Iowa Vacation and Travel Ideas for Literary Tours

Laura Ingalls Wilder Park and Museum
3603-236th Avenue
Burr Oak, IA 52101
Website: http://www.lauraingallswilder.us
Email: museum@lauraingallswilder.us
Phone: (563) 735-5916

Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867 - 1957), author of the well-loved children's series based on her own childhood, lived briefly in Burr Oak, Iowa, with her family.  The Ingalls family moved here in 1876, when Laura was nine years old, and left the following year.  The Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum is housed in the former Masters Hotel, one of several residences the family occupied during their stay. It is the only childhood home of Laura Ingalls Wilder still standing in its original location.  In addition to the hotel, visitors to Burr Oak can see Silver Creek, where Wilder waded as a child, and the cemetery, where she and her friend Alice enjoyed quiet visits.

Every summer, the museum hosts a festival in Wilder's honor.  Events include a pie eating contest, frying pan toss, a cemetery tour, barbeques, and a pie auction. 

Other notable sites dedicated to Laura Ingalls Wilder and the Little House books include:

The Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Society in De Smet, South Dakota.  For more information, see  , visit: http://www.liwms.com/, or call: (800) 880-3383. 

The Laura Ingalls Wilder Cabin and Museum in Pepin, Wisconsin.  For more information, see: , visit: http://www.pepinwisconsin.com/cgi-bin/viewnlcontent.cgi?nlarticle_id=2, or call: (800) 442-3011.

Little House on the Prairie, 13 miles southwest of Independence, Kansas.  For more information, see , visit: http://www.littlehouseontheprarie.com or http://www.indkschamber.org/things_to_do_in_independence.htm, or call: (620) 289-4238.

Walnut Grove, Minnesota, setting of the popular television series, Little House on the Prairie.  For more information see , visit: http://www.walnutgrove.org/, or call: (800) 528-7280.

The Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Home and Museum in Mansfield, Missouri.  For more information, see , visit: http://lauraingallswilderhome.com, or call:  (417) 924-3626.
 
The Wilder Farmhouse in Malone, New York.  For more information, see , visit: http://webpages.marshall.edu/~irby1/laura/malone.html, or call: (518) 483-1207.

 

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