{"nrhp_refnum":"78003017","name":"Cather, Willa, Birthplace","other_names":["Rachel E. Boak House"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"NW of Gore on U.S. 50","address_restricted":false,"city":"Gore","county":"Frederick County","state":"VA","lat":39.26772132600007,"lon":-78.32392319299998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1978-11-16","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Literature","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story log and frame house on the north side of U.S. Route 50 northwest of Gore, Frederick County, Virginia, begun probably around the 1810s and enlarged around 1850. It was originally owned by Jacob Seibert and later by Rachel E. Boak.","why_significant":"The house is the birthplace of novelist and short-story writer Willa Cather, born there on December 7, 1873. It is also described as a typical example of Shenandoah Valley vernacular architecture. The Cather and Boak families were locally distinguished, with members serving in the Virginia House of Delegates.","narrative":"Willa Cather Birthplace is a modest two-story log and frame house on U.S. Route 50 northwest of Gore, Virginia. The oldest, log section was probably built around the 1810s, and a frame extension on the west end followed around 1850, giving a five-bay front with an entrance in each outer bay. A later frame ell extends from the rear. Inside, early flooring, batten doors, board partitions and a simple stair survive in the original portion. The house was owned by Jacob Seibert, then passed in 1869 to his daughter Rachel E. Boak, Cather's grandmother. Willa Cather, later celebrated for fiction about the Nebraska prairies and the Southwest, was born here in December 1873. The family moved to Nebraska in 1883. The nomination presents the house as a typical Shenandoah Valley vernacular building and as a home of a locally prominent family, noting that it has received less recognition than Cather's later Red Cloud, Nebraska residence.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Shenandoah Valley vernacular","criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as in fair condition but receiving essential maintenance; the owner uses it during the day as an office and retreat. A two-story kitchen and servants' house in the yard is dilapidated.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:57.264035-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/16/6808/41680816/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/78003017.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78003017/fd49d4d429-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78003017/fd49d4d429-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Cecouchman","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WillaCatherBirthplace_0204.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Cecouchman</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WillaCatherBirthplace_0204.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41680816","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willa_Cather_Birthplace","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q8003259"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/frederick-county/cather-willa-birthplace-78003017/"}