Friends of the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Farm, Inc.
Remembering Marjorie and Preserving Her Legacy
Please Consider a Year-End Gift to the Friends of the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Farm, Inc.
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings passed away 67 years ago. Today, people visiting Antioch Cemetery would see mementos like, pencils, a small deer statue and an orange on her grave, left by people inspired by her works. Her grave marker reads:
“Through her writings, she endeared herself to the people of the world.”
The Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park and the Friends of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Farm, Inc., are dedicated to preserving Rawlings’ home in Cross Creek, Florida, including the citrus groves, farm animals, and her beloved garden. Doing so helps to preserve her rich literary legacy.
Recent park guests have commented about their visit to the homestead:
- Thank you for preserving this historical home.
- “The Yearling” was the first book I read. I was six years old. Cried at the end.
- It's a rainy day, but this place is always shining in my deep childhood memories.
- What a writer, what a woman, wow.
2020 has been a challenging year for everyone, including the Friends of the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Farm. The pandemic prevented our fundraising activities. But we still had expenses to help maintain the home and the grounds.
Won't you help preserve this historic homestead for future Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings readers?
Your year-end gift - large or small – may be used to help purchase fertilizer for the citrus grove, paint for the house, chicken scratch feed, repair of the welcome kiosk, and other expenses.
On-line giving: https://marjoriekinnanrawlings.org/home/about-us/donate/
Or make your checks payable to the Friends of the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Farm, Inc., and mail to the Friends of the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Farm, Inc., P.O. Box 337, Micanopy, FL 32667-0337.
Thanking you in advance and wishing you a wonderful holiday season,
Barbara Wingo
President, Friends of the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Farm, Inc.
Happy Holidays from the MKR Historic State Park and Friends of the MKR Farm!
Volunteer Marthalynne Allen and Park Ranger Geoffrey Gates did a wonderful job of capturing some outstanding photos of Marjorie's home all decked out for Christmas. Marthalynne says the inspiration for the decorations came from personal accounts from her grandmother Mrs. Virginia Allen who attended Christmas parties. at Marjorie's home. The staff at the MKR Historic State Park also did a wonderful job of helping to decorate the house and garden.
Classic Cracker Architecture video premiered during
ANNUAL MEETING SAT DEC 5
MARJORIE KINNAN RAWLINGS HISTORIC STATE PARK IS NOW OPEN
Interior guided tours of the farmhouse will resume on Thursday, Dec. 3, 2020.
Tours will be available Thursday through Sunday at 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m.
In order to maintain COVID-19 safety protocol, tours will be limited to 20 visitors and the group will be divided so that 10 or fewer enter the farmhouse at a time to provide for ample spacing. Visitors are required to sign up for a tour at the barn (no advance reservations). Per local orders, facial coverings are required while inside the farmhouse.
Please bring exact change as change will not be provided. Credit cards are not accepted at this time. The tour fee is $3 per adult and $2 per child.
PARKING: If you prefer to pay with a credit card, there is a QR code sign adjacent to the honor fee station. Use your smart phone to scan the code and it will take you directly to a payment page.
More park information: https://marjoriekinnanrawlings.org/park-info
Friends of the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Farm, Inc.
Welcome to the Friends of the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Farm, Inc. We are a Citizens Support Organization (CSO) through the Florida Department of Parks and Recreation whose mission is to support the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park.
The Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings House and Farmyard is nationally significant in the area of literature as the home of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, a leading 20th-century American writer whose works continue to interest scholars, students, and the general reading public. Rawlings lived in the house from 1928 until her death in 1953.
It was there that she wrote all of her major works, including the short stories that first brought her critical acclaim and the Pulitzer-Prize-winning novel, The Yearling. The park includes the original frame house, outbuildings and citrus grove she described in her lyrical memoir, Cross Creek. In 2006, the property was designated a National Historic Landmark.
The purpose of the CSO is to conduct programs, foster activities, raise funds and make expenditures to facilitate and enhance and preservation and interpretation of the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park under the direction of and with priorities set by the Florida Division of Recreation and Parks and the park manager.
The Friends of the MKR Farm, Inc., produce annual programs for fundraising, special events, education, and outreach and awareness, to support the park.
Consider joining the Friends of the MKR Farm to support Marjorie’s historical home and slice of Florida history.
Marjorie Rawlings loved her garden, which still produces vegetables, herbs, and flowers all year long.
Friends Board of Directors | Code of Ethics | More About Us
News From the Creek
The Friends of the MKR Farm publish a quarterly newsletter of what has happened on the farm. Each newsletter contains a president's message and park manager message, as well as recaps of past events, and notices of upcoming events.
Fundraising Projects
The Friends of the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Farm and the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park celebrated Marjorie's birthday on August 8th. Although we didn't have our usual birthday celebration with cake and ice cream at the farm, we have a virtual video experience for you.
Click to watch the video Life and Times of Cross Creek - Memories and Reflections
The one hour special program called, "Life and Times in Cross Creek: Memories and Reflections” was produced by Donna Green-Townsend. The program features very unique historic video, audio and photos of friends and neighbors of the late Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, including such characters as the late author and artist from Evinston, J. T. Glisson, “Snow” and Ella Mae Slater, Berney Bass and the late actor Rip Torn to name a few. Donna, who produced and created the film, is a board member of the Friends and a Murrow Award-winning journalist. She is a longtime Cross Creek resident.
DVDs are available for $15 plus $4 for postage and handling. All proceeds benefit projects on the farm. Please make your check payable to Friends of the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Farm, Inc., and mail to PO Box 337, Micanopy, FL 32667-0337
Previous Events
Friends of the MKR Farm Annual Meeting Dec. 5
Annual Holiday Open House Dec. 12 (virtual)
Annual Scrub Walk on The Yearling Trail March 7, 2020