Laura Ingalls and her family moved to De Smet, South Dakota in 1879, during the events in By the Shores of Silver Lake.
When Laura married Almanzo Wilder in 1885, they continued to reside in De Smet for several years, as detailed in The Last Four Years. The Wilders then left De Smet to live for a year with Almanzo’s parents in Spring Valley, Minnesota, as Almanzo was recovering from his partial paralysis from diphtheria. They later moved briefly to Westville, Florida, hoping that the change of climate would help with Almanzo’s health, but the humid climate did not have the intended effect, so the couple returned to De Smet in 1892.
Only two years later, in 1894, the Wilders would officially leave De Smet for the last time as residents of the small town. While they returned to De Smet for visits, they did not live there after 1894.
The book The Road Back recounts the trip Laura and Almanzo later took to De Smet by automobile in 1931. It is contained in the compendium A Little House Traveller.
