Willa Cather State Historic Site
Willa Cather is one of Nebraska’s most famous authors. A tour of Cather’s footsteps during her years spent in Red Cloud, Nebraska takes a visitor to at least three different buildings in the small community.
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Willa Cather State Historic Site 326 N. Webster Red Cloud, Nebraska 68970 (402) 746-2653 Email: info@willacather.org Website: www.nebraskahistory.org/ sites/cather/ |
April-October: Monday-Saturday (8:00am-5:00pm) Sunday (1:00pm-5:00pm) November-March: Monday-Friday (8:00am-5:00pm) Saturday (9:00am-12:00pm), (1:00pm-5:00pm) |
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The organization of the Willa Cather collections that are available in Red Cloud through the Willa Cather Pioneer Memorial are divided in three of the buildings that are included in the Willa Cather tour of Red Cloud. The buildings with collection holdings include Willa Cather’s Childhood Home, the Farmers’ and Merchants’ Bank, and the newly renovated Red Cloud Opera House.
The contents in these collections include family memorabilia and possessions, as well as selected manuscripts, letters, and papers of Willa Cather.
Scope of Archive Collections
— Willa Cather’s Childhood Home (Pictured Above)
Cather’s childhood home (she lived there between 1884-1904) is filled with artifacts that belonged to the Cather family. It was renovated to appear the way it did when the Cather’s lived there. Many of the pictures, books, and dishes were saved by the descendents of Willa Cather’s siblings. Her grandmother’s knitting basket is original, as are most of the items that are found in her bedroom, which sits on the upper-level of the home. Although her bedroom is blocked from entrance (by a glass covering), visitors can see that the rose wallpaper that Willa Cather covered her walls with is starting to peel away.
The upper-level was also a play-room for the Cather children, and a couple of their games have been placed there. One side of the upper-level housed the family’s servant-girl. Most of the items in the kitchen did not belong to the Cather family. However, there are three canned items that were left from Willa Cather’s mother’s pantry…it is not known what is canned inside of them, but they are displayed on one of the kitchen shelves.
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The Farmers’ and Merchants’ Bank was built in 1889 and is now used as a museum and archive research facility. The archival materials that are contained in this building include:
Letters (Over 200 personal letters of Willa Cather)
Photographs (About 1900 photos of Cather, the Cather family, Cather’s friends, Red Cloud, Nebraska, and Webster County)
Vertical File (135 subjects related to Cather and her books)
Scrapbooks (5 filled books with newspaper articles and book reviews)
Articles and Periodicals (Over 400 articles)
Dissertations/Theses (Almost 20)
On Microfilm: Newspapers from Red Cloud (Commercial Advertiser, 1908-1968; Golden Belt, 1893-1896; The Nation, 1892-1908; Red Cloud Chief, 1878-1923). Newspapers from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh Leader, 1896-1900 and the Pittsburgh Gazette, 1901-1904).
Miscellaneous (Cather’s autograph book, manuscripts of early poetry, Cather family genealogy, almost 100 early short stories and poems by Cather, McClure Magazine (1896-1912), Cather Family Collection with books and other papers.
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The Red Cloud Opera House is the headquarters of the Willa Cather Pioneer Memorial and Education Foundation. From these offices and its employees, a visitor can be assisted with research, touring the Red Cloud area, or with additional questions about further research related to Willa Cather and her family. The Opera House became the new headquarters after it was renovated in 2002. It was the location where William Jennings Bryan spoke in the 1890s, and where Willa Cather graduated from high school in 1890. A shop filled with books and other Cather gifts is located on the main level.
Tours / Activities
Group, school, and individual tours are available year-round. To take a tour outside of the regular visiting hours, call the museum to make an appointment.
Other buildings throughout Red Cloud included on the “Walking Tour of Willa Cather” which my be toured:
Dr. Cook’s City Pharmacy (Cather’s place of employment during high school), The Moon Block (appears in The Song of the Lark), Auld Public Library, Grace Episcopal Church (church where Cather was confirmed in 1922), State Band Building, Harling Home (from My Ántonia), Rosen House (from “Old Mrs. Harris”), Baptist Church (attended by Cather and her family during her childhood), Cather Family Home (latest residence of Cather’s parents, 1904-1931), Methodist Church (from My Ántonia), Webster County Court House (from One of Ours)
Webster County Historical Society
The Webster County Museum holds many family and individual artifacts from all of the communities throughout Webster County. It is located in a 22-room mansion that was built in 1909.
