Located on the shores of Lake Pepin on Wisconsin State Highway 35, the tiny town of Pepin, with fewer than 1,000 residents, bears the distinction of being the birthplace of author Laura Ingalls Wilder. Laura’s days in Pepin are detailed in her first book, Little House in the Big Woods. The Pepin Historical Museum houses memorabilia of Laura and her family members. Seven miles/11 kilometers north of the town there is a reconstructed cabin at her birth site. Several of her relatives can be found in a nearby cemetery. Each September the town honors her during Laura Ingalls Wilder Days, a weekend celebration attended annually by approximately 5,000 people. The event is replete with a contest based on knowledge of Laura’s life as described in her books, a fiddling contest, crafts, a spelling bee, a parade, historic re-enactments and demonstrations of work and leisure activities from the pioneer period.
