Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Society

This is a small museum, nothing fancy, but a delightful stop for me as I am a lifelong fan of Laura Ingalls Wilder. The parking situation is somewhat precarious, as the lot is small and requires backing onto what can be a fairly busy highway. You enter into the gift shop, which has all kinds of pioneer apparel, decorative and household items, and books. I was happy to find a penny smasher machine. After paying for entrance, guests can explore two sides of the building. One is focused on Laura Ingalls Wilder and includes family artifacts or related items along with quotes from the books. On the other side are rooms with exhibits that focus on the history of Lake Pepin, including several tragedies that've hit the area.

Totally worth the $14 to get my entire immediate family into the historical rooms. The gift shop is free however, and full of gems so even if you're on a tight budget this is a worthy stop for Little House fans. If you only have time to stop here or the replica cabin, go to the cabin. But here is nice too.

The museum is seasonal, and it is small. However, if you are a serious fan then this might be fun for you to visit the birth place of Laura Ingalls Wilder. The regular adult ticket is $10. The museum doesn't have a lot of items from Laura but rather the town's people and her relatives that were mentioned in her books, example is the school teacher. There are activities to do during September Laura's day. Overall it was fun and it is about 1.5 hour drive from Minneapolis. https://www.lauraingallspepin.com/Some of the Ingalls extended relatives are buried in town at Oakwood Cementary about 10 minutes drive. There is no sign direction to their grave but it is nice to get a sense of the town and family.

I'm so glad we visited this place. The museum has 2 very nice indoor play areas for children. One is a replica of a riverboat and the other is a replica of an old timey kitchen. There are some original handwritten letters Laura wrote to various people, which was fascinating to see. This museum has a lot of information on Laura's immediate and extended family and their history in Pepin. There is even a real pig's bladder blown up like a balloon! If you are a fan of the Little House books, you know why this is exciting!