Park Summary for Print - Dudley Farm Historic State Park

Welcome to Dudley Farm Historic State Park

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, this park demonstrates the evolution of Florida farming from the 1850s to the mid-1940s-through three generations of the Dudley family. An authentic working farm, the homestead consists of eighteen buildings, including the family farmhouse with original furnishings, an 1880s kitchen outbuilding, a general store and post office, and a functional cane syrup complex. Park staff in period clothing perform daily chores, raising crops, and tending to livestock. The farm features seasonal cane grindings, corn shuckings, and heritage varieties of livestock and plants. Deer, wild turkeys, gopher tortoises, and bluebirds are still seen in the fields. The park has a visitor center, picnic area, and nature trail. Self-guided tours are available Wednesday through Sunday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Group tours can be reserved one month in advance. Smoking and pets are not allowed at the farmstead. Located seven miles west of I-75 on State Road 26 between Newberry and Gainesville.

Contact the Florida Park Service Information Center for general inquiries.
For Information about Dudley Farm Historic State Park, please call 352-472-1142.

Hours of Operation

Park is open Wednesday thru Sunday 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM and the Farmstead is open Wednesday thru Sunday 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM.

Driving Directions

Dudley Farm Historic State Park is located 4 miles east of Newberry on SR 26.

Park Fees

Admission Fee:

$5.00 per vehicle. Please use the honor box to pay fees. Correct change is required. Limit 8 people per vehicle.

$2.00 Pedestrians, bicyclists, extra passengers, passengers in vehicle with holder of Annual Individual Entrance Pass.

Activities at Dudley Farm Historic State Park

	Bird-Watching Bring your binoculars & enjoy the bluebirds at the Visitor Center. Hawks & other birds may be seen at the farmstead
	Guided Tours School groups and organizations must make reservations for tours one month in advance. Groups are limited to 40 people. For more information and a Program Reservation Form, please download the Educator Letter and Teacher Packet or call 352-472-1142. ADA accessible bathroom facilities are located at the Visitor Center. The farmhouse can be accessed by an ADA compliant lift located on it's exterior.
	Nature Trails Picnic Area Loop - A pleasant 15 minute walk that wanders through a hammock with many live oaks and sinkholes. The Pause and Ponder Trail - Enjoy this .3 mile loop nature trail at Dudley Farm’s Visitor Center. This is your chance to take a quiet, meditative walk through the diverse habitat of Dudley Farm’s woodlands. There is mystery here as the trail slopes downhill and curves out of sight. The trail climbs to high ground with a view out over pasture land where the Dudleys once grew cotton and where cows still graze. A hand-hewn cedar bench is made for resting or bird-watching. Pileated woodpeckers can be heard calling; native magnolias and live oaks create a majestic canopy. The trail begins and ends at the park’s picnic area. The Old Homestead Trail - This trail is featured January through June; the 2nd Saturday of the month. A ranger or docent will meet you at the Visitor Center at 10:00 a.m. for this behind-the-scenes view of the Dudley Farm that was before the existing 1880s farmstead. The original log homesite location and possible slave houses location will be pointed out. Participants will learn about Captain PBH Dudley, who established the original farm. This walk back through time traverses the original lane past 100-year-old split rail fences. One will experience the flavor of the true South while walking under ancient canopy live oaks and red cedars dripping with Spanish moss. Allow a leisurely hour or two for this new guided walk.
	Picnicking The picnic area is located on the west side of the parking lot across from the visitor center and is equipped with 6 tables and 3 grills.
	Special Opportunities Seasonal Harvest Time - From June through November experience and participate in the farm harvest of fruits, nuts and crops; including figs, peaches, pears, pecans, field corn, sweet potatoes, and sugar cane. Call the park for more information (352)472-1142.
	Tours Pick up a brochure and enjoy a self-guided walking tour of Dudley Farm. An authentic working farm, the homestead consists of eighteen buildings, including the family farmhouse with original furnishings, a 1880s kitchen outbuilding, a general store and post office, and a functional cane syrup complex. See costumed interpreters working the farm in the lifestyle of the 1880's to 1940's as they perform daily chores, work the crops, and tend to livestock. (Note: the chickens are sometimes penned to protect them from natural predators. The turkeys are on the east side of the farmstead, free-ranging from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m., east side of the Brooder House.)

