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Office: Pepin County Emergency Management – Pepin County Government Center, Durand, WI 54736 | Zoning Administrator/Emergency Management: Maria Nelson
Services: Coordinates all-hazards disaster planning and response through the county’s Emergency Response Plan; maintains an Emergency Operations Center (EOC) with a designated alternative location
Notes: GENUINELY IMPORTANT LOCAL DETAIL – due to Pepin County’s rural, hilly “Coulees and Ridges” terrain (part of Wisconsin’s Driftless Area) and limited siren coverage, the county strongly encourages residents to purchase a personal weather radio, as people in most areas cannot hear the tornado sirens located only in Durand and the Village of Pepin.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-10 crosses the Chippewa River into Durand, the county seat; the county sits along the Great River Road National Scenic Byway on the Mississippi River
Transit: No dedicated fixed-route county transit identified; confirm current regional options directly with the county
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Pepin County Zoning Office – 740 7th Ave. W., PO Box 39, Durand, WI 54736 | (715) 672-8897
Services: Administers the Sanitary Code (Chapter 15), Shoreland ordinance (within 1,000 ft of a lake/pond/flowage, 300 ft of navigable rivers/streams, and DNR-identified wetlands), Telecommunications Towers ordinance, and Great River Road Preservation Zoning Code; all new construction in unincorporated areas requires an Address Application prior to any development activity
Notes: Five townships in Pepin County have their own local zoning regulations, and the City of Durand, Village of Pepin, and Village of Stockholm also administer zoning locally – confirm which jurisdiction applies to your property.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
County VSO: Pepin County Veterans Service Commission – three citizen members serving three-year terms
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Durand Community Library – 604 7th Ave E, Durand, WI 54736 | (715) 672-8730 | Hours: Mon–Fri 9 AM–6 PM, Sat 9 AM–12 PM (closed Sun)
Services: A member of the South Central Library System; genuinely unique in that it is a combined public library and middle/high school library, sharing the same building though each maintains its own separate governing board
Related: The Village of Pepin also maintains the Pepin Public Library
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Pepin County holds an extraordinary place in American literary history – the village of PEPIN, on the shore of Lake Pepin (the widest natural point of the Mississippi River), is the GENUINE, DOCUMENTED BIRTHPLACE OF LAURA INGALLS WILDER, author of the beloved “Little House” book series; Wilder was born on February 7, 1867, in a log cabin approximately seven miles northwest of the village, built around 1863 by her father Charles Ingalls with help from relatives – the very setting immortalized in her first published novel, “Little House in the Big Woods” (1932), which launched her celebrated series; the original cabin no longer survives, but in 1978 the Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Society of Pepin, through the generosity of the local business community and the landowner, acquired three acres at the original birth site and built the “Little House Wayside,” a faithful replica cabin based on Wilder’s own descriptions in her book – open year-round for free, self-guided tours; the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum in the village of Pepin (306 3rd Street) is open daily May through October; in 1996, Pepin became the official starting point of the LAURA INGALLS WILDER HISTORY HIGHWAY, linking Wilder-related sites across the United States; the village hosts an annual “Laura Days” pioneer-themed festival each September; the 1873-74 Pepin County Courthouse and Jail in Durand, built in the Greek Revival style, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
Notes: Pepin’s genuine, well-documented status as Laura Ingalls Wilder’s actual birthplace – commemorated with a faithful cabin replica open to visitors year-round – is an extraordinary and verifiable piece of American literary heritage.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Pepin County GIS – accessible via co.pepin.wi.us
Parcel Search: Pepin County Land Records
Addressing/911: Coordinated through Pepin County Zoning Office, (715) 672-8897
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Pepin County Humane Society’s Animal Shelter – 1008 W. Wells St., PO Box 113, Durand, WI 54736 | (715) 672-8389 | Email: [email protected] | Hours: Mon–Fri 5–7 PM
Services: A county-affiliated animal shelter serving Pepin County residents
Pepin County holds a genuinely extraordinary place in American literary history – the village of Pepin is the real, documented birthplace of Laura Ingalls Wilder, and the faithful replica of her childhood log cabin remains open for visitors year-round. The county’s rural, hilly Driftless Area terrain also means tornado sirens have limited reach, making a personal weather radio a genuinely recommended safety precaution for residents. All contact information above was sourced from official county, city, library, and shelter pages as of this writing; phone numbers and hours should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit.
About Pepin County County
Pepin County is Wisconsin’s smallest county and Laura Ingalls Wilder’s birthplace – the cabin site where the author of the Little House series was born in 1867 and Lake Pepin’s celebrated Mississippi River widening define a county whose literary heritage and river scenery give it an outsize profile for Wisconsin’s smallest county.
