Old West

Timeline

1883: At age 9, Willa Cather moves with her family from Virginia to the homestead of her grandparents in Catherton precinct, Nebraska. They travel by train to Red Cloud depot, then 16 miles by wagon.
1884: Willa Cather's family moves into a rented house in Red Cloud, Nebraska (pop. 2,500), now known as the Willa Cather House. Here she spends her formative years living among immigrants working the land.
1885: The Red Cloud Opera House is built above the town's hardware store. Young Willa Cather begins attending performances.
1888: Fifteen-year-old Willa Cather decides to become a surgeon. She cuts her hair short, dresses in men's clothes, and refers to herself as "Wm. Cather, M.D." or "William Cather, Jr."
1888: At the Red Cloud Opera House, Willa Cather dons a top hat and wax mustache to play Beauty's father in a production of Beauty and the Beast with the Miner girls. The play is a fundraiser for the victims of the 1888 blizzard.
Jun 1890: Willa Cather graduates from Red Cloud High School and delivers a speech in the Red Cloud Opera House.
1891: Willa Cather attends the University of Nebraska, where she exhibits strong talent for journalism and story writing.
1892: Willa Cather serves as the literary editor of the Hesperian, the student publication of the University of Nebraska.
Mar 1892: In her freshman year, Cather writes an essay about Thomas Carlyle that is published in the Nebraska State Journal. Cather later credits this event - seeing her name in print for the first time - with her desire to become a writer.