Special Events for Dudley Farm Historic State Park

FALL HARVEST
Date: October and November, 2009.
Description: In October, and November, visitors can help harvest heirloom crops of field corn, sweet potatoes, pumpkins. Corn shucking, corn shelling, corn grinding and winnowing will be in progress.

Call the park for specific dates and times.
Fees: Regular park admission.
Contact: For more information, call 352-472-1142.
SUGAR CANE GRINDINGS
Date: Saturday, December 5, 2009. 9:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m.
Description: This is the annual Cane Grinding and commemoration of Miss Myrtle Dudley's birthday. This event continues the farm family tradition of grinding sugar cane and boiling cane syrup, making this a unique old-time community gathering. Visitors can tour the farm and see other traditional activities and craft demonstrations or enjoy a wagon ride. Syrup and farm products are sold on this day.

Fees: Regular park admission.
Contact: For more information, call 352-472-1142.

Participation Requirements
DUDLEY FARM PLOW DAYS
Date: Friday and Saturday, February 5th & 6th, 2010.
Description: Mule teams and draft horses demonstrate old-time farming before the days of tractors as they prepare the fields for spring planting.

School groups will be given guided tours on Friday, February 5th. Reservations are required two months in advance. Please call 352-472-1142.

Fees: Regular park admission.
Contact: For more information, call 352-472-1142.

Dudley Farm Historic State Park Ranger Programs

PAUSE AND PONDER TRAIL
Enjoy this .3 miles loop trail at Dudley Farm’s Visitors Center. This is your chance to take a quiet, meditative walk through the diverse habitat of Dudley Farm’s woodlands. The trail begins and ends at the park’s picnic area.

Participation Requirements

Call 352-472-1142 for more details.
DUDLEY FARM TREE-SURE HUNT
This self-guided walk highlights the trees around the Dudley Homestead. These include native upland trees and introduced species. Pick up your brochure at the Visitors Center.

Call 352-472-1142 for more details.
TRADITIONAL CRAFTS & DOMESTIC SKILLS WORKSHOP
Wednesdays, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
This participatory program provides a resource person demonstrating a variety of traditional crafts and skills; including quilting, rug braiding, basketry, wood-working, and corn shuck crafts.
Meets each Wednesday of the month EXCEPT the 3rd Wednesday.

Call 352-472-1142 for more details.
SELF GUIDED TOUR
A self-guided tour is available to all park visitors beginning at the visitor center. The self-guided tour goes through the farmstead where you can view the original Dudley Farm structures and see park personnel interpreting the farm through period living history demonstrations.

Participation Requirements

Call 352-472-1142 for more details.
A DAY AT THE DUDLEY FARM
Family Education Activities. This interactive educational guide for families provides an understanding of the natural and cultural history of the park, allowing you to have some fun while you learn.

Participation Requirements

Call 352-472-1142 for more details.
SCHOOL EDUCATION PROGRAMS & TOURS
Available for student groups from October through July. Call 352-472-1142 and leave your fax number to receive your teacher packets. Please make reservations two months in advance.

Participation Requirements

Call 352-472-1142 for more details.
GUIDED PUBLIC TOURS
For groups larger than ten. Call 352-472-1142 & leave your fax number to receive your information packets. Please make reservations two months in advance.

Participation Requirements

Call 352-472-1142 for more details.
ORIGINAL LOG HOMESITE GUIDED WALK
January thru June; 2nd Saturday of the month.
This trail is featured January through June; the 2nd Saturday of the month from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

A ranger or docent will meet you at the Visitor Center at 10:00 a.m. for this behind-the-scenes view of the Dudley Farm that was before the existing 1880s farmstead. The original log homesite location and possible slave houses location will be pointed out. Participants will learn about Captain PBH Dudley, who established the original farm. This walk back through time traverses the original lane past 100-year-old split rail fences. One will experience the flavor of the true South while walking under ancient canopy live oaks and red cedars dripping with Spanish moss.

