De Smet is a city in and the county seat of Kingsbury
County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 1,056 at the 2020
census.
History
Located in the area of South Dakota known as "East
River" (east of the Missouri River, which diagonally divides the
state), De Smet was platted by European Americans in 1880. It was named for
Belgian Father Pierre De Smet, a 19th-century Jesuit missionary who worked with
Native Americans in the United States and its territories for most of his life.
In the mid-1880s, prairie fires and failures of crops after three years of
drought caused many settlers to relocate their farms and homesteads to easier
areas. By 1917, De Smet was a cow town, with many trains passing through every
day carrying cattle to market.
Currently a Christian and Missionary Alliance church, the
building was originally the First Congregational Church of De Smet; one of the
church's builders was Charles Ingalls.
The Charles Ingalls family, originally of Wisconsin, arrived
in De Smet in 1879. Their travels and pioneer life in Minnesota, Kansas, Dakota
Territory, and Iowa would be later chronicled in the Little House series of
books written by the Ingallses' second-oldest daughter, Laura Elizabeth - later
known as Laura Ingalls Wilder. Laura Ingalls and her husband, Almanzo Wilder,
would first settle in De Smet along with Wilder's brother, Royal. They were
later joined by their older sister, Eliza Jane, who took up a claim of her own.
She was one of the first women to file a solo claim. There the Wilders lived
just outside of De Smet on farmland, as well as Royal's feed store in town. The
Ingallses also had a claim outside of town. In the winter, they stayed in the
town of De Smet, at least while the girls were still in school. After building
a home and starting a farm there, Charles Ingalls helped to found the First
Congregational Church of De Smet, later helping to build the church building, with
the first service being held there on August 30, 1882. Ingalls and his wife,
along with his oldest daughter Mary, were among the church's eight original
charter members.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a
total area of 1.16 square miles (3.00 km2), all land.
Demographics
Historical
population
1880 116 —
1890 541 366.4%
1900 749 38.4%
1910 1,063 41.9%
1920 1,035 −2.6%
1930 1,017 −1.7%
1940 1,016 −0.1%
1950 1,180 16.1%
1960 1,324 12.2%
1970 1,336 0.9%
1980 1,237 −7.4%
1990 1,172 −5.3%
2000 1,164 −0.7%
2010 1,089 −6.4%
2020 1,056 −3.0%
U.S. Decennial Census
2018 Estimate
2010 census
At the 2010 census, there were 1,089 people, 478 households,
and 290 families living in the city. The population density was 938.8
inhabitants per square mile (362.5/km2). There were 552 housing units at an
average density of 475.9 units per square mile (183.7 units/km2). The racial
makeup of the city was 98.8% White, 0.1% African American, 0.6% Native
American, 0.1% Asian, and 0.5% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of
any race were 0.5%.
Of the 478 households, 24.3% had children under the age of
18 living with them, 52.3% were married couples living together, 5.4% had a
female householder with no husband present, 2.9% had a male householder with no
wife present, and 39.3% were non-families. 35.6% of households were one person,
and 22.6% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.17,
and the average family size was 2.83.
The median age was 49.6 years. 22% of residents were under
the age of 18; 4.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 17.9% were from 25 to
44; 26% were from 45 to 64; and 29.9% were 65 or older. The gender makeup of
the city was 47.2% male and 52.8% female.
2000 census
At the 2000 census, there were 1,164 people, 524 households,
and 300 families living in the city. The population density was 1,102.2
inhabitants per square mile (425.6/km2). There were 582 housing units at an
average density of 551.1 units per square mile (212.8 units/km2). The racial
makeup of the city was 98.37% White, 0.95% Native American, 0.09% Asian, 0.09%
from other races, and 0.52% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any
race were 0.69%.
Of the 524 households, 24.8% had children under the age of
18 living with them, 50.0% were married couples living together, 3.2% had a
female householder with no husband present, and 42.7% were non-families. 39.3%
of households were one person, and 24.2% were one person aged 65 or older. The
average household size was 2.09, and the average family size was 2.80.
The age distribution was 20.8% under the age of 18, 6.0%
from 18 to 24, 21.1% from 25 to 44, 20.8% from 45 to 64, and 31.3% 65 or older.
The median age was 47 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.0 males. For
every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.0 males.
The median household income was $27,760, and the median
family income was $41,989. Males had a median income of $24,722 versus $20,417
for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,372. About 7.3% of
families and 11.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including
7.1% of those under age 18 and 18.3% of those age 65 or over.
Transportation
De Smet stands at the intersection of the east–west U.S.
Route 14 (5th Street) and South Dakota Highway 25 (Poinsett Avenue), which runs
north–south.
The municipally owned Wilder Field airport is situated some
3 miles (5 km) north of the town.
The Rapid City, Pierre, and Eastern Railroad's freight-only
line between Tracy, Minnesota, and Rapid City passes through the town.
"The House That Pa Built", located at 210
3rd Street SW in De Smet
Notable people
De Smet is the town where the family of author Laura Ingalls
Wilder finally settled, and is the birthplace of Ingalls Wilder's daughter,
author and activist Rose Wilder Lane. Ingalls Wilder's father, Charles Ingalls,
moved to De Smet in 1879 with his wife, Caroline, and their children Mary,
Laura, Carrie, and Grace. There, after first living in the Surveyor House and a
couple of other locations in De Smet, Ingalls built their permanent home that
became known via Wilder's writings as "The House That Pa Built".
Construction on the house began in 1887 and was completed in
1889. After settling in De Smet, Charles Ingalls owned and operated the Ingalls
Store from 1880 to 1881, a small general-type store that sold various goods for
the home. While the store building no longer exists, the location is noted in
De Smet's downtown area with a marker on what's currently on the site, a former
bank building that now houses Gass Law Firm.
De Smet was also the childhood home of supercentenarian
Walter Breuning. Artist-illustrator Harvey Dunn was born in 1884, approximately
eight miles from De Smet near Manchester, and painted scenes of frontier life
in his later years. Harry George Armstrong, a major general in the United
States Air Force, a physician, and an airman, was born in De Smet in 1899.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Smet,_South_Dakota
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