Former (and longtime) Burr Oak director Ferneva Brimacomb speaks to a tour group at the Masters Hotel in Burr Oak, Iowa.

Babette at the lovely cooking blog  Babette Feasts (which you all should read … go ahead; I’ll wait) tells us she read the Little House books as a child; her favorite was On the Banks of Plum Creek. After reading this post that details each of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s homesites, she says she’s curious: What bad things happened in Burr Oak? 

Judy Green, who presents educational programs as part of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s “The Story Behind the Stories” in Ohio, offers this answer:

While the Ingalls family was traveling to Burr Oak, their son Charles Fredrick Ingalls died from an unspecified illness. He is buried in/near Zumbro Falls MN, but I think his grave is unmarked. (See the Pioneer Girl website.)

Life in Burr Oak was a struggle financially and emotionally. You can purchase a booklet from the Burr Oak homesite called “The Iowa Story.” (See the website for Burr Oak.)

Thank you, Judy!