The Pavelka Farmstead is beautifully detailed as the Cuzak farm in the last section of Willa Cather's My Ántonia and was lived in by Anna Pavelka and her large family. Anna was Willa Cather's childhood friend and the inspiration for Ántonia Shimerda Cuzak. The original farm building and barn remain as well as the fruit cave from which the children in the novel emerged in "a veritable explosion of life out of the dark cave into the sunlight." On the National Register of Historic Places, the site has been restored by the Willa Cather Foundation.
As it is in a remote part of Webster County, we encourage visitors to stop at the National Willa Cather Center in downtown Red Cloud to get a "Country Tour" guide that includes the Pavelka Farmstead and other rural sites related to Willa Cather and her writings. A guided tour is also available, with advance notice, and is part of an immersive experience with other outlying Cather-related properties including churches, cemeteries, and family sites.
