Red Cloud is a city in and the county seat of Webster County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 962 at the 2020 census. Author Willa Cather made it famous.
The Willa Cather House, also known as the Willa Cather Childhood Home, is a historic house museum at 241 North Cedar Street in Red Cloud, Nebraska. Built in 1878, it is the house where author Willa Cather (1873–1947) grew up. Cather's descriptions of frontier life in Nebraska were an important part of literary canon of the early 20th century. The house was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1971. The house is one of eight structures that make up the Willa Cather State Historic Site, which is owned by the Willa Cather Foundation.
The Willa Cather Birthplace, also known as the Rachel E. Boak House, is the site near Gore, Virginia, where the Pulitzer Prize-winning author Willa Cather was born in 1873. The log home was built in the early 19th century by her great-grandfather and has been enlarged twice. The building was previously the home of Rachel E. Boak, Cather's grandmother. Cather and her parents lived in the house only about a year before they moved to another home in Frederick County. The farmhouse was listed on the Virginia Landmarks Register (VLR) in 1976 and the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1978.
The Willa Cather Foundation is an American not-for-profit organization, headquartered in Red Cloud, Nebraska, dedicated to preserving the archives and settings associated with Willa Cather (1873–1947), a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, and promoting the appreciation of her work. Established in 1955, the Foundation is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that promotes Willa Cather’s legacy through education, preservation, and the arts. Programs and services include regular guided historic site tours, conservation of the 612 acre Willa Cather Memorial Prairie, and organization of year-round cultural programs and exhibits at the restored Red Cloud Opera House.
The Pavelka Farmstead, also known as the Antonia Farmstead, is a house located near Bladen in rural Webster County in south-central Nebraska, on land once owned and occupied by John and Anna Sadilek Pavelka. The farmstead provided a setting, and its occupants characters, for several of the works of author Willa Cather, who grew up in Webster County.
Willow Shade, also known as the Willa Cather House, is a historic home located near Winchester, Frederick County, Virginia. The house was built in 1851, and is a two-story, five-bay-by-three-bay, rectangular brick dwelling in a vernacular Late Greek Revival style. It has a three bay by two bay rear ell. The house sits on an English basement. It was the childhood home of author Willa Cather (1873–1947) and was built by her grandfather, William Cather. She was born at the nearby Willa Cather Birthplace and resided at Willow Shade from 1874 to 1883 before moving to Nebraska.
The Webster County Courthouse is a "County Citadel" type courthouse with Second Renaissance Revival architecture that was built in 1914. It is one of ten Nebraska courthouses designed by William F. Gernandt. Its design is similar to Gernandt's for the Dawson County Courthouse, which was built during 1913–14. Both are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The George Cather Farmstead is a historic farm in Bladen, Nebraska. It was built in 1885 for George P. Gather and his wife Frances, whose niece was Willa Cather, a novelist and short-story writer. Cather used her aunt as inspiration for Aunt Georgiana in her 1904 short story, A Wagner Matinee, and she drew inspiration from the farm itself for her 1923 novel, One of Ours. Aside from the main farmhouse, more outbuildings were constructed up until the 1920s. George Cather died in 1938. The property has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since August 11, 1982.
The Warner-Cather House is a historic house in Red Cloud, Nebraska. It was built in the 1890s for Joseph Warner, an immigrant from England, and his American wife Sylvia. In 1904, it was purchased by Charles F. Cather, who lived here with his wife Mary. Their grown daughter, author Willa Cather, visited them for Christmas. The house has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since August 11, 1982.
The Matthew R. Bentley House is a historic house in Red Cloud, Nebraska. It was built in 1883 by J. Brubaker, a carpenter. Author Willa Cather took inspiration from the house for her 1915 novel, The Song of the Lark, in which she describes Duke Block. The house was designed in the Gothic Revival architectural style. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since August 11, 1982.
The William Ducker House is a historic house in Red Cloud, Nebraska. It was built in 1886 by Robert Cochrane, an immigrant from England who was author Willa Cather's Latin teacher. The house was designed in the Greek Revival architectural style. The house has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since February 11, 1982.
The Dr. Gilbert McKeeby House is a historic house in Red Cloud, Nebraska. It was built in 1883 for Dr. Gilbert McKeeby, a physician from New York City. His friend, author Willa Cather, based the character of Dr. Archie on him in her 1915 novel, The Song of the Lark. The house was designed in the Victorian architectural style, with a Vernacular Greek Revival porch. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since August 11, 1982.
The J. L. Miner House is a historic house in Red Cloud, Nebraska. It was built in 1878 by J. L. Miner and Hugh Miner. Author Willa Cather was friends with the Miners's children, and she took inspiration from them to write about the Harling family in her 1918 novel, My Ántonia. The house was designed in the Italianate architectural style. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since August 11, 1982.
The Farmer's and Merchant's Bank Building, also known as the Garber Bank, is a historic building in Red Cloud, Nebraska. It was built in 1888-1889 by Seward Garber and John W. Moon. The bank's founding president was Silas Garber. Author Willa Cather took inspiration from the Garber family to write about Captain and Mrs Forrester in her 1923 novel, A Lost Lady. She also used the building as inspiration in her 1935 novel, Lucy Gayheart. It was designed in the Renaissance Revival architectural style. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since March 5, 1981.
The Grace Protestant Episcopal Church is a historic church building in Red Cloud, Nebraska. It was built in 1884, and designed in the Gothic Revival architectural style. Reverend Mr Crockett oversaw its construction, and the building was moved to its current location in 1891. In 1922, author Willa Cather stopped attending the First Baptist Church and began attending this church. When the Munich-style stained glass was added in the 1930s, Cather dedicated a window to her mother and another one to her father. The building has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since February 11, 1982.
The Chalk Cliff and Republican River is a conservation area in Webster County, Nebraska near Red Cloud, Nebraska which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
The William Cather Homestead Site, in Webster County, Nebraska near Red Cloud, Nebraska, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
The Burlington Depot in Red Cloud, Nebraska, is a restoration of the station used by the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad from 1897 to 1965. Now moved north from its original place near the tracks, the depot is one of the sites owned by the Willa Cather Foundation and includes a freight room, agent's office, waiting room, and sleeping quarters in its two stories. The presence of the depot and trains in Red Cloud greatly affected Willa Cather's life and literary work, and the depot is available for tours to anyone interested in learning more about the author. As part of the Willa Cather Thematic Group, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
St. Julian Falconieri Catholic Church is the first Roman Catholic church in Red Cloud, Nebraska, built in 1883. Abandoned by parishioners in 1903, the church was turned into a residence in 1906 after the completion of a new catholic church. Its conversion to a home altered much of the original structure, which was restored by the Willa Cather Foundation after its donation to them in 1967. The church has historical significance due to its connection to the famous author, Willa Cather, especially because it was where Annie Sadilek Pavelka was married and her illegitimate child, baptized. Both the Willa Cather Foundation and the state of Nebraska have owned the church and, in fact, was operated cooperatively from 1994 to 2018. However, as part of the Willa Cather State Historic Sites, St. Juliana was returned to the foundation in 2019. Today, the church is available for tours and, as part of the Willa Cather Thematic Group, listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1981.
