Friends of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Farm., Inc.

Cross Creek, Florida

Home to Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

MARJORIE KINNAN RAWLINGS HISTORIC STATE PARK IS NOW OPEN - MAY 6, 2020

A Message from our Park Manager, Scott Spaulding:

“Although the park has re-opened, the historic farmhouse remains closed to visitors until further notice in order to maintain social distancing protocol and prevent the need for daily disinfecting, which could have an adverse effect on the collection.

Even though the house is closed, the park remains open 7 days a week from 9am until 5pm and visitors can look in through the screen doors and windows, getting a good look at almost every room in the house. Benches have been placed around the house with brochures of full color drawings of each room along with descriptions. Staff are available and happy to answer questions and assist with outside tours. We ask that visitors not gather in groups of more than 10 and remain at least 6 feet apart.

Thank you for your continued support, and we hope to see you out at the park real soon.”

The Matheson Museum presents a new exhibit, “"Trailblazers: 150 Years of Alachua County Women,” by Kaitlyn Hof-Mahoney, Curator of Collections. This exhibit is available online at https://spark.adobe.com/page/cHJRnxVsLi0qd/ and features many of Gainesville’s pioneering women, including Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. For more information, see Matheson Museum.

Friends of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Farm, Inc.

Welcome to the Friends of 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 MKR Farm, Inc., produce annual programs for fundraising, special events, education, and outreach and awareness, to support the park.

Consider joining the Friends of 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.

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News From the Creek

The Friends of 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.

Newsletter Spring 2020

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