Episode 6:

Little Town on the Prairie

In the small town of De Smet, the pioneer spirit is just as alive as it was when Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of the "Little House on the Prairie" series, was growing up there. Hear the squeak of wagon wheels and the rustle of prairie grass as we visit the places that shaped Laura’s beloved books.

Learn More About the Episode

This episode follows the Ingalls family's journey from a dirt dugout in Minnesota to their adopted hometown of De Smet, where the landscapes are still as “free and big and splendid” as Laura described them. Join us as we roll across the prairie in a horse-drawn cart to the Ingalls Homestead, take part in a spelling bee at the 1889 Little Prairie School, drop into rehearsals for the annual Laura Ingalls Wilder Pageant and uncover treasures in the archive room at the Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Society Museum.

You’ll hear from:

Ann Lesch, Ingalls Homestead
Christie Hubbard, Laura Ingalls Wilder Pageant Society
Mary Jo Wirtz, Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Society Museum

Available on Spotify, Apple and Amazon

For some people, this is something they’ve wanted to visit their whole lives. People cry sometimes. It’s very emotional and moving for people in a lot of ways. I think when people come here to visit, and they’ve come from such a distance, they can still see the landscape. It’s like she described. It’s changed — we have farms and homes and communities — but it still feels like the descriptions in her books, so it means a lot to people.

Ann Lesch, Operations Manager, Ingalls Homestead

Check out the trailer now!

Laura Ingalls Wilder Pageant

Held over three weekends in July, the Laura Ingalls Wilder Pageant has brought Laura’s written works to life every summer since 1971. These family-friendly dramas change yearly, but they're always performed on an outdoor stage overlooking cottonwood trees planted by Pa Ingalls himself.