Carrying On at the Creek

Long before the area was immortalized in Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings’ famous books, Cross Creek was a haven for people and wildlife of every description. While mastodons and saber-toothed tigers roamed the swamps, the human inhabitants hunted and gathered from the rich bounty of the land between two lakes.
*For thousands of years, native peoples followed the seasons of want and plenty. Little changed until the Spanish conquistadors, looking for gold as usual, passed through the region, leaving their hardy livestock and the seeds of their Seville oranges behind.
Waves of traders, pioneers, cowmen, freed slaves, farmers and citrus growers followed, but only a handful were hardy enough to carve a life out of the remote swamps of “The Creek”. From the few homesteading families of Rawlings’ day, the scattered residents now number in the hundreds.
*The farming and fishing life is fading, but the loosely woven community retains, as Rawlings wrote, “a certain remoteness from urban confusion.” Barefoot boys with cane poles still scuff down the dusty roads on their way to fish in the Creek, and bald eagles soar over the abundant waters of Orange and Lochloosa Lakes.
*In Cross Creek, the traditions of self-reliance and neighborly spirit still prevail in a corner of the county far from city conveniences and services. When trouble comes in the form of a fire, accident, medical emergency or act of nature, it is often a neighbor who first answers a call for assistance.
*In the early 1970’s, Creek homeowners banded together to start a volunteer fire department and build a station. The “Homemakers Auxiliary” raised funds by holding community festivals and dinners, while dozens of volunteer builders of every age and skill level erected the structure. Equipment was purchased, firefighters were trained, and the Cross Creek Volunteer Fire Department began responding to local fires and assisting residents in every sort of emergency.
The fire station and its volunteer crews and supporters have withstood the test of time. *Today, the Cross Creek and Island Grove fire stations serve a large district where homes are often isolated and water scarce. The tradition of community suppers and festivals to support the department continues with monthly dinners, fish fries and gatherings where local homemade food and crafts are featured.
*This year, a water tanker is needed to respond quickly to local fires. So the annual autumn festival will be greatly expanded and moved to the M. K. Rawlings County Park. On November 18, the people of Cross Creek will welcome visitors from all over the region to enjoy a glimpse of authentic “Old Florida” life in a place that time forgot.