About Us
Founding Members of the Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Society
Within weeks of Laura Ingalls Wilder's passing in 1957; Alice Kirchmeier, Aubrey Sherwood and Vera McCaskell founded the society in dedication to preserve and restore Ingalls-Wilder heritage in De Smet, South Dakota. Almost immediately, the group set to erect a memorial plaque to be placed on the original Ingalls Homestead. The property donated by Mr. and Mrs. Edward May was located in the northwest corner of the section where Pa's Cottonwood tree grow today. Over the next few years, buildings around De Smet were marked with plaques. Almost ten years after the foundation of the Society, the Surveyor's House was purchased and restored in 1967 and opened the following year for the public. By 1972, the house that 'Pa' built was also purchased and restored. In the years following, thousands of tourist visit the 'Little Town on the Prairie' touring the original homes. As work expanded preserving and teaching of Laura's legacy the Society has since acquired, The original First School of De Smet, a replica model of the Brewster's School, and several original Ingalls-Wilder artifacts including some of the Garth Williams illustrations of the 1950s.
As a non-profit organization, the restoration and purchase of buildings was only made possible with the work and help of local interest persons and gifts of Laura's readers from around the world.