You knew her as "half pint" on the show "Little House on the Prairie.
But did you know Laura Ingalls Wilder's story started in Pepin?

For the past 19 years its celebrated its connection the the famous author.

In this Wandering Wisconsin, we head to the birthplace of Laura Ingalls Wilder.

She's the smiling girl with the braids who came running through the field on tv sets all over the nation in the 70's.

But it was more than 100 years earlier that historians say Laura Ingalls Wilder was born amidst the fields and trees of Western Wisconsin.

Catherin Latane, an author and amateur historian says, "Laura was born in rural - in Pepin Township about 6 miles from the village in 1867 and she lived her first 2 years in Pepin. Then the family went down to Kansas and they came back in 1870 and 1871 and she lived here until 1874. Part of her young life was spent here. Her first book "Little House in the Big Woods" was set in Pepin where she took a trip to town and they came to the Village of Pepin."

Catherine Latane has been researching Laura Ingalls Wilder since 1990 and co-wrote a book about the town during Laura's time here... She says living in Laura's birthplace means a lot.

"She's such a wonderful model of the way people can take care of themselves and get along. I think that every generation of families that reads the book together its something they enjoy," she adds.

And families from all over the world stop in at the museum in Pepin... Where they can find pictures of the famous prairie girl.... they can see quilts that belonged to her and of course get the books that started it all

She goes on to say, "as a writer she was extraordinary in the way that she could tell it so we could all feel what a little girl living in a log cabin in the woods of Wisconsin feels at night when the wolves are howling. The stories are told in a way where you can step right into that world and you believe it."

And if you want, you can step into the early days in Laura's world. There's a replica of the little house in the big woods on the Ingalls family home site. Latane says by reading the books and learning the history, she feels more in touch with generations gone by.

"Laura was, her experiences were very typical of the pioneer experience and I know for me she gives me insight into what life might have been like for my grandmother growing up," she said.

She says Laura didn't start writing her books until she was 65. She lived to be 90 and lived all over the Midwest: Wisconsin, Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa, South Dakota, Florida and Missouri. But it's her mentions of Lake Pepin and the village that have inspired an entire celebration this weekend.

"We have a lot of activities that are described in her books that people can actually see at Laura Ingalls Wilder days," she said.

If you want to learn more about the celebration, click here.