Father Pierre-Jean De Smet
John Thune stumped in De Smet, South Dakota yesterday, which is named after Father De Smet, also known as "the spiritual Christopher Columbus of the West." De Smet, which is in Kingsbury County, is very much like Lake County--it's located in the agricultural East and is structured around farms and small towns. George Kingsbury, a Dakota Territory newspaper editor, wrote the multi-volume "History of Dakota Territory." There are close to 6,000 people in Kingsbury County and it is 99% caucasian. According to FBI statistics, in 2000 there were 0 murders, 0 rapes, 0 assaults, 0 burglaries, 0 robberies, and 0 larcenies in Kingsbury County. The most impressive buildings in these small towns are often the churches. Here's a picture of the local Lutheran church made of stone (more than 50% of the county is Lutheran):
Since it's part of the agricultural heartland of Eastern South Dakota, it's entirely appropriate that DeSmet is best known as one of the homes of Laura Ingalls Wilder (this is where Laura did battle against the evil-doer, Nellie Olson). Here's a picture of the Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Society:
Here's a picture of the statue of Father DeSmet in the park near, as Laura would say, "The House That Pa Built".
Inscription on Statue: "As a lasting tribute to the memory of Father Pierre Jean DeSmet of the Society of Jesus, who for over thirty years offered his life in the service of the Indian people traveling far beyond the Rocky Mountains and sharing with them his deep love of God and country. "
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