Here’s the next in my series of places you might want to add onto your trip to the conference or any other Laura trip.
South Troy with Sign
South Troy, Minnesota has a very sad connection for Laura Ingalls Wilder fans. This was where the Ingalls family was staying when Laura’s little brother, Baby Freddie, died. There isn’t much left of a town left in South Troy where the Ingalls family once stayed. In fact there’s even less than first glance would indicate because the entire town moved to be closer to the railroad after the Ingalls family left. The relatives they were staying with seem to have been renting a farm because no property records have been found for them within the county. These two facts make it almost impossible to track down the exact spot of Baby Freddie’s grave. The cemetery surrounding the white church was started after Baby Freddie died (although as my search for Austin Palmer’s grave in Cedar Rapids indicates that doesn’t always mean he wasn’t buried there). There are several smaller country cemeteries around or he even might have been buried in a private plot on the farm where they were renting. Stories, theories, and rumors abound about where he might have been buried and what happened to his tombstone (if he even had one), but so far no one has been able to show definitive proof for any one of them. The modern town is located on Highway 63 between Zumbro Falls (yes, I took a photo of that sign, too) and Rochester. Rochester is home of the world famous Mayo Clinic and is full of interesting things to see and really cheap (in every sense of the word) hotels that cater to families staying there long term during treatment.
Museum of 3 Pillars
Most of the town of South Troy today is made up of a museum complex called the Museum of the Three Pillars. It is a tribute to the three forces the developers felt were the most defining for the American Midwest experience, the little white country church, the little red schoolhouse, and the log cabin. The church still has an active congregation, but I have never yet managed to get there when the buildings were unlocked. Still you can walk around the buildings from the outside anytime and take a photo of the town’s name on the road sign (or am I the only one who does that?). I would especially recommend you take a look at the one-room school front entryway. The design is fairly unique, but seen throughout the area and you might see several other unpreserved examples as you drive through the area. Also, you might want to compare it to the entryway that they tore off during the restoration process of the first school in De Smet.
Freddie Monument
Besides the buildings and the cemetery, there is also a John Deere D tractor. This was one of the best selling tractors ever in America. (I don’t know why, but then we’re Farmall and Allis Chambler people at my house – I will admit that one of the only two John Deeres I’ve ever driven had the best back support I’ve ever found on a tractor, but that was A LOT newer than a D.) However, the most important things to Laura fans is the modern historic marker to Baby Freddie. It includes a copy of an official death certificate and stands at the heart of the complex. Stop on your way by and pay your respects.
Sarah S. Uthoff, http://www.trundlebedtales.com
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UPDATE: Nancy Cleaveland informs me she has found deeds in the area. Clearly this is a spot I need to do some more work on myself.