Burr Oak is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in Winneshiek County,

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

, United States, very close to the

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

state line. Burr Oak is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

and the population was 171 in the 2020 census.

History

A post office opened in 1853. Burr Oak was

plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Survey System, Public Lands Surveys to ...

ted in 1855. The village is one of the homes of

Laura Ingalls Wilder Laura Elizabeth Ingalls Wilder (February 7, 1867 – February 10, 1957) was an American writer, teacher, and journalist. She is best known as the author of the children's book series ''Little House on the Prairie'', published between 1932 and 1 ...

, author of the ''

Little House on the Prairie The ''Little House on the Prairie'' books comprise a series of American children's novels written by Laura Ingalls Wilder (b. Laura Elizabeth Ingalls). The stories are based on her childhood and adulthood in the Midwestern United States, Americ ...

'' books.

Grace Ingalls Grace Pearl Ingalls Dow (, May 23, 1877, in Burr Oak, Iowa – November 10, 1941, in Manchester, South Dakota) was the fifth and last child of Caroline Ingalls, Caroline and Charles Ingalls. She was the youngest sister of Laura Ingalls Wilder ...

, the youngest of the Ingalls children, was born there in 1877. There is a Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum in the local Masters Hotel. Hamlin Garland, noted American novelist, poet, essayist, short story writer,

Georgist Georgism, in modern times also called Geoism, and known historically as the single tax movement, is an economic ideology holding that people should own the value that they produce themselves, while the economic rent derived from land—includ ...

, and psychical researcher lived on a farm in Hesper Township, near Burr Oak during the 1870s.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2020, there were 171 people, 77 households, and 54 families residing in the community. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was 247.9 inhabitants per square mile (95.7/km²). There were 82 housing units at an average density of 118.9 per square mile (45.9/km²). The

racial Race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 16th century, when it was used to refer to groups of va ...

makeup of the community was 95.3%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.0% Black or African American, 1.2% Native American, 0.0% Asian, 0.0%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 1.8% from other races and 1.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino persons of any race comprised 2.3% of the population. Of the 77 households, 26.0% of which had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.1% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 2.6% were cohabitating couples, 16.9% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present and 23.4% had a male householder with no spouse or partner present. 29.9% of all households were non-families. 28.6% of all households were made up of individuals, 16.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years old or older. The median age in the community was 44.3 years. 27.5% of the residents were under the age of 20; 4.7% were between the ages of 20 and 24; 19.9% were from 25 and 44; 30.4% were from 45 and 64; and 17.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the community was 59.1% male and 40.9% female.

2010 census

As of the

of 2010, there were 166 people, 70 households, and 43 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 80 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 97.0%

, 0.6% Asian, and 2.4% from other races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 2.4% of the population. There were 70 households, out of which 31.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.9% were

living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.6% were non-families. 31.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 3.05. In the city the population was spread out, with 24.1% under the age of 18, 10.7% from 18 to 24, 22.8% from 25 to 44, 28.8% from 45 to 64, and 13.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39.2 years. The gender makeup of the city was 52.4% male and 47.6% female.

Education

The community is within the Decorah Community School District. The schools are in Decorah, and

Decorah High School Decorah High School is a public high school located in Decorah, Iowa. The school colors are red and royal blue, and the mascot is the Vikings. It is a part of the Decorah Community School District. In addition to Decorah, the census-designate ...

is the zoned high school of the district. Previously Burr Oak was within the North Winneshiek Community School District. The school building was from Burr Oak. - (PDF p. 92/512) North Winneshiek CSD operated all grade levels until 2001, when it ended its high school program. According to district agreements, students in the district could attend Decorah High or the high school program of Mabel-Canton Public Schools in Mabel, Minnesota. Effective July 1, 2018 the North Winneshiek district consolidated into the Decorah district. North Winneshiek School closed its doors at that time. In 2018 the combined interim board of Decorah CSD and North Winneshiek CSD approved an agreement with Mabel-Canton schools, effective for five years, to allow students in the former North Winneshiek district boundary to attend Mabel-Canton if they choose. The agreement applies to any post-merger Decorah CSD resident who is geographically closer to Mabel than to Decorah.

References

External links

Unofficial Homepage
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070929134203/http://www.btinternet.com/~prgreetham/fgtrail/BurrOak.html ''Frontier Girl''br>Map from ''Google Maps''
{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Iowa Unincorporated communities in Winneshiek County, Iowa 1855 establishments in Iowa Populated places established in 1855