Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park in Florida

18700 S. CR-325, Cross Creek

Readers familiar with author Marjorie Rawlings will recognize this setting as having pervaded much of her work. An unknown writer when she moved here in 1928, Mrs. Rawlings committed herself to this small, remote community. Three years passed before she sold her first story. But as the people and environs of Cross Creek fueled her creative fire, she eventually penned her most famous work, The Yearling, which won her a Pulitzer Prize.

A typical Cracker homestead, designed for optimum cross-ventilation, the house consists of three board-and-batten units connected by porches and shaded by wide overhangs and the surrounding orange and magnolia trees. A 45-minute tour takes you through the farmyard and into the house. The park has two loop walking trails through the woods and farmyard.

Open year-round. House closed Aug.–Sept. Admission charged.

www.floridastateparks.org

(352) 466-3672

Originally Published in Reader's Digest