Cracker Country News

Discover the Past: Spring Community Social at Cracker Country

2011-03-31T07:30:00.001-07:00

April 2, 2011

10-4

Come celebrate the change in the seasons at our 1890s gathering filled with history and fun. Kids can test their skills, and maybe win a ribbon, in 19th century contests like sack racing, hoop rolling and ring tossing. Win prizes in our period guessing games. Lend your muscle to household and farm chores, including making 100 feet of rope and churning butter. All while wandering through our original rural homes & structures.

This Florida history can be relived for an exceptional value. Adult admission tickets are $ 7.00 each; students six to twelve years old and senior citizens tickets are $ 6.00 each. Children five and under are admitted free. Parking is free for this event when visitors enter the Fairgrounds via the Orient Road entrance. For more information visit our website www.crackercountry.org or call us at 813-627-4225.

Spring school tours starting today!

2011-03-08T05:39:00.000-08:00

14 schools will be visiting Cracker Country today, ready to be immersed in the sights, textures, sounds, tastes, and smells of the past.

Each group is led by a museum docent dressed in 1890s period clothing. Tours stop in the Blacksmith Shop, where they watch a blacksmith at work, learn about his trade, and help him with a few projects. At the Carlton House, students learn about the history of the Carlton family and then churn and taste their own butter! Candle-making, rope-making, and laundry are also part of the days lesson plan, along with several other activities.

2010-2011 School Tours General Information

Cost: $6 per student. One adult is admitted free with every 10 students; additional adults are $6 each.

Minimum: The minimum number of people for this program is 10 paid guests (or $60). If your group has less than 10 people, you can still participate; however, your cost for the tour is $60.

Length: The tour is 2.5 hours, 10:00 am – 12:30 pm

Dates Offered: Spring Tours are offered Tuesday—Friday, March 8—May 6

If you have any further questions, please contact Jennifer Becker, Program Supervisor, at 813-627-4225 or Jennifer.Becker@freshfromflorida.com.

Come visit us on Saturday March 5th

2011-03-02T11:19:00.000-08:00

Discover the Past at Cracker Country
March 5th
10am-4pm

Use your senses of sight, smell, taste, and touch to relive early rural Florida at your own pace. Tour our historic buildings and sites, taste and churn butter, and view our model train display.

Visit us on March 5th & 19th for our special Make and Take Days!

Make and Take Days allow visitors to make and learn about toys and crafts from rural Florida’s history. As you travel through the museum, craft areas will be set up welcoming visitors to relive history through craft.

Crafts include: paper doll cutouts, button spinners, homemade hoop and stick catchers, weaving, rope twisting, candle dipping, and printing on our late 19th-century printing press.

Okahumpka Depot

This program is an exceptional value, too! An adult admission ticket is $7.00 each; students six to twelve years old and senior citizens' tickets are $6.00 each. Children five and under are admitted free. Parking is free for this event when visitors enter the Fairgrounds via the Orient Road entrance.

Last day of the fair!

2011-02-21T06:28:00.000-08:00

Happy Presidents Day! It’s the last day of the Fair, and we open at 9AM today. If you’re a student, it's your lucky day— students from age 12 through 12th grade get in the gate for $6, and students age 6-11 get in for $5! It’s also Pepsi armband day—bring in a Pepsi can and get $5 off an armband! Then make your way over to Cracker Country!

At 1PM, Fiddle Duet will be performing in the church, and the Pleasant Family Old Time String Band will be on Center Stage throughout the day. Come see them one last time!

Susan Riley from the USPS will be back in the Post Office today. It’s your last chance to mail a letter with a special Cracker Country cancellation!
Don’t forget to pick up some tasty kettle corn, smoked meat, and lemonade while you’re here!

Other activities today: Antique Tool Demonstration, Bee Keeping and Honey, Bench making, Blacksmithing, Building a Log Corn Crib, Chair Caning, Corn Grinding, Corn Husk Dolls, Decoy Carving, Flax Processing, Felting, Heirloom Roses and Herbs, Lye Soap Making & Appalachian-Style Pottery, Newspaper Printing, Palm Frond Weaving, Pine Needle Basket Making, Open Fire Cooking, Quilting, Spinning and Weaving, Whip Making, Wooden Bowls and Spoons, Woodworking/Birdhouses

Last weekend at Cracker Country!

2011-02-20T05:30:00.000-08:00

At 1:30PM today, Dulcimer Connection will be playing old-time country and fiddle tunes in the church. The Sweeney Family Band will be on Center Stage throughout the day.

