Frequently Asked Questions about Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park

Question: Who is Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings?
Answer: Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings wrote books about life in Florida at the turn of the century through the 1930’s. She won the Pulitzer Prize in 1939 for her novel The Yearling. Her works show the importance and the difficulties of people living in harmony with their communities and with nature.

Question: When was she born and when did she die?
Answer: Marjorie Kinnan was born August 8, 1896 in Washington, D.C. Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings died December 13, 1953 in St. Augustine.

Question: Did she go to school? Where?
Answer: She graduated with honors from the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

Question: Did she marry or have children?
Answer: Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings married twice. First she married her college sweetheart, Charles Rawlings. They divorced in 1933. She married Norton Baskin in late 1941; they were married until her death in 1953. He died in 1997 and is buried next to her at nearby Antioch Cemetery. She had no children.

Question: How long did she live at this Cross Creek farm (the MKR Historic State Park)?
Answer: She lived there for the greater part of 25 years, from 1928-1953.

Question: Why is this place significant?
Answer: Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings did her writing on the porch of the old farmhouse. Far more than a place where she composed, it was a place that refreshed her every day. The restored homestead provides the visitor with a glimpse of how she lived and wrote on the edge of her orange grove.

Question: What can we see there?
Answer: The original farmhouse and pump house are surrounded by a landscape reflecting the 1930’s Florida farm and life as Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings knew it. There is a reconstructed barn, tenant house (currently being restored), chickens and ducks, a garden (herbs, flowers, and vegetables), ornamental plants, and a citrus grove. Employees dress in period clothing as they do the work on the farm. A self-guided tour of the grounds is available.

Question: Can I get a guided walk?
Answer: Yes, ranger-guided walks inside the historic home are offered for a small fee, October through July on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (except Christmas and Thanksgiving). Larger groups or school groups can reserve a guided tour on Tuesday or Wednesday with an advance reservation.

Question: What can I do there?
Answer: People come to the park for many reasons: To experience a famous writer. To explore a place they have read about. To drop back in time and see the old way of life. To see the citrus grove or other plant life. To see the architecture or experience the history of the time. To walk about an old farm and trails and experience nature, cultivated and wild. Almost everyone who comes has the opportunity, even if just for a few moments, to experience the peace, serenity, and perhaps the inspiration that Marjorie Rawlings found here.