Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park

Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings and her husband bought and moved to the 72 acre property near Cross Creek Florida in 1928.   Her first published writings about life in cracker Florida soon caught the attention of Scribner publisher Maxwell Perkins.  As he mentored Rawlings she got to know  the people and their ways living in the wilderness known as the Big Scrub country. 

Rawlings did most of her writing, including The Yearling and Cross Creek, seated at a round table on her front porch.   The Yearling, published in 1939, would win Rawlings the Pulitzer Prize and earn her world wide recognition. 
Upon her death in 1953 her home and property was bequeathed to the University of Florida where she also had taught creative writing.  The home was added to The National Register of Historic Places in 1970.  The park is open seven days a week for people who want to hike around and the house for guided tours from Thursday through Sunday.  From Tampa and points south take I-75 North most of the way or Highway 301 all of it and turn left on CR 325 heading west about four miles and the park will be on the left. Just a little ways further up CR 325 is The Yearling Restaurant.  From what I understand they serve an outstanding key lime pie.   Click the provided link below for more info. 


http://www.floridastateparks.org/marjoriekinnanrawlings/aboutthepark.cfm