Allow a leisurely hour or two for this new guided walk.

Participation Requirements

Call 352-472-1142 for more details.
DUDLEY VOLUNTEER PROGRAM
3rd Wednesday of the month.
DUDLEY VOLUNTEER PROGRAM meets at the Visitor Center the 3rd Wednesday of each month October through July for 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. These diverse and interesting educational training programs are open to the public. Topics include: Cracker Florida, Genealogy, Florida’s Landscape Plants and Florida Pioneer Days.

Participation Requirements

Call 352-472-1142 for more details.
SEASONAL SPRING SHOWPLACE
March through May.
At the turn of the century, neighbors would drive their horse and buggies past the Dudley Farmstead admiring the front yard showplace. Today visitors to Dudley Farm can see the spring bloom at its peak from March through May. Heirloom roses, amaryllis, larkspur and coreopsis and the champion state red buckeye tree provide a profusion of color.

Call 352-472-1142 for more details.
SUMMER FRUIT HARVEST DAYS
June through August.
Peaches, pears and figs ripen from June through August. Come join the summer harvest. Call the park for exact dates and times.

Call 352-472-1142 for more details.
FARM PRODUCTS AVAILABLE
Wednesdays & Saturdays.
Fresh farm products grown on Dudley farm are available for purchase at the Visitors Center Commissary on Wednesday’s and Saturday’s from 9:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m.

Call 352-472-1142. for more details.

Frequently Asked Questions about Dudley Farm Historic State Park

Question: What is Dudley Farm?
Answer: It is a 325-acre park that is an original working farm representing the lifestyle of the 1880s-1930s. Work activities, buildings and clothing are all authentic to that time period.

Question: Will the animals be out today?
Answer: Yes, we utilize the farm animals daily in some type of activity. We have cracker cows, mules, cracker horse and Plymouth barred rock chickens.

Question: Do you grind sugar cane and make syrup here?
Answer: Yes, we start cutting the cane in November around Thanksgiving and start grinding the cane and boiling the syrup in November and December or until the cane is all used up.

Question: Are there other activities you do at Dudley Farm?
Answer: Park staff and volunteers interpret the daily farm activities including daily care of the farm buildings, animals, gardens, orchards, and even removal of exotics. There are many seasonal activities. In January, teamsters with mules and draft horses plow the soil and prepare it for planting; In March and April we plant the crops with mules and hand implements; Crop harvesting begins in September through October and November. Corn shucking, shelling, and grinding are fall activities. Rug braiding, quilting and other domestic skills are demonstrated on Wednesdays. Groups and volunteers help with farm chores and exotic removal.

Dudley Farm Historic State Park History

As you step back in time from the Dudley Farm Visitor Center, you follow the old road to Gainesville. To the north, are open pasture and croplands, but before the Dudley family settled here from South Carolina, this land supported longleaf pine and wiregrass. These pine trees supplied the lumber for the farm’s 18 buildings and provided the posts and rails for fences. Across the field is the 100 year old rail fence that surrounded the original log home site of Phillip Benjamin Harvey Dudley (P.B.H., Sr.). He established Dudley Farm before the Civil War.

His son, P.B.H. Dudley, Jr. developed the 1880s farm that can be seen today. Spanning one hundred and fifty years, three generations of the Dudley family lived and worked this piece of land which became a significant crossroads community by the 1880s. Dudley Farm represents the evolution of Florida farming from the 1850s to the mid 20th century.

Dudley Farm Historic State Park Volunteer Information

Volunteers can do many things -- greet visitors, conduct tours, help rangers remove exotic plants or maintain the natural beauty of a beach, waterway or trail.