| Webster County Historical Society 721 West 4th Street Red Cloud, Nebraska 68970 (402) 746-2444 |
Open Everyday between April 1 and October 30 (1:00pm-5:00pm), (The Museum is closed on Easter, Mother’s Day, and Fourth of July.) Individual and group tours of the museum are available upon a scheduled appointment. Please call (402) 746-2444. The Genealogy Department is open year-round. |
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The mansion displays different aspects of living between the late 1800s and the early 1900s. Adjacent to the mansion in the Pioneer Farm Implement Building are various pieces of equipment from the early days of farming, including a steam engine from 1914 and a Case threshing machine. There is also an “Exhibit Building” which is a paleontology exhibit, and displays some of the artifacts that have been found throughout Webster County. The Webster County Genealogy Department is also house in the museum.
Scope of Archive Collections and Primary Materials
Most of the collected materials in the museum relate to the lives of people who settled throughout Webster County between the late 1800s and the early 1900s. These items include books, diaries, Bibles, church hymnals, paintings, dictionaries, clothing, antique furniture, dishes, utensils, calendars, photographs, and brochures.
There are also items (school books and desks) from the first school house in Webster County, which was located in Guide Rock, Nebraska in 1867.
Photographs and a few brochures and letters from Silas Garber are available at the museum. Garber was the first settler of Webster County and was the Governor of Nebraska from 1875-1879.
There are reminiscences of the “Great storm of Red Cloud” from 1879, when a storm nearly destroyed the entire town. The majority of the town’s buildings were leveled and there was $10,000 in damages. There are a few photographs of this event.
The Genealogy Department has marriage announcements and obituaries that date back to the late 1800s. These are available for research. The department also has old copies of the Blue Hill Leader and the Webster County Argus available.
Auld Public Library (Red Cloud, Nebraska)
The Auld Public Library was established when William Thomas Auld gave the city of Red Cloud $20,000. William Thomas Auld was the uncle of J.W. (Bill) Auld, who married Jessica Cather, one of Willa Cather’s younger sisters.
| Auld Public Library 537 N. Webster Red Cloud, Nebraska 68970 (402) 746-3352 |
Monday-Wednesday (2:00pm-5:00pm) Thursday (2:00pm-7:00pm) Friday-Saturday (2:00pm-5:00pm) Sunday (Closed) |
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The Auld Public Library is organized in a card catalogue that is available at the library. The library’s collection is organized into Nebraska History, Red Cloud Schools, Webster County History, City of Red Cloud History, nonfiction, children’s literature, audio and video tapes, and a section of Reference Materials, including almanacs, maps, and encyclopedias.
Scope of Archive Collections
The materials included in the sections that pertain to the city of Red Cloud include several newspaper collections, centennial celebration booklets, and yearbooks from the Red Cloud School District.
The section on Nebraska History focuses on the works by and about Willa Cather, but also includes books on the settlement and development of the state of Nebraska. There are also books by other Nebraska authors, including Mari Sandoz and John Niehardt.
Primary Materials Available
Newspaper clippings from throughout Webster County that relate to deaths and marriages are available in booklets at the Auld Public Library. The library also offers its patrons a selection from current local, state, and national newspapers.
Tours / Activities
A visit to the Auld Public Library is suggested during the “Walking Tour of Willa Cather’s Red Cloud,” which is offered by the Willa Cather Pioneer Memorial and Educational Foundation. Although the tour is not directly tied to a tour of the Auld Public Library, one is available through the library employee.
Blue Hill Public Library
The Blue Hill Public Library is located in a renovated house of the Blue Hill community on the main street of the town.
| Blue Hill Public Library 317 West Gage Street Blue Hill, Nebraska 68930 (402) 756-2701 |
Monday (9:00am-12:00pm) Wednesday-Thursday (1:00pm-5:00pm) Saturday (9:00am-12:00pm) |
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The library catalogue may be accessed through the library’s online computer catalogue. A computer is available for use in the library. The library is divided into sections of fiction, nonfiction, young adult reading, children’s literature, and an area of current magazines and newspapers. One area of the library holds materials specifically related to the history of Nebraska, and Webster County.
Scope of Archive Collections and Primary Materials Available
Included in the local section of books is The Heritage of Blue Hill (Blue Hill Bicentennial Booklet, 1977), Webster County: Visions of the Past (n.d.), and a guide to genealogical research for Webster County. Other books include yearbooks and a collection of community newspaper clippings, and recent marriage and death announcements.
Tours / Activities
The Blue Hill Public Library holds a book drive every year. Please call the library to inquire about the date of the book drive.