“Cross the Creek” and Step Back in Time

Story and Photos by Hiram Perkins

I love exiting the high speed and pace of Interstate highway driving to get the true feel and relaxed pace of a locale. Once in a while, I have a free Saturday to explore places. And it is a special treat when someone famous or something of historical note happened in that place. It is like being on a treasure hunt where the journey is as exciting as the prize at the end of the game. Nowhere in Florida can you do this better, but Cross Creek in North Central Florida. It arrived at this name by virtue of being situated between Lochloosa Lake and Orange Lake.

Writer Marjorie Rawlings migrated from Washington DC and settled in this area in 1928 to write stories for magazines. She was escaping the hustle, noise, and activity of big city life and found peace here. The fragrant smell of orange blossoms and simple life instantly hooked her. Amid the peaceful sounds of tropical birds, animals, and colorful Southern cultural practices, she found colorful human interest material to record. Her memoir book, Cross Creek, published in 1942, was made into a movie starring Mary Steenburgen in 1984. Since that time, this community sees some 30,000 visitors a year.

Marjorie Rawlings lived on her orange grove property and continued to write until her death in 1953. It has been designed as a historical site. She left her comforting estate to the University of Florida as a haven for future writers. The 70 acre orange grove, farmhouse, and farmland is managed and maintained by the Florida Parks Service. Here you feel you’ve step back in time as the place has a 1930s working farm atmosphere.

On this quiet Saturday, 2006, it is a sleepy quaint 1950s settlement of a handful of people. Upon arrival, I found a sign that colorfully proclaims the philosophy so clearly evident in the life and works of Ms. Rawlings. Just by looking at it, you can feel the tension of today’s stress melting away. I immediately understood her comment of “…we need, above all, I think, a certain remoteness from urban confusion,” When I opened my windows and slowed to 35 mph. -- the drone of interstate traffic was gone. In her book, she said of this area, “When I came to the Creek, I knew the old grove and the farmhouse at once as home”

My childhood memory of reading The Yearling in the fifth grade surfaced when I made the bend in the road. Immersed in the local culture, Rawlins received a Pulitzer Prize in fiction for penning this novel in 1939. As I walked in the hammock, I expected to see the deer depicted in the text cautiously and nervously sniffing the air at the smell of danger. The cool morning air smelled of pine and sweet wild flowers. The cardinals and the mocking birds were busy singing away, but no sign of animals this morning.

Today, the farmhouse is hosted by 1940s era dressed guides. The ladies bedecked in calico bonnets, tour small groups of 10 or so people and tell stories about the life and habits of the Rawlings. In addition to fiction, media articles, poems, and short stories, Marjorie wrote cookbooks featuring the local ingredients. The grounds include the main house—three building connected by interconnected porches, the reconstructed barn, and an original pump house. Over the years, she made improvements to the original property and screened the porches and enlarged the front area where she did most of her writing.

After touring the house and grounds, I headed off the Yearling Restaurant. It serves typical beef and seafood dishes in a relaxed atmosphere. I found sampling alligator interesting in taste and texture. After a refreshing meal and a relaxing cup of coffee, I was ready to be outside again. Next to the restaurant is a public boat ramp on the west side of Orange Lake. I rented a canoe. Just a few miles down the Jupiter River, I spotted the treasure of the day. Two minutes after this shot, I only saw a blur of fur. The rest of the ride was uneventful, but peaceful. I loved seeing the sunset over the water, bringing a close to a perfect day. The bite at dusk mosquitoes, however, made me paddle quickly back to the launch site as I forgot to pack bug repellant.

To get to Cross Creek, Florida, take Interstate 75 South and exit at Micanopy and follow the signs to CR346 and CR325. It is approximately a 20 minute drive or 15 miles West of Gainesville. Traveling south on US 301, turn on county road 325 West and follow the signs to the site. The Rawlings home site is closed for repairs in August and September, but accessible the rest of the year. House tours are conducted Thursday through Saturday. For more information, please contact the MKR State Historic Site. Route 3, Box 92, Hawthorne, Fl 32640 (352) 466-3672.