Today is the last day to see: Gourd Banjo Making, Brooms & Corn Shuck Mops, Cooking Swamp Cabbage, and Cane Syrup Making

Susan Riley from the USPS will NOT be running the Post Office today, but she will be here for the last day of the fair tomorrow!

Other activities today: Antique Tool Demonstration, Bee Keeping and Honey, Blacksmithing, Building a Log Corn Crib, Chair Caning, Corn Grinding, Corn Husk Dolls, Decoy Carving, Flax Processing, Felting, Heirloom Roses and Herbs, Lye Soap Making & Appalachian-Style Pottery, Newspaper Printing, Palm Frond Weaving, Pine Needle Basket Making, Open Fire Cooking, Quilting, Spinning and Weaving, Whip Making, Wooden Bowls and Spoons, Woodworking/Birdhouse

Lots of music in Cracker Country today!

2011-02-19T05:34:00.000-08:00

Today at the fair, midway rides are $1 from 10-11AM! 4-H and FFA get in for free today with an ID or jacket.

From 10AM-12PM today, the Society for the Preservation of Early Country & Western Music will be performing early country western music in the Church, and from 1-2PM, the Centurians Quartet will be in the Church performing southern gospel. The Sweeney Family Band will be on the Center Stage throughout the day.

Susan Riley of the USPS will be running the Cracker Country Post Office today, so come mail a letter with a special Cracker Country cancellation! And don’t forget to wander the grounds and watch our crafters at work!

Special Weekend Demonstrations: Gourd Banjo Making, Bench Making, Brooms and Corn Shuck Mops, Cooking Swamp Cabbage

Other activities today: Antique Tool Demonstration, Bee Keeping and Honey, Blacksmithing, Building a Log Corn Crib, Cane Syrup Making, Chair Caning, Corn Grinding, Corn Husk Dolls, Decoy Carving, Flax Processing, Felting, Heirloom Roses and Herbs, Landscape Painting, Lye Soap Making & Appalachian-Style Pottery, Newspaper Printing, Palm Frond Weaving, Pine Needle Basket Making, Open Fire Cooking, Quilting, Spinning and Weaving, Whip Making, Wooden Bowls and Spoons, Woodworking/Birdhouses

Last weekend at Cracker Country!

2011-02-18T05:32:00.000-08:00

Today is the beginning of the weekend at Cracker Country. We open at 9AM.

There are several school music performances today. At 10AM today, the Burns Middle School Orchestra & Chorus will be performing at the Train Depot. At 10 & 11AM, the Maniscalco Elementary School chorus will be performing in the School. And at 10:30AM, the Liberty Middle School Orchestra will be performing at the Blacksmith’s Shop. The Pleasant Family Old Time String Band will be performing on the Center Stage throughout the day.

New this year to Cracker Country, Danny Sylvester will be on the Nature Store front porch making brooms and corn shuck mops! Buddy Mills will be back today cooking swamp cabbage in between the Print Shop and the Cane Mill, and Susan Riley of the USPS will be running the Cracker Country Post Office today. Come mail a letter with a special Cracker Country cancellation!

Special Weekend Demonstrations: Gourd Banjo Making, Bench Making

Other activities today: Antique Tool Demonstration, Bee Keeping and Honey, Blacksmithing, Building a Log Corn Crib, Cane Syrup Making, Chair Caning, Corn Grinding, Corn Husk Dolls, Decoy Carving, Flax Processing, Felting, Heirloom Roses and Herbs, Landscape Painting, Lye Soap Making & Appalachian-Style Pottery, Newspaper Printing, Palm Frond Weaving, Pine Needle Basket Making, Open Fire Cooking, Quilting, Spinning and Weaving, Whip Making, Wooden Bowls and Spoons, Woodworking/Birdhouses

Veteran's Day

2011-02-17T06:23:00.000-08:00

Today is the last day that Fair admission is $6 for people aged 55+! Today is also the Fair’s Salute to Veterans—after 4PM today, admission is free for everyone.

From 10:30-11AM in Cracker Country, Benito Middle School’s orchestra will be performing at the Train Depot. At 1PM, the Southwest Florida Dulcimer Club will be performing folk music in the Church. The Pleasant Family Old Time String Band will be on Center Stage throughout the day.

Susan Riley of the USPS will be running the Cracker Country Post Office today. Come mail a letter with a special Cracker Country cancellation! Don’t forget to stop by the Blacksmith Shop and the Antique Tool Demonstration!

