This historic state park is a unique remaining example of a historic Florida farm from the mid-1800s. Located on a 333-acre site, this typical early Florida farm served three generations of the Dudley family. The patriarch, Philip Benjamin Dudley, Sr., acquired this property in 1859 and constructed a double-pen, dog-trot log house before the Civil War.

Dudley served as a captain in the Alachua Rangers, 7th Florida Infantry beginning in 1862, and likely saw service in Tennessee during this period. Discharged from the Confederate army in 1863 for health conditions, Dudley returned to Florida to operate his farm property. Artifacts on display in the park include the 1835 family Bible, which Dudley reportedly carried with him throughout his Civil War Service.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, this park demonstrates the evolution of Florida farming from the 1850s to the mid-1940s-through three generations of the Dudley family.

An authentic working farm, the homestead consists of 18 buildings, including the family farmhouse with original furnishings, an 1880s kitchen outbuilding, a general store and post office, and a functional cane syrup complex. Park staff in period clothing perform daily chores, raise crops and tend to livestock.

The farm features seasonal cane grindings, corn shuckings and heritage varieties of livestock and plants. Deer, wild turkeys, gopher tortoises and bluebirds are still seen in the fields. The park has a visitor center, picnic area and nature trail.

www.floridastateparks.org/dudleyfarm

Information Provided by the Florida Department of State.