Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
Home at Cross CreekEntrance to Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Home in Cross Creek, Fl.
Often Visiting the St. Johns River and its local folks, she obtained many of her characters and ideas from this area. 
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The barn now and then at Cross Creek
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Original Copy of The Yearling
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The Original Book "Yearling" was signed and given to Barney Dillard, long term resident of Astor, who was a good freind of Marjorie Rawlings.
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Dillards Rich Life in the Big Scrub Area Served as Literary Material for Marjorie Rawlings !
People- LAKE REFLECTIONS - January 15, 1997 By Ormund Powers
Barney Dillard Sr. went to the Big Scrub area of Lake, Marion and Volusia counties in 1866 when he was 4. He spent his life in the Astor area as a farmer, citrus grower, student, poet, philosopher and entrepreneur in several enterprises.
When Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings was gathering material for her first book about Florida, South Moon Under, published in 1938, and later for" The Yearling", she relied on Dillard for much of the information she needed about the area. In memoirs of the time, Dillard said he called the writer, "Merge" and said she they rode in her Model A Ford throught the Big Scrub area, known officially as the Ocala National Forest, serarching for local color and factual material. Dillard said that many of the experiences narrated in the "Yearling" were actual eventes lifted from his own unusual life. He said it was he who was bitten four times by rattlesnakes, as mentioned in the book. Dillard said it was he who followed the great, destructive bear Slewfoot for 50 years and was present at the kill, as reported in the book. The appearance of Rawlings in Florida was a major event not only in the history of Florida literature but also in that of the nation. Allen Morris of Tallahassee says in his Florida handbook, "She brought into the Florida scrub, thousands of readers who had never known that such a place existed....By the time "The Yearling" came along, the presentation of Florida pioneer people had been raised by Rawlings to an epic level. "When the Dillard family came to the Scrub following them were about 40 former slaves who had been freed but didn't want to part from the Dillards. The entourage settled first in Salt Springs, in Marioon County, then moved to Volusia Landing on the St. Johns River in Volusia County. Later, some of the freed people wanted to return to Georgia and Alabama, and the Senior Dillard provided wagons and mules to trqansport those people back there. As a young man, Dillard planted citrus groves and woked at building the St. Johns and Lake Eustis railroad, the first railroad to come from the North to Lake county. Dillard said he was the first to mine phosphate in florida, and that he built the first phosphate plant in Polk County for Joe Hull of Savannah. He also said that, many years later, he got the idea of putting center stripes on road afte his car was hit almost head0on and he was injured so badly that he was in bed for three months.
In 1888, when he was 26, Dillard married. He said he and his bide, Alice, were marreid at his parents' house. After a big venison dinner for which he provided the meat. Dillard said he was taking the preacher home, he took his bride to their house and found a number of men there preparing to give them a shivaree (a mock serenade) through the night. I saw she was worred," Dillard said, "so I put her to bed and went outside to the boys. I didn't have nothing but a jug of peach brandy, and I brought it out to them." I played the fiddle awhile, and played the banjo awhile and sang a few songs." When I went in the bedroom, I saw she was asleep. I had a mind to kiss her,but I was afreaid it would wake her."
As a honeymoon presnet, a laborer who worked for them milked the cows and a fellow named Browlee fed the stock.
Alice Dillard, he said "was the prettiest thing in the world". They were married 66 years, until her death. They had 15 children - nine boys and six girls.
Barney Dillard Sr. went to the Big Scrub area of Lake, Marion and Volusia counties in 1866 when he was 4. He spent his life in the Astor area as a farmer, citrus grower, student, poet, philosopher and entrepreneur in several enterprises.
When Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings was gathering material for her first book about Florida, South Moon Under, published in 1938, and later for" The Yearling", she relied on Dillard for much of the information she needed about the area. In memoirs of the time, Dillard said he called the writer, "Merge" and said she they rode in her Model A Ford throught the Big Scrub area, known officially as the Ocala National Forest, serarching for local color and factual material. Dillard said that many of the experiences narrated in the "Yearling" were actual eventes lifted from his own unusual life. He said it was he who was bitten four times by rattlesnakes, as mentioned in the book. Dillard said it was he who followed the great, destructive bear Slewfoot for 50 years and was present at the kill, as reported in the book. The appearance of Rawlings in Florida was a major event not only in the history of Florida literature but also in that of the nation. Allen Morris of Tallahassee says in his Florida handbook, "She brought into the Florida scrub, thousands of readers who had never known that such a place existed....By the time "The Yearling" came along, the presentation of Florida pioneer people had been raised by Rawlings to an epic level. "When the Dillard family came to the Scrub following them were about 40 former slaves who had been freed but didn't want to part from the Dillards. The entourage settled first in Salt Springs, in Marioon County, then moved to Volusia Landing on the St. Johns River in Volusia County. Later, some of the freed people wanted to return to Georgia and Alabama, and the Senior Dillard provided wagons and mules to trqansport those people back there. As a young man, Dillard planted citrus groves and woked at building the St. Johns and Lake Eustis railroad, the first railroad to come from the North to Lake county. Dillard said he was the first to mine phosphate in florida, and that he built the first phosphate plant in Polk County for Joe Hull of Savannah. He also said that, many years later, he got the idea of putting center stripes on road afte his car was hit almost head0on and he was injured so badly that he was in bed for three months.
In 1888, when he was 26, Dillard married. He said he and his bide, Alice, were marreid at his parents' house. After a big venison dinner for which he provided the meat. Dillard said he was taking the preacher home, he took his bride to their house and found a number of men there preparing to give them a shivaree (a mock serenade) through the night. I saw she was worred," Dillard said, "so I put her to bed and went outside to the boys. I didn't have nothing but a jug of peach brandy, and I brought it out to them." I played the fiddle awhile, and played the banjo awhile and sang a few songs." When I went in the bedroom, I saw she was asleep. I had a mind to kiss her,but I was afreaid it would wake her."
As a honeymoon presnet, a laborer who worked for them milked the cows and a fellow named Browlee fed the stock.
Alice Dillard, he said "was the prettiest thing in the world". They were married 66 years, until her death. They had 15 children - nine boys and six girls.