Other activities today: Bee Keeping and Honey, Building a Log Corn Crib, Cane Syrup Making, Chair Caning, Corn Grinding, Corn Husk Dolls, Decoy Carving, Flax Processing, Felting, Heirloom Roses and Herbs, Landscape Painting, Lye Soap Making & Appalachian-Style Pottery, Newspaper Printing, Palm Frond Weaving, Pine Needle Basket Making, Open Fire Cooking, Quilting, Spinning and Weaving, Whip Making, Wooden Bowls and Spoons, Woodworking/Birdhouses

Mail a letter at the Cracker Country Post Office!

2011-02-16T06:01:00.000-08:00

Today is the first day that Susan Riley of the USPS will be running the Cracker Country Post Office. Come mail a letter with a special Cracker Country cancellation! Ms. Riley will be here for the rest of the fair EXCEPT Sunday, February 20.

Fair admission is $6 for people aged 55+ today through Thursday!

The Hauck Music Studio will be performing Americana and hymns in the Cracker Country Church today at 4:30PM, and the Pleasant Family Old Time String Band will be performing on Center Stage throughout the day.

Florida State Fair

2011-02-15T06:06:00.000-08:00

Today through Thursday, Fair admission is $6 for people aged 55+!

At 12PM and 2PM, the Gospel Jubilee of the First Baptist Church of Wauchula will be performing hymns on Cracker Country’s Center Stage. The Pleasant Family Old Time String Band will be on Center Stage throughout the day.

Don’t miss our Bee Keeping and Honey demonstration on the Nature Store front porch, and learn about heirloom roses and herbs on the Train Depot platform.

Valentine's Day at the Fair!

2011-02-14T06:09:00.000-08:00

Today at the Fair, students from Pinellas County will receive discounted admission prices! Admission is $5 for students ages 6-11, and $6 for students ages 12-12th grade. Midway rides are $1 from 12-1PM today! And celebrate Valentine's Day with a red velvet funnel cake!

In Cracker Country, the Pleasant Family Old Time String Band will be performing throughout the day on the Center Stage. Stop by the Print Shop today and pick up a newspaper fresh off the antique printing press, Or watch corn being ground with an antique engine at the Gristmill! Be on the lookout for the Cracker House Artist Guild painting landscapes around the grounds.

Other activities today: Antique Tool Demonstration, Bee Keeping and Honey, Blacksmithing, Building a Log Corn Crib, Cane Syrup Making, Chair Caning, Corn Husk Dolls, Decoy Carving, Flax Processing, Felting, Heirloom Roses and Herbs, Lye Soap Making & Appalachian-Style Pottery, Palm Frond Weaving, Pine Needle Basket Making, Open Fire Cooking, Quilting, Spinning and Weaving, Whip Making, Wooden Bowls and Spoons, Woodworking/Birdhouses

Students Day at the Fair!

2011-02-11T05:30:00.000-08:00

Today at the Fair, students from age 12 through 12th grade get in the gate for $6, and students age 6-11 get in for $5! It’s also Pepsi armband day—bring in a Pepsi can and get $5 off an armband! Then make your way over to Cracker Country!

Today at 11 & 11:30AM, the St. Anne Childrens Choir, Les Petits Chanteurs, will be performing hymns in the church! The Pleasant family old Time String Band will be performing throughout the day on the Center Stage.

We have several new demonstrations this year. Today, for the first time, Reflections of Manatee will be making cane syrup all day at the Cane Mill. You can also spot the Cracker House Artist Guild painting landscapes across the grounds! And be sure to stop by our new exhibit, Working Another's Land: African-American Sharecroppers in Rural Florida, located in the Nature Store.

Special Weekend Demonstrations: Gourd Banjo Making, Bench Making

Other activities today: Antique Tool Demonstration, Bee Keeping and Honey, Blacksmithing, Building a Log Corn Crib, Chair Caning, Corn Grinding, Corn Husk Dolls, Decoy Carving, Flax Processing, Felting, Heirloom Roses and Herbs, Lye Soap Making & Appalachian-Style Pottery, Newspaper Printing, Palm Frond Weaving, Pine Needle Basket Making, Open Fire Cooking, Quilting, Spinning and Weaving, Whip Making, Wooden Bowls and Spoons, Woodworking/Birdhouses

First day of the Fair!

2011-02-10T06:17:00.000-08:00

It’s the first day of the Florida State Fair, and there’s a lot going on at Cracker Country!

