Florida Women's Heritage Trail

Cross Creek, the home of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (1896-1953), is where the world-famous author wrote her most popular books, "The Yearling" and "Cross Creek." Rawlings came to Cross Creek when she was 32 and drew the inspiration for her books from the land and from the Florida Cracker community.

In 1939, she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for "The Yearling," the story of a 12-year-old boy and his pet deer who lived in the Florida scrub. With its raised floor and pitched roof, the Rawlings house is a fine example of Cracker architecture and is well-suited for the hot Florida climate.

The Rawlings home is open to the public and guided tours are provided. Many of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings' books, drafts, letters, and photographs are included in a collection not far from Cross Creek, at the Smathers Library East on the University of Florida campus in Gainsville.

Information provided by the Florida Division of Historical Resources.

Edited by Cynthia Catellier University of West Florida Department of Public History