Route 3, Box 92
Hawthorne, Florida 32640
(on South County Road 325 in Cross Creek)
Hours: Thursday - Sunday 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Closed August and September
Farm open year-round
Admission: adults, $3; children, $2; children under 6, free
Telephone: (352) 466-3672
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings and her husband, Charles, moved to this inspiring retreat in Cross Creek, Florida, in 1928. The eight-room cracker-style house was built during the 1880s of native cypress and heart pine. Actually three separate structures connected by a bathroom, screened porches, and verandahs, this house, surrounded by nature, gave Rawlings the quiet atmosphere she needed for writing. She often spent 8 to 12 hours a day on the verandah where she wrote and watched "the coming and goings of birds to the feed basket in a crepe myrtle bush."
The house contains most of Rawlings’ original furnishings including the Hitchcock dining room set, numerous paintings and prints, and her handmade writing table. Scrapbooks of family photographs and articles relating to Rawlings’ writing are made available to tourists.
While living in Cross Creek, Rawlings wrote her Pulitzer-Prize winning novel, The Yearling, using the nearby Ocala National Forest for the setting. Other books such as South Moon Under, Golden Apples, When the Whippoorwill, Cross Creek, Cross Creek Cookery, The Sojourner, and Secret River are spiced with the scenery and local color of Cross Creek.
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (1896-1953)
Although Marjorie Rawlings had a strong-willed and outspoken nature, many of her Cross Creek, Florida, neighbors found her to be a sensitive and compassionate neighbor. While living on the farm, she learned to love the outdoors and its treasures. She developed a strong land ethic and belief in conservation. She was ahead of her time as an advocate of racial equality and preservation of the environment.
Rawlings was born on August 8, 1896, in Washington, D.C. After attending the University of Wisconsin, she accepted a position as reporter and feature writer in Louisville, Kentucky, and later Rochester, New York. The hectic pace of big city life and staff writing led Rawlings to seek out the quiet, almost secluded lifestyle of north-central Florida. She and her husband, Charles, moved to Cross Creek in 1928. Here she found an untouched portion of the American frontier which inspired her to write stories based on nature and its beauty.
Capturing the beauty of Florida and the personality of her neighbors, Rawlings gained a loyal following for her stories. By listening intently and analyzing local speech patterns, Rawlings created a series of humorous short stories using the local dialect. She wrote about her neighbors whom she respected and admired. Most of the people of Cross Creek accepted the tales as the compliment they were intended. Through these stories readers across the nation learned about Cross Creek, Florida.
Hawthorne, Florida 32640
(on South County Road 325 in Cross Creek)
Hours: Thursday - Sunday 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Closed August and September
Farm open year-round
Admission: adults, $3; children, $2; children under 6, free
Telephone: (352) 466-3672
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings and her husband, Charles, moved to this inspiring retreat in Cross Creek, Florida, in 1928. The eight-room cracker-style house was built during the 1880s of native cypress and heart pine. Actually three separate structures connected by a bathroom, screened porches, and verandahs, this house, surrounded by nature, gave Rawlings the quiet atmosphere she needed for writing. She often spent 8 to 12 hours a day on the verandah where she wrote and watched "the coming and goings of birds to the feed basket in a crepe myrtle bush."
The house contains most of Rawlings’ original furnishings including the Hitchcock dining room set, numerous paintings and prints, and her handmade writing table. Scrapbooks of family photographs and articles relating to Rawlings’ writing are made available to tourists.
While living in Cross Creek, Rawlings wrote her Pulitzer-Prize winning novel, The Yearling, using the nearby Ocala National Forest for the setting. Other books such as South Moon Under, Golden Apples, When the Whippoorwill, Cross Creek, Cross Creek Cookery, The Sojourner, and Secret River are spiced with the scenery and local color of Cross Creek.
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (1896-1953)
Although Marjorie Rawlings had a strong-willed and outspoken nature, many of her Cross Creek, Florida, neighbors found her to be a sensitive and compassionate neighbor. While living on the farm, she learned to love the outdoors and its treasures. She developed a strong land ethic and belief in conservation. She was ahead of her time as an advocate of racial equality and preservation of the environment.
Rawlings was born on August 8, 1896, in Washington, D.C. After attending the University of Wisconsin, she accepted a position as reporter and feature writer in Louisville, Kentucky, and later Rochester, New York. The hectic pace of big city life and staff writing led Rawlings to seek out the quiet, almost secluded lifestyle of north-central Florida. She and her husband, Charles, moved to Cross Creek in 1928. Here she found an untouched portion of the American frontier which inspired her to write stories based on nature and its beauty.
Capturing the beauty of Florida and the personality of her neighbors, Rawlings gained a loyal following for her stories. By listening intently and analyzing local speech patterns, Rawlings created a series of humorous short stories using the local dialect. She wrote about her neighbors whom she respected and admired. Most of the people of Cross Creek accepted the tales as the compliment they were intended. Through these stories readers across the nation learned about Cross Creek, Florida.
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