Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Prairie and Corn Palace
De Smet, SD
De Smet is best known as the “Little Town on the Prairie,” made famous by Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books about her life here. She and her family moved to De Smet in 1879, and the town features prominently in five of her novels. Driving in, it’s clear this is a place built on its connection to her stories. I stopped at the Surveyors’ House, the Brewster School, and the First School of De Smet. All were closed for Labor Day, but the buildings stand as a reminder of how close the fictional tales were to Wilder’s real life.
From there I made my way to the courthouse. The Kingsbury County Courthouse was built in 1898, a classic red-brick building with a clock tower that still dominates the skyline of this small prairie town. Even with all the construction tearing up De Smet’s streets for new infrastructure projects, the courthouse felt solid, a piece of history holding firm while everything around it was dirt and dust.
Downtown was also torn up, the streets blocked and muddy from the work. Still, I walked a bit to see where the Ingalls family once ran a business and reportedly spent one of their coldest winters. I stopped for pictures of that building along with the bank across the street. Wandering down an alley, I noticed names and initials carved into the bricks—layer upon layer of visitors leaving their mark over the years. It felt like a small-town version of graffiti, but with a longer sense of history.
Outside of town, I drove to the Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial site and took photos of the grounds. The memorial honors Wilder and her family, keeping alive the stories that made this place famous. A little further down the road is the reconstructed Ingalls Homestead. I didn’t take the paid tour, but from the roadside I captured plenty of photos: a Conestoga wagon being pulled by two horses, replica pioneer buildings, and the broad open land that served as the Ingalls’ homestead claim. Even from a distance, you could sense how this site connects visitors directly back to the pioneer days.
Nearby, a small white church sat at the corner of a field. From what I read, it had been moved here to preserve it as part of the Ingalls story. Its simple structure stood out against the farmland, one more piece of the community’s effort to hold onto its past.
I also drove up the hill to the Ingalls Homestead Visitor Center. Inside they have a short film covering the times, a gift shop selling souvenirs, and shelves filled with all of Laura’s books, including Little House on the Prairie. That series of books, of course, inspired the famous television show of the same name. The show ran on NBC from 1974 to 1983, covering nine seasons and 204 episodes, plus a few made-for-TV movies. It was one of the most popular family dramas of its time, earning strong ratings and still running in reruns decades later. For many people, De Smet isn’t just a stop on the prairie—it’s a chance to step into the world they first saw on TV.
Mitchell, SD
From De Smet I headed further south to Mitchell, home of the famous Corn Palace. Honestly, I wasn’t planning to stop. It just didn’t sound like much more than a roadside attraction. But the moment I pulled up in front of the building, it grabbed my attention. The outside walls were covered in detailed murals made entirely from corn and other crops, something you really can’t appreciate until you see it up close.
I hadn’t read much about the place ahead of time, so I wasn’t sure what I’d find inside. It turned out the Corn Palace is actually an auditorium and event space. Inside, there’s a large stage and seating that reminded me more of a small-town civic center than a quirky roadside stop. Along one wall was an exhibit about the history of the Corn Palace, and that display alone kept me busy for a good half hour. The panels explained how Mitchell built its first Corn Palace in 1892 as a way to show off the state’s agricultural prosperity and to attract settlers. The tradition stuck, and today it remains one of the most recognizable landmarks in South Dakota.
Reading further, I was surprised at the number of famous performers and personalities who had appeared here. Bob Hope played the Corn Palace, as did Tommy Dorsey and his orchestra. The Sousa Band performed here in the early days. Lawrence Welk, who grew up in nearby North Dakota, also made appearances. More locally, Mike Miller—who grew up in Mitchell and went on to win an NBA Championship with the Miami Heat—has strong ties to the building. George McGovern, the U.S. senator and presidential candidate, lived in Mitchell for many years and taught at Dakota Wesleyan University, just blocks away, making him another figure closely connected to the town.
I took photos inside the auditorium and then stepped back outside to study the building itself. Each summer, the corn murals are stripped and redesigned based on a new theme. The designs are drawn up by local artists, and the actual work of applying the corn is handled by local farmers and community volunteers. Ears of corn are sawed in half lengthwise and nailed flat to the building, with different colored corn creating the patterns and images. Around 275,000 ears of corn are used each year, along with grains and native grasses. Funding for the yearly redesign comes from the city of Mitchell, which views it as an investment in tourism, and judging by the steady flow of visitors, it’s money well spent.
Outside the Corn Palace, I met a couple—Dennis and Blair from Philadelphia. I asked Dennis if he knew whether the wall was still being worked on. He wasn’t sure, and admitted he was just passing through too. They were on their way to Seattle to catch a cruise and had decided to drive across the country. Mitchell was right off the interstate and made a perfect diversion for them. We chatted for a bit, I wished them a good trip, and then I continued exploring downtown.
Main Street, like in so many towns I’d visited lately, was torn up for construction. Streets were blocked, sidewalks were partly closed, but I still managed to walk around and grab some photos. For dinner, I stopped at Bradley’s Pub & Grille right beside the Corn Palace. Over a meal and a drink, I chatted with the bartender, who explained that the corn murals aren’t always finished by the end of summer—sometimes the work stretches into winter. He also mentioned a new exhibit of faces that had been added around the base of the building, though no one seemed to know if it was permanent or temporary.
By 8:30 the Corn Palace lights were on, so I grabbed one last photo before calling it a night. A friend had told me there was a chance the aurora borealis might be visible, so I drove north out of town to see what I could find. I pulled over by the river, caught a nice sunset, and then waited until 11 p.m. scanning the skies. Nothing. No northern lights. Eventually, I gave up and drove back into town, ending the day parked at the Walmart on the south side of Mitchell.
