Silver Lake (Kingsbury County, South Dakota)

{{Short description| Lake in the state of South Dakota, United States}}

Silver Lake is a reclaimed lake located immediately east of De Smet, on the north side of U.S. Highway 14. Big Slough is a marsh connected to the southwest end of Silver Lake.

{{coord|44|22|54|N|97|31|18.1|W|type:waterbody_region:US-SD_source:GoogleMaps|display=title}}

History

Silver Lake and Big Slough were written about extensively by Laura Ingalls Wilder in her novel By the Shores of Silver Lake. Caroline Ingalls named the lake for the silvery appearance of its surface.{{cite book|author=Federal Writers' Project|author-link=Federal Writers' Project|title=South Dakota place-names, v.2|url=http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015027015455;view=1up;seq=323|year=1940|publisher=University of South Dakota|page=68}}{{Cite book |last1=Wilder |first1=Laura Ingalls |title=By the shores of Silver Lake |last2=Williams |first2=Garth |date=1994 |publisher=HarperCollins |isbn=978-0-06-026416-1 |location=New York}} The Ingalls home (currently, a museum) and Surveyor's House are very close to it. The lake is a "prairie pothole," a depression in which rain and snow-melt collect without any outlet that regulates its level.{{Cite web |title=De Smet, South Dakota {{!}} Little Town on the Prairie |url=https://www.desmetsd.com/laura-ingalls-wilder |access-date=2024-01-13 |website=www.desmetsd.com |language=en}} A drainage ditch to nearby Lake Henry was built in the 1920s with the support of local land owners to prevent the lake from fluctuating and flooding the surrounding land. The dry lakebed was used as a rubbish dump, although a portion of the lake has since filled again with water.{{Cite web |title=Silver Lake |url=http://www.pioneergirl.com/blog/archives/9836 |access-date=2024-01-13 |language=en-US}}

A concrete walking path to the area of the lake was built in 2008 to allow visitors to DeSmet to experience it. As of 2023, an observation tower near Silver Lake is being constructed with the aid of the National Park Service and various local agencies to allow tourists to better observe the landscape described in Wilder's books.{{Cite web |date=2023-07-06 |title=Big plans for Ingalls' Silver Lake area near DeSmet |url=https://www.keloland.com/keloland-com-original/big-plans-for-ingalls-silver-lake-area-near-desmet/ |access-date=2024-01-13 |website=KELOLAND.com |language=en-US}} As of 2022, planning was underway for the construction of additional hiking trails and boardwalks in Big Slough.{{Cite web |last=KELO-TV |date=2023-07-08 |title=Planning underway for Silver Lake trail, tower near De Smet |url=https://www.mykxlg.com/news/local/planning-underway-for-silver-lake-trail-tower-near-de-smet/article_49733eb4-1cda-11ee-83e6-3bf6b8f8bec6.html |access-date=2024-01-13 |website=mykxlg.com |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Kulkarni |first=Kerry |title=Kingsbury County trail will encourage outdoor adventure, education and tourism |url=https://www.thepublicopinion.com/story/news/2022/07/05/kingsbury-county-hwy-14-trail-planned-community-support-needed/7732409001/ |access-date=2024-01-13 |website=The Public Opinion |language=en-US}}

References

External links

[http://www.fws.gov/madisonwetlands/special_places.htm Fws.gov]
[https://maps.google.com/maps?ll=44.385871,-97.551703&spn=0.10,0.10 DeSmet on The Google Maps]

Category:Former lakes of the United States

Category:Lakes of South Dakota

Category:Marshes of South Dakota

Category:Lakes of Kingsbury County, South Dakota