Red Cloud in Webster County, Nebraska — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)

Cather Childhood Home

Photographed by Bill Kirchner, September 22, 2014

1. Cather Childhood Home Marker

Inscription. Built ca. 1876, this is the house in which Willa Cather lived from 1884 to 1890. She describes it in "Old Mrs. Harris," in "The Best Years," and in this quotation from Song of the Lark:

"They turned into another street and saw before them lighted windows; a low story-and-a-half house, with wing built on at the right and a kitchen addition at the back, everything a little on the slant--roofs, windows, and doors."

Restored and donated by the Willa Cather Pioneer Memorial and Educational Foundation."

Erected by the Nebraska State Historical Society. (Marker Number 264.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Arts, Letters, Music. In addition, it is included in the Nebraska State Historical Society series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1876.

Location. 40° 5.254′ N, 98° 31.249′ W. Marker is in Red Cloud, Nebraska, in Webster County. It is at the intersection of North Cedar Street and West 3rd Avenue, on the right when traveling south on North Cedar Street. Marker is on the southwest corner. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Red Cloud NE 68970, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Nebraska’s Smoky Hills,

in Eastern Nebraska and in the Republican River Valley.

It is also in the American Midwest,

in the Corn Belt,

and on the prairies.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Louisiana Purchase.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Red Cloud (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Red Cloud Volunteer Fire Department Bell

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(about 400 feet away); Cottonwood Tree - 1871 (about 400 feet away); Grace Episcopal Church (approx. ¼ mile away); Webster County (approx. ¼ mile away); St. Juliana Falconieri Catholic Church (approx. half a mile away); Civil War Memorial (approx. 0.6 miles away); Burlington Depot (approx. 0.7 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Red Cloud.

Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker. These are some of Willa Cather’s residences that have been marked with historical markers, beginning with her birthplace in Virginia.

Photographed by Bill Kirchner, September 22, 2014

2. Cather Childhood Home Marker

Cather Childhood Home image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Bill Kirchner, September 22, 2014

3. Cather Childhood Home

Credits. This page was last revised on December 5, 2022. It was originally submitted on October 14, 2014, by Bill Kirchner of Tucson, Arizona. This page has been viewed 674 times since then and 11 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on October 14, 2014, by Bill Kirchner of Tucson, Arizona. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.