“Once upon a time, sixty years ago, a little girl lived in the big woods of Wisconsin, in a little gray house made of logs.” If you’re like me, those words sent a tingle of excitement up your spine as a child. I knew I was in for a great story even as I fumbled my way through learning to read it to myself. Laura Ingalls was born near Pepin, Wisconsin on February 7, 1867. This cabin is a replica of that little gray house made of logs on the original property of the Ingalls family. The cabin has one large room with a stone fireplace, two smaller rooms, and a loft above the smaller rooms.
A little more than a year after Laura was born, she was bundled into a covered wagon with Ma, Pa, and Mary bound for Kansas Territory. Life in Kansas didn’t work out for them, so they (now with baby Carrie) returned to their little house near Pepin in 1870. Laura and Mary went to school in nearby Barry Corner until the family moved to Minnesota in 1873. Laura chronicled her life here in her first book, “Little House in the Big Woods.” It was published in 1932 and became the first book in the “Little House” series.
