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Red Cloud, Nebraska

Built in 1897, the main section of Red Cloud's Burlington Depot contained sleeping quarters on the 2nd floor, and a freight room, agents offices, and waiting rooms below. The building was moved here from its site near the tracts directly south of its present location. It has been restored and donated by the Willa Cather Pioneer Memorial and Educational Foundation.

"The Burlington Railroad: Colonizing Willa Cather's Wild Land" can be found on tour of the Willa Cather historic buildings at the restored Burlington Depot.

Depots and trains played a significant role in Willa Cather's life and writings, symbolizing both escape to the world and the door through which the world came to Red Cloud.

Attractions and Upcoming Events

Willa Cather State Historic Site

The Farmers' and Merchants' Bank building, 1889, was erected by Silas Garber, the founder of Red Cloud (1871), the fourth governor of Nebraska (1875-1879), and the prototype for Captain Forrester in A Lost Lady.

Red Cloud, NE Historic Sites

Webster County Courthouse

Built in 1914, the Webster County Courthouse is a recent addition to sites already listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The building as distinctive ornamentation and is of the second Renaissance Rival stylistic influence. Located on the Courthouse Square is the 1887

Red Cloud, NE Historic Courthouses

The Methodist Church

[The Methodist Church] The Methodist Church building described in My Antonia , now serves as a Masonic Lodge. Cather tells how, during the winter, the children were starved for color and how they stood in the cold and looked at the stained glass windows: "

Red Cloud, NE Historic Churches

The Red Cloud Opera House

The Red Cloud Opera House, 1885, stood for many years as the jewel in Main Street's crown. Here Blind Boone played, William Jennings Bryan spoke, and it was from this stage that Willa Cather graduated in 1890 and delivered her eloquent oration, "Superstition vs. Investigation"

Red Cloud, NE Historic Buildings

Grace Episcopal Church

Built in 1884 on the corner of Second and Walnut, the Grace Protestant Episcopal Church was moved to its present location in 1891. The brick veneer was added sometime after 1922. Grace Episcopal Church is the church in which Willa Cather and her parents were confirmed on December 27, 1922

Red Cloud, NE Historic Churches

Things to do near Red Cloud, NE

Kearney Golf

Recreation

The Lincoln County are has long been a favorite of outdoor enthusiasts. They can hike, bike, fish, boat and hunt all w...

Lake McConaughy Boating

Mowry Bluff Historic Site

National Historic Register - Mowry Bluff is a small Upper Republican Phase hamlet occupied during the twelfth century ...

Chautauqua Pavilion