A Day at Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park
Park Overview
Located in Cross Creek between Orange Lake and Lochloosa Lake, about 21 miles southeast of Gainesville, awaits Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park. Check out the guided tour of Rawlings’ Florida cracker-style farmhouse, two 15-minute hiking trails, a boat/kayak launch area, playground, and picnic pavilions. Orange, grapefruit, and tangerine trees surround the historic house in this timeless Florida landscape.
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, circa 1940 (Florida Memory)
Author & Park History
The Pulitzer prize-winning novelist moved to Florida in 1928 and settled in Cross Creek, where the rural setting influenced her writing for the remainder of her life. Known for her short stories, novels, and non-fiction works about life in the Florida backwoods, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings lived on this property until her death in 1953.
During guided interior tours from October through July, park volunteers bring the famous author’s home to life. Built from 1884-1925, the eight-room structure has pinewood floors and contains Rawlings’ original furnishings. Its “board and batten” style allows summer breezes to flow throughout the house.
Marjorie Rawlings’ writing table on the front porch
Explore Rawlings’ Florida home where she gardened seasonal vegetables, preserved jellies, cleaned her shotgun, and wrote from her bed or the front porch in the mornings. She enjoyed having guests visit for her home cooked meals that she perfected over a wood burning stove. Many famous guests, such as Robert Frost and Zora Neale Hurston, were frequently found dining and lodging in Rawlings’ abode. Rawlings served fried catfish on china for her guests in the dining room and always had a stocked liquor cabinet. Her recipes were later collected in her book, Cross Creek Cookery.
Old wooden barn
Out by the front porch, red cardinals flutter around the bird bath, just as Rawlings would have observed while writing her famous novel, The Yearling. Rawlings’ 1940 Oldsmobile is still in the driveway of this well-preserved home. The tenant house structure was where Rawlings’ farmhands lived, who contributed to the success of her farm and groves.
Take a stroll toward the old wooden barn past farm animals such as roosters, chickens, and ducks clucking around the old citrus groves. The barn was the centerpiece of the property where oranges and milk were stored. Today, you can check out historic relics and artifacts in the old barn.
Tenant House
The Jungle Hammock Trail begins near the tenant house, which once served as an access road to an orange grove. Rawlings had a special appreciation for the workers who maintained the land, holding different views toward race relations than her neighbors and developing a deep fascination with Florida agriculture.
Rawlings described Cross Creek in her memoir named after the nostalgic Florida town, “Cross Creek belongs to the wind and the rain, to the sun and the seasons, to the cosmic secrecy of seed, and beyond all, to time.” (1942)
“The Yearling” at the movie location of Baxter’s Farmhouse, circa 1940 (Florida Memory)
Cross Creek also inspired the setting of Rawlings’ most famous novel, The Yearling (1938), which was adapted to film in 1946. A local restaurant pays homage to this literary gem and serves up local seafood (The Yearling Restaurant).
In 2006, the Rawlings House and Farmyard was designated a National Historic Landmark.
East Grove Trail
Our Adventure
Across CR 323, the East Grove Trail is a 0.5-mile loop under canopies of old citrus groves. We traverse saw palmetto, live oak, fern forests, and wild vines. There is signage along the way with quotes and details from Rawlings’ novels and short stories. Bring your bug spray for this hardwood hammock, and plan for a day visit to this Old Florida tribute that honors one of Florida’s most influential writers.
Things to Do
Guided tour of Rawlings’ Florida cracker-style farmhouse
Two 15-minute hiking trails - East Grove Trail & Jungle Hammock Trail
Boat/kayak launch area
Playground & picnic pavilions
Explore More:
Check out our hiking adventures at these adjacent parks: