Florida State Parks--the Real Florida.
Dudley Farm Historic State Park
18730 W. Newberry Road
Newberry, Florida 32669
(352) 472-1142
9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday, closed Monday and Tuesday.
Self-guided tours of the farmstead are available Wednesday through Sunday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
The Farmstead is closed for “shutting down operations” after 4:00 p.m., daily.
Admission: $5.00 per car—up to eight people (a true bargain) payable at the gate container. One places money into an envelope and takes the stub which goes on the mirror. The envelope goes into a little blue mailbox-type locked container. And off you go.
By now you know my love for Florida State Parks. Many of them are protected natural areas, such as various “Springs.” But, the state parks system has some very diverse venues. One which we had thought about for some time is Dudley Farm in Newberry.
(This paragraph is background--My longest-term friendship is with Beverly. We met in eighth grade. Shortly after meeting Bev, she invited me to come to her house after school. At this time, I met her parents who are now ninety-one and eighty-nine. Bev has three sisters…Peg, Jan and Phyl. Peg is twenty-three months younger than Beverly; Jan, twenty nine months younger than Peg; and Phyl, nineteen months younger than Jan (so, about two years apart). So, I’ve known all the siblings for almost as long as I have known Bev. Bev lives approximately seventy miles from me. Another post will describe our get togethers. Bev’s folks are still snow-birds…travel and winter in Florida and return to New England in the summer. Children and sometimes grandchildren visit off and on throughout the winter. Peg and her husband Don, now retired, came to visit for three weeks. They almost always visit us at the Raid (separate posting). This year, Mom and Dad are less than excited about doing things outside their normal routine. Travel, once they arrived in Florida, is not as much fun as it usta was. They consistently go the McDonald’s for breakfast, mosey through three of the local Walmarts and watch TV. They have been guests in our house many a time. But, the seventy mile car trip is no longer fun. This year Beverly went away with several of her friends for a week. This is something very unusual, but it was a one-time opportunity for her. Usually, Bev spends a lot of time with her visiting relatives although the relatives stay at Mom and Dad’s. Without Beverly’s company right in the middle of Peg and Don’s stay provided for some boredom on their part…too much McDonald’s and too many Walmats. So, when Peg and Don made their almost annual visit to the Raid, we asked them if they would like to come up to do “something” with us for a day. They jumped at the idea. Borrowed Dad’s car for a day. After a couple of phone calls to make arrangements, they showed up at our doorstep mid-morning. Steve and Don are a month apart in age. So, it was good for both of them to have another male around their own age with whom to “hang”).
Lynne, still staying with us after the Raid, was happy to join us in our plans, whatever they might be.
Plan A was a boat trip on the Rainbow and Withachoochee Rivers--which did not work out. Steve came up with an idea for Plan B. Why not go to a couple of state parks. Most tourists and many snowbirds have no idea about the beautiful rural portions of Florida. I often brag that our town has only ONE blinking light…lots of stop signs, but no regular stop lights. Well, Peg and Don found out and, I believe quite amazed.
Piling into the car, we headed toward Newberry. The farm is still a working farm.
Hiking/Nature Trail (FROM THE WEB-SITE)
Picnic Area Loop - A pleasant 15 minute walk that wanders through a hammock with many live oaks and sinkholes.
The Pause and Ponder Trail - Enjoy this .3 mile loop nature trail at Dudley Farm's Visitor Center. This is your chance to take a quiet, meditative walk through the diverse habitat of Dudley Farm's woodlands. There is mystery here as the trail slopes downhill and curves out of sight. The trail climbs to high ground with a view across pasture land where the Dudleys once grew cotton and where cows still graze. A hand-hewn cedar bench is made for resting or bird-watching. Pileated woodpeckers can be heard calling; native magnolias and live oaks create a majestic canopy.
The trail begins and ends at the park's picnic area.
The Old Homestead Trail - This trail is featured January through June, the 2nd Saturday of the month.
A ranger or docent will meet you at the Visitor Center at 10:00 a.m. for this behind-the-scenes view of the Dudley Farm that was before the existing 1880s farmstead. The original log homesite location and possible location of slave houses will be pointed out. Participants will learn about Captain PBH Dudley, who established the original farm. This walk back through time traverses the original lane past 100-year-old split rail fences. One will experience the flavor of the true South while walking under ancient canopy live oaks and red cedars dripping with Spanish moss.
