Willa Cather House facts for kids
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Willa Cather House
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Willa Cather house seen from east (Cedar Street)
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 Location in Nebraska
Location in the United States
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| Location | Southwestern corner of 3rd Avenue and Cedar Street in Red Cloud, Nebraska, United States |
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| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1878 |
| MPS | Willa Cather TR (AD) |
| NRHP reference No. | 69000139 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | April 16, 1969 |
| Designated NHL | November 11, 1971 |
The Willa Cather House, also known as the Willa Cather Childhood Home, is a special historic house museum located at 241 North Cedar Street in Red Cloud, Nebraska. A historic house museum is a home kept or restored to show how people lived in the past. This house was built in 1878. It is famous because the well-known American author Willa Cather (1873–1947) grew up here.
Willa Cather wrote many important books and stories. Her writings often described what life was like on the frontier in Nebraska in the early 1900s. Her stories became a big part of American literature. Because of its importance, the Willa Cather House was named a National Historic Landmark in 1971. A National Historic Landmark is a place officially recognized by the U.S. government for its special history. This house is one of eight buildings that make up the Willa Cather State Historic Site. The Willa Cather Foundation takes care of the site.
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About the Willa Cather House
The Willa Cather House is in Red Cloud, Nebraska. It sits on the southwest corner of North Cedar Street and West 3rd Avenue. The house is a one-and-a-half-story building made of wood. It has a pointed roof and its outside walls are covered with overlapping wooden boards called clapboards.
The front of the house has three sections. The main door is on the left side. A porch with a flat roof stretches across the front. This porch is held up by square wooden posts. It also has pretty wooden decorations. Inside, the house has a living room at the front. Behind that are the dining room and the main bedroom. The kitchen and a second bedroom are at the back.
Inside the Home
A narrow staircase goes from the kitchen up to the attic. This staircase has been rebuilt to look like it did when Willa Cather lived there. Willa Cather wrote about the back bedroom in one of her stories, calling it "grandmother's room." The stairs led to the attic, which was a sleeping area where Willa and her brothers and sisters slept.
The inside of the house has been decorated to look like it did when the Cather family lived there. Many items are original things that belonged to the Cather family. Other items are from the same time period.
The Cather Family's Time in the House
The Willa Cather House was built in 1878. Willa Cather's parents moved their family into this house in the spring of 1885. Willa lived here until she was seventeen years old. Then, she left for college. Her parents continued to rent the house for several years. They moved to another home in Red Cloud in 1904.
Even after she moved away, Willa Cather often came back to visit Red Cloud throughout her life. In 1960, the Willa Cather Memorial and Educational Foundation bought the house. They worked to restore it. Their goal was to make it look just like it did when Willa Cather lived there. Willa Cather said that the years she spent growing up in this house greatly influenced her writing. This was true even though she wrote most of her books and stories while living in other places.
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