Early builders carved their names in stone for future legacy
By Cynthia Scheer –Telescope News
www.thebelevilletelescope.com
Beverly Kunc said she “had always heard” that there was a stone house with a plaque above the door that was built by her great-great-grandfather, Paul Svoboda. It took her several years to realize that the house was only a couple miles from her Cuba home, she said.
Kunc said little is known about the history of the house, located 2.5 miles southeast of Cuba. It was built by Paul Svoboda, who came to the United States from Czechoslovakia in 1879 and built the stone house in 1885 when he was 48 years old, she said. Svoboda also built several other stone houses and barns in the area.
The stone house, located a couple hundred feet off the road, features a kitchen, living room and hallway on the ground level. The upstairs housed the bedrooms. Several large cedar trees have grown up next to the house, now located in a cattle pasture, but the overall condition of the house is good, Kunc said.
There is an open stone cellar with stones still perfectly in place near the house. The stone house property is now owned by Les Svoboda, of Lincoln, Neb. He inherited the property from his father, Paul Svoboda, who was a cousin to the Paul Svoboda who built the home.
The plaque once located above Leaving their mark Early builders carved their names in stone for future legacy the door of the stone house was removed and taken to Lincoln a few years ago. It reads: 8 27 1885, A. Walek, E. Doupnik, S T. Havel, Stavitelove, P. Svoboda, M A Lytel.
Les Svoboda, who is a Cuba native, said he and his wife, LaVon, come back and “check the farm” on occasion. He has no plans for the property, which is rented by a local farmer, except to keep it in the family as long as possible, he said.