MARJORIE KINNAN RAWLINGS – CROSS CREEK

SIDE ONE: Pulitzer Prize-winning author Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (1896-1953) lived in Cross Creek beginning in 1928. She moved here with her first husband, Charles A. Rawlings, whose brothers owned land in nearby Island Grove. After her marriage to Charles ended in divorce in 1933 and he moved away, Marjorie maintained this home in Cross Creek until her death. Although she had other residences in Crescent Beach near St. Augustine and in Van Hornesville, New York, Cross Creek and the surrounding area were the inspiration for many of her literary works, most notably: South Moon Under (1933), Golden Apples (1935), The Yearling (1938 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction), When the Whippoorwill (1940), Cross Creek (1942), and Cross Creek Cookery (1942). Rawlings bequeathed her papers, including her manuscripts and correspondence, to the University of Florida in Gainesville. SIDE TWO: Born on August 8, 1896, in Washington, DC, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings attended the University of Wisconsin and graduated in 1918. Having previously lived in New York City; Louisville, Kentucky; and Rochester, New York; she purchased this farm and 72 acres of citrus groves in 1928. Rawlings lived here through the Great Depression and World War II, all while writing and producing citrus, growing vegetables, and raising farm animals. Marjorie prided herself on her cooking prowess, often entertaining dignitaries and ordinary folk at her dining table. She married hotelier Norton Baskin in 1941 and frequently commuted between Cross Creek and St. Augustine. After publishing her last novel The Sojourner in 1953, Rawlings died in St. Augustine December 14 of that year. Her children's book, The Secret River was published posthumously two years later. The Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings House and Farm Yard became a state park in 1980 and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2006.