Allow a leisurely hour or two for this new guided walk.
Although we did not hike the various trails, we spent considerable time walking around the farm and buildings. We will go back for a revisit and some hiking...
A short film presents some very good history about the three generations of Dudleys who lived and farmed here. Philip B. H. Dudley was the first. He bought some acreage in the 1850’s. He ran the farm with his large family and local slaves. After the Civil War, however, most of the same slaves worked for him as paid laborers or tenant farmers. His only surviving son P. B[en] H. Dudley, Jr. was the next owner. The last to live on the farm was Myrtle (1901-1996) who was the youngest of the twelve children (eight girls, four boys), donated some of the land to the State in the 1980’s. Her vision was to see the farm continue to be used as it had been. But due to her advanced age, much of the buildings had deteriorated. The State currently owns 325 acres of the original 640 acres. An ongoing project was begun.
We talked to a wonderful lady named Terry who told us that she was soon retiring (one of very few paid staffs—I think one of two). She had grown up on a farm and had done much of the heavy labor in the restoration process. Split rail fences and gardening were two of her specialties. The physical labor is getting too much for her. She did say that she would like to remain as a volunteer.
Steve is interested in building a draw horse. Terry’s father had made the one used on the farm. She let the rope down and invited Steve to try it (something not usually done for touring folks). She also mentioned that she still had the drawings and would send them to us. A most charming and helpful lady. One could tell that she REALLLLLY loves her job.
Live stock currently includes a couple varieties of chickens, horse, mule, and two turkeys—the thirty pound tom with an “attitude.”
Crops include sugar cane, sweet potatoes and field corn. Mules are still used for the cultivation. Due to a recent killing frost, the banana trees were a wintery shade of tan, but they will come back in the spring. Many of the flowers in the front of the homestead looked pretty good, however. Some of the trees were a hundred or so years old.
Eighteen historic structures made the farm totally self-sufficient. Some of these buildings include:
The farm house was built by Ben Dudley. Four rooms arranged around a central hall. Boys slept upstairs and girls downstairs.
As was oft the tradition in the South, the kitchen and dining area were housed in a separate building. There were at least two reasons for this: (1) The heat in the summer would have made the house unbearable and (2) There was always a concern about fire hazard. If there was a fire in the kitchen, the rest of the house would have been kept safe.
The “flower pit” was built by Myrtle and Winnie Dudley as a kind of green house.
Dairy shed/canning house—an area for “women’s work.” Making butter, cottage cheese, canning farm produce and laundry.
Chicken coops housed 600 chickens in the 1930’s. Brooder house was built for raising baby chicks.
Sweet potato cellar—a general “root” A-frame cellar. This family used it primarily for their produce of sweet potatoes.
Syrup House Complex—The cane mill was powered by mules. Various times of the year, the complex was used for different chores—soap making, sugar cane syrup making, lard processing,
Smoke house, corn crib, stable, hay barn, tobacco barn.
Farm equipment and implements from the early days to “modern”-- early 1900’s) including a fairly early John Deere tractor which Ben traded for two of his mules. Various carts, wagons and pull sleds used by various animals were abundant Great antiques which have been preserved in the various buildings, including the house. At one time, one of the buildings housed a general store and local post office. The mail was received twice a week, and the locals came, met and gossiped. The general store has been restored with the types of inventory that would have filled its shelves.
A cistern collected rain water. And a water tower (no longer in existence) further collected water for the times during the year when rain was scarce.
I bought a great quint little cookbook in the gift shop Cookhouse Cookin’. It includes many family recipes and a hand-written recipe from Myrtle.
It was great fun and educational. All five of us enjoyed this portion of our trip.
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| Banana trees killed by frost |
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| Steve at the draw horse |
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| The back porch |
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| Wonderful, hardworking Miss Terry |
But Steve wanted to show Don and Peg a different part of the real Florida.
So, after a couple of hours, we piled into the car once again and drove off to Manatee Springs.
(See separate posting).
