This building and the surrounding grounds was the home of John and Annie Sadilek Pavelka and their family. It provided the setting for a large portion of Cather's most famous work, My Antonia. Annie Pavelka was the prototype for the heroine of the novel, Antonia.
The Pavelka farmstead is located in the northern part of a small but substantial Bohemian settlement concentrated primarily in Batin and Glenwood townships. The farmstead is significant as the setting for Willa Cather's Book V, "Cuzak's Boys," of My Antonia, and the short story, "Neighbor Rosicky." Additionally, the site's significance to Czech-American cultural heritage is considerably enhanced through Cather's use of the site in these writings.