The real Carrie Ingalls from Little House in the Prairie briefly lived in Colorado

Carrie Ingalls Swanzey was the younger sister of famous "Little House on the Prairie" author Laura Ingalls Wilder. The cold climate of the north was hard on Carrie' asthma. She traveled to several places in her young adulthood seeking a more comfortable climate, including Colorado and Wyoming.

During her late-teen years Carrie was a typesetter for the De Smet News in South Dakota. Along with other newspapers throughout the state. By 1911, she settled in Keystone, South Dakota.

Carrie Ingalls (left), Laura Ingalls (right), Laura Ingalls' famous book.Photo byPublic Domain / Edited by Colorado

Carrie was born, Caroline Celestia “Carrie” Ingalls in 1870 in Kansas. She was the third child of Charles and Caroline Ingalls. She moved and travelled to many areas in her adult life. In 1905, she briefly settled in Boulder, Colorado. She was looking for relief from nose, throat, and asthma issues that had plagued her for years. After a year in Colorado, Carrie spent six months in Wyoming, living with her cousin Louisa Quiner Smith. She returned to De Smet, South Dakota with much improved health due to the dry climates of Colorado and Wyoming.

Carrie Ingalls Letter from Boulder, Colorado - part 1. Kingsbury County Independent, DeSmet, South Dakota, Friday, May 4, 1906, Page 5.Photo byKingsbury County Independent

She met and married mine owner David N. Swanzey, a widower with two children in 1912. Her husband was one of the committees that recommended Mount Rushmore to sculptor Gutzon Borglum. Her stepson, Harold Swanzey, grew up to become one of the workers who helped carve Mount Rushmore, and his name can be found on the granite walls below the monument.

Carrie and Swanzey took care of Carrie's blind sister Mary Ingalls after her mother's death in 1924. Mary Ingalls died of pneumonia in 1928 at the age of 63. Eight years her sister Laura Ingalls Wilder immortalized her and the Ingalls family in the book series Little House on the Prairie.

Last known picture of Carrie IngallsPhoto byKeystone Historical Museum

Carrie and several members of her family suffered from diabetes. The disease ended taking her life in 1946 at the age of 75. She was taken back to her hometown of De Smet, South Dakota to be buried with her parents and sisters.

Her husband and stepson are buried in the Keystone Cemetery in Keystone, South Dakota. Fittingly in a cemetery with a beautiful view of Mount Rushmore. As can be seen in the video below.

Did you know that Carrie Ingalls came to Colorado for her health? Let us know in the comments.

______________

Click for more NewsBreak articles from Colorado Martini

Please subscribe so you don't miss another exciting article. It would be greatly appreciated if you would be so kind to “heart” this article.