Laura Ingalls Wilder and her pioneer adventure books. Named for Father De Smet, a Jesuit missionary who spent his like among the Indians, De Smet traces its history to the year the railroad reached this location. The railroad depot is now a museum which features exhibits on De Smet's early history, a South Dakota wildlife display and much more. Prairie artist Harvey Dunn was born near De Smet and was an uncle to Grace Ingalls' husband, Nathan Dow.
While visiting the community you must be sure to see the Surveyor's House
which was the home of the Ingalls family in 1879-1880 and described in Laura
Ingall's book, "By the Shores of Silver Lake". The other
preserved house is the Ingalls home, built by Charles Ingalls in 1887. The
Ingalls home displays the largest collection of memorabilia and artifacts of the
family in existence. From there, visitors can locate sixteen other sites
in De Smet mentioned in the "Little House" books as well as Huron,
simply by following the railroad. It is the same one Pa Ingalls worked on
and the same Huron County Seat he came to to file his claim.
Harvey Dunn School
De Smet Area Chamber of Commerce board member sits at an old school house desk
in the newly renovated Harvey Dunn School, which sits next to the De Smet Depot
Museum, while a Harvey Dunn Restoration Board member looks on. The
school was dedicated July 2000.
Harvey
Dunn School Dedicated
By Stacey Creecy
After 39 years on the Eldon Whites farm, three miles north and two miles west of Iroquois, the Harvey Dunn School is now officially on display in De Smet.
The school was originally built in 1893, and Dunn, who went on to become a famous artist, attended the school for nine years, beginning in 1894. After attending the school, Dunn moved on to attend South Dakota State College/University. The school was acquired by Whites in 1961 and was used as a machine and storage shed. His daughter, Nancy Frank of Huron, and his son donated the building to the De Smet Area Chamber of Commerce. The building was originally offered to South Dakota State University in Brookings, but the offer was turned down. The process of acquiring the building began in 1998, as De Smet Mayor Mark Hoek traveled to the Whites farm to see the school. After seeing the building, he wasn't sure the city should make the investment, but the city eventually purchased the building.
After the school house was moved to take its place next to the De Smet Depot, it was estimated that renovations would cost between $12,000 and $14, 000. The cost ended up being twice as much. "We did everything," said Harvey Dunn Restoration Board member Donna Ogren. "The majority of it is original, but it was extensive."
An outside contractor was hired for most of the renovation, but volunteer labor also helped. To raise money for the project, local donations were accepted. Tours of homes were given and donation buckets were set up throughout the town. A raffle for a quilt made by Vera Abrahamson was also held. A total of $14,000 was raised through local donations.
In order to retain the rest of the money needed, board member Vonna Leckey wrote a grant application to the Mary B. Chilton Daughters of the American Revolution Foundation. The grant provided $10,000 toward the restoration of the building. Out side renovation included new paint, tiling and boards. "We took some boards off another old building because some of the outside boards were gone," Ogren said.
The committee has had many items donated to furnish the inside of the building, as well. Furnishings include an old stove, school desks, a blackboard, a 48-star flag and a set of encyclopedias actually used in the school in the 1940s Some furnishings are still needed, though. "There's a picture of what it looked like when we started inside the building," said Ogren. "We also have illustrations of (Dunn's) work and some copies of his oil paintings. Due to the fact that we aren't a controlled environment and we have no security, we don't have any originals."
There are some original Harvey Dunn oil paintings hanging in the De Smet Library. Ogren says it was important for De Smet to have the school due to the fact that Dunn was basically a local in the area. Dunn was an illustrator for magazines and also illustrated products such as Coke, Maxwell House and White automobiles. He created oil paintings of school children, war and prairie life. "He was just such a great illustrator and he only lived six or seven miles from here in Manchester," said Leckey.
"There's not much around here that's dedicated to him, so this is
completely in his honor. He was a very stoic and talented man."
Article
written by Stacey Creecy with slight alterations
by Arlene Tschetter