Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings ..

View from the road of the main house which was

created from cypress of three separate buildings.

The estate was left to the University of Florida upon

her death in 1953 . Sadly it was not maintained until the

Florida Park Service took control of the property and began

restoring in the 70's.. restoration completed in 1996 and

finally recognized as a National Historical Site in 2006

The property , house, outbuildings even the citrus

groves have been restored to the way it was when

Rawlings owned the property 1928 - 1953

To the left of the fireplace is the closet where the

firewood was stored and also her 'bootleg' booze

during the Prohibition era. It has been written many

times of her fondness for 'moon-shine'.

The library at the opposite end of the fireplace.
The porch at the front of the house
The other end of the front porch . The cypress table
with her typewriter and Lucky Strike cigarettes.
The place where she would sit and look out at the animals
that freely roamed the premises. The place where she created

the Pulitzer Prize winning YEARLING in 1938.

And in 1942 her semi-autobiographical CROSS CREEK.

I was fortunate to arrive on a day that the house is not
open for touring... fortunate because a caretaker opened
the house and let me roam freely . Limitless time to step
back to an era before I was born. To experience what the
Real Florida was like before the mouse took over .
And yes.. Virginia, I did touch the keys that Marjorie
Kinnan Rawlings had touched so often and so well...
but don't tell anyone ..I think the Park Service frowns
on people touching the typewriter and using flash for photos.