Manager's Message
Marjorie Rawlings was honored with the United States Postal Service commemorative stamp this year honoring the literary arts. The first day of issue celebration was held on Thursday, February 21st at the park. You can get your Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings stamp or order a first day cancellation at your local post office.
This site was the home of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, the author of many major literary works, including The Yearling, which received the 1939 Pulitzer Prize for fiction, the novels South Moon Under, and Golden Apples, and her memoir, Cross Creek. She was elected to the National Academy of Arts and Letters.
The Rawlings house also is a notable example of the Cracker (descendents of pioneer settlers) style of architecture, derived from a variety of influences to suit the climate and available technology of the rural South.
The National Historic Landmark designation is the highest such recognition accorded by our nation to historic properties determined to be of exceptional value in representing or illustrating an important theme, event or person in the history of the nation. National Historic Landmarks can be actual sites where significant historic events occurred, places where prominent Americans worked or sites that represent the ideas that shaped our nation. Fewer than 2,500 historic places carry the title of National Historic Landmark.
Additional information on the National Historic Landmark program can be found on the NPS website at History & Cluture
Welcome to the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park web site. As you travel around Florida, don't forget to stop where Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings found her home, her "place of enchantment." Rangers in 1930's period attire will share her stories and farm life with you. Remember to wander through the citrus grove and see the newly restored tenant house, or wander the paths deeper into the woods.
The park is open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Guided walks through the Rawlings' home are offered on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays at 10:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m. and 1:00, 2:00, 3:00, and 4:00 p.m. from October through July. Group tours can be scheduled, in advance, on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Reservations are required for group tours. To make reservations or for more information, call (352)466-3672.
Summer cleaning and restoration work on the house has been completed and we hope you will join us this fall or winter on a guided walk through the Rawlings' old Cross Creek home. Your pet is welcome to the park on a hand-held leash (so they won't chase the chickens and the ducks!), but if you take the tour of the house you need to be able to carry it. And remember, it's the 1930s and we are not air-conditioned or heated, so dress for the weather.
Come back into the past and visit us at Cross Creek. Relax, take a deep breath and explore an old farm. We look forward to seeing you this year.
- Valerie Rivers, Park Manager
Welcome to Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park
Visitors to this Florida homestead can walk back in time to 1930s farm life. Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings lived and worked in the tiny community of Cross Creek. Her cracker style home and farm, where she lived for 25 years and wrote her Pulitzer prize-winning novel The Yearling, has been restored and is preserved as it was when she lived here. Rawlings´ farmyard, grove, and nature trails are open 9:00 a.m.to 5:00 p.m. daily, throughout the year. Visitors may tour the house with a ranger in period costume from October through July, Thursday through Sunday five times daily, except Thanksgiving and Christmas. Picnic facilities are located in the adjacent county park. Located in Cross Creek off County Road 325.
Contact the Florida Park Service Information Center for general inquiries.
For Information about Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park, please call 352-466-3672.
Hours of Operation
Guided tours of the Rawlings' house are offered Thursdays through Sundays, October through July (except for Christmas and Thanksgiving) at 10:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m. and 1:00, 2:00, 3:00, and 4:00 p.m. Tours at the park begin at the barn, walk through the farmyard and then through the historic house.
The park is open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Driving Directions
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park is located between Ocala and Gainesville in Cross Creek, at 18700 S. CR 325.
Park Fees
Admission Fees - $2.00/vehicle
Guided Tours of the Rawling's house: Adults - $3.00 per person
Children - 6 to 12 years of age, $2.00 per person
Children under 6 years of age are free.
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park
18700 S. CR 325
Cross Creek, Florida 32640
Phone: 352-466-3672
Fax: Contact Park for Number
Citizen Support Organization
Friends
of the M.K. Rawlings Farm, Inc.
P.O. Box 337
Micanopy, 32667-0337
