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The Auld Public Library


category : Historic Buildings
The Auld Public Library The Auld Public Library, 1917-1918, is a gift of William Thomas Auld, uncle of Jessica Cather Auld's husband, J. W. (Bill) Auld. Jessica was one of Willa's younger sisters. He gave the city of Red Cloud $20,000 in early April, 1917. On April 9th, Dr. Robert Damerell, then Mayor of Red Cloud, selected nine individuals to serve as members of the first Library Board and charged them with the responsibility of selecting and purchasing a site, choosing an architect, erecting a building, and purchasing fixtures and books for a new library. Prominent among that group of citizens was Charles Cather, father of Willa. The building was constructed at a cost of $15,500 and formally opened on March 8, 1918. Later that same year, Willa Cather's My Antonia was published in October and World War I ended in November.

The library houses 10,000 volumes and has a good children's section. The library is Red Cloud's most recent addition (1993) to the National Register of Historic Places.


Hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Friday and Saturday afternoons 2-5 p.m., Thursdays 2-7 p.m.
Address: 402-746-3352

Come visit us in Red Cloud, Nebraska

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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

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The Auld Public Library

The Auld Public Library, 1917-1918, is a gift of William Thomas Auld, uncle of Jessica Cather Auld's husband, J. W. (Bill) Auld. Jessica was one of Willa's younger sisters. He gave the city of Red Cloud $20,000 in early April, 1917. On April 9

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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

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Willa Cather's Childhood Home

World Famous author, Willa Sibert Cather (1873-1947), moved with her family from Virginia to the Red Cloud area in 1883. Nebraska became what Cather later described as "the happiness and the curse of my life". The state'

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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

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