Durand (the county seat, population ~1,900) is Pepin County’s governmental hub, a Mississippi River bluff community on WI-25 whose Laura Ingalls Wilder heritage, Lake Pepin setting, and Driftless Area character anchor its identity.
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Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Pepin County Assessor at 740 7th Avenue W, Durand, WI 54736, phone 715-672-8857. WI assessed at fair market value.
Courts & Legal
Pepin County Circuit Court at 740 7th Avenue W, Durand, WI 54736, phone 715-672-8842, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
740 7th Ave W, Durand, WI 54736
(715) 672-8857
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Pepin County Register in Probate, Durand (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above). Pepin County is the birthplace of author Laura Ingalls Wilder, giving the county notable documented 19th-century pioneer family history.
Local societies
No dedicated Pepin County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Pepin County Register in Probate PO Box 39, Durand, WI 54736 (715) 672-8859
Pepin County is in West Central Wisconsin along the Mississippi River, birthplace of Laura Ingalls Wilder, county seat Durand. Wisconsin has NOT adopted the Uniform Probate Code and has NO separate probate court – probate is handled by the CIRCUIT COURT (Probate Division) for the county where the decedent lived, administered day-to-day by that county’s REGISTER IN PROBATE. Wisconsin runs two main tracks: FORMAL administration, supervised directly by a circuit court judge, and INFORMAL administration, supervised by the Register in Probate without continuous judicial oversight. Informal administration is the default path for most straightforward estates.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Wisconsin Statutes Chapters 851 through 882 govern probate. Wisconsin is also a MARITAL PROPERTY state (similar to community property) – under the Wisconsin Marital Property Act, most assets acquired during marriage are co-owned by both spouses, so a surviving spouse may already own half of all marital property outright; only the decedent’s half passes through the estate.
Transfer by Affidavit (Wis. Stat. §867.03) – available when the decedent’s ENTIRE probate estate (personal property only; real estate is not covered by this shortcut) has a gross value of $50,000 or less. Available 30 days after death to an heir, a trustee of a revocable trust, a beneficiary named in the will, or a guardian of the decedent.
Summary Settlement (Wis. Stat. §867.01) – geared toward estates of $50,000 or less where there is a surviving spouse, domestic partner, or minor children, or where the estate would otherwise be absorbed by allowances and expenses.
Summary Assignment – another shortcut for estates too small to pay debts in full.
Formal or Informal Administration – required for larger or more complex estates. Begins with a Petition for Administration (Form PR-1801) filed with the county Register in Probate to admit the will (if any) and appoint a personal representative.
Step 2: filing for administration
File a Petition for Administration (Form PR-1801) with the Pepin County Register in Probate.
Mail notice of the hearing to all heirs, beneficiaries, and interested parties at least 20 days before the hearing; publish notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the county for three successive weeks.
Once appointed, the personal representative inventories assets, and the court (for formal administration) or Register in Probate (for informal) sets a creditor claims deadline – generally 3 to 4 months from the date of the court’s order, with first publication of that notice required within 15 days of the order.
The personal representative pays valid debts and expenses, then distributes remaining assets to heirs/beneficiaries.
File a final accounting with the Circuit Court (Probate) showing all assets received, debts paid, and distributions made; once approved, the estate is closed.
Wisconsin’s probate filing fee statewide is generally 0.2% of inventory value, minimum $20.
What it costs
Filing fee: approximately 0.2% of the estate’s inventory value, minimum $20.
Personal representative compensation: presumptive statutory rate of 2% of inventory value (Wis. Stat. §857.05), though the will or the parties can agree to a different amount.
Publication costs, and (for real estate transfers under the small-estate process) an Affidavit of Heirship and Affidavit of Service, notarized and filed with the court.
Typical timeline: simple estates 6-12 months; complex or contested estates 18 months or longer.
Wisconsin does NOT impose a state estate tax or inheritance tax. Only the federal estate tax may apply, with a $15,000,000 per-person exemption for 2026 – meaning the vast majority of Wisconsin estates owe nothing.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
740 7th Ave W, Durand, WI 54736
(715) 672-8956
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
(715) 672-8857
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Department
Pepin County Health Department, 740 7th Ave W, Durand, WI 54736
(715) 672-8857
Human Services
Pepin County Human Services, 740 7th Ave W, Durand, WI 54736
(715) 672-8857
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Pepin County Health Department – Durand, WI
Services: Immunizations, WIC, environmental health, vital records
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Durand
Population: 7,300
Public Records
TruthFinder
Search public records for Pepin County County residents.