Today is the grand opening of our new exhibit, Working Another's Land: African American Sharecroppers in Rural Florida. The exhibit allows visitors a glimpse into the lives of African-American sharecroppers in late 19^th century Florida.

We have three musical performances today: the Lee County Fiddles will be performing in the church at 1PM; at 2PM, the Sandy Strings Band will performing traditional and old-time American songs at the Train Depot; and the Pleasant Family Old Time String Band will be performing throughout the day on the Center Stage.

We have several new trade demonstrations this year. Today you can spot the Cracker House Artist Guild painting landscapes throughout Cracker Country!

Other activities today: Antique Tool Demonstration, Bee Keeping and Honey, Blacksmithing, Building a Log Corn Crib, Chair Caning, Corn Grinding, Corn Husk Dolls, Decoy Carving, Flax Processing, Felting, Heirloom Roses and Herbs, Lye Soap Making & Appalachian-Style Pottery, Newspaper Printing, Palm Frond Weaving, Pine Needle Basket Making, Open Fire Cooking, Quilting, Spinning and Weaving, Whip Making, Wooden Bowls and Spoons, Woodworking/Birdhouses

And remember that after 3pm today, Fair armbands are only $20!

Cracker Country Membership Program!

2011-02-04T07:09:00.001-08:00

We are excited to announce that Cracker Country is starting up a membership program! Beginning this February at the State Fair, visitors will be able to apply for a Cracker Country membership in the General Store, or download an application on the museum’s website. There are many great reasons for becoming a Cracker Country member—member benefits include free admission to Discover the Past for you and for guests, Florida State Fair tickets, and reduced or free admission and other benefits at participating local and national museums! Last, but not least, you will have the satisfaction of knowing that your membership fee helps keep Cracker Country thriving! Check our website for more information on member benefits, membership levels, and other ways to get involved at Cracker Country! See you at the Fair!

Josiah Thomas Walls, 1842-1905

2011-01-31T07:01:00.000-08:00

Last March we wrote about Mary McLeod Bethune, one of the strongest African-American voices of the early 20th century. Now we’d like to introduce you to an important figure from the late 19th century, Josiah Thomas Walls. Walls was the first African-American to serve in Congress, and was the only black representative from Florida until the early 1990s.

Josiah Walls was born a slave in Winchester, Virginia, in 1842. He was forced to join the Confederate army as the personal servant of one of its white officers, but was released after their capture at Yorktown by Union troops in 1862. Walls joined the United States Colored Troops in 1863, where he rose to the rank of corporal. Two years later he was discharged in Florida, where he stayed to teach for the Freedmen’s Bureau. In 1868 he was elected to be the Alachua County representative in the Florida Constitutional Convention, and in 1869 was one of five freedmen in the Florida senate.

Walls was elected to Congress three times throughout his career, but only once was allowed to serve the full term uncontested. Twice his election was contested by the losing opponents, and twice Walls was discharged after serving a partial term. During his time in office, he worked towards improving Florida’s physical and governmental infrastructure, and did his best to defend Florida’s tourism and agriculture industries. In 1876, after his latest ousting from Congress, Walls moved back to Florida. Months later he won a seat in Florida’s state senate. He remained in and out of politics until his death in 1905.

Image: Portrait of Congressman Josiah Thomas Walls, retrieved from Florida Memory Image # RC00830

Christmas in the Country Fun

2010-12-08T11:58:00.000-08:00

Well, we had a very successful day last Saturday for our Christmas in the Country event! Over 400 guests joined us to discover what Christmas traditions were celebrated by rural Floridians in the late 19th century. Our guests made simple decorations such as paper chains and salt dough ornaments to help us decorate our trees. They also dipped their own candle and took home a cornucopia of candies and nuts as our gift to them. They gathered together to sing carols and listen to a reading of "'Twas the Night Before Christmas." Don't forget--the chores still needed to be done, so our guests helped us do laundry and some farm chores as well.

Did you miss out on the fun? Don't fret because Christmas in the Country will be held again on Saturday, December 18, 10 am - 4 pm. Join us in this busy season to discover how the holiday traditions of the 19th century differ from those today. Click here for more information about the program.

Celebrating Christmas in the Country

2010-12-01T10:11:00.000-08:00

‘Tis the season for Cracker Country’s annual Christmas celebration; Christmas in the Country. Bring the family for a great day experiencing the sights, sounds and smells of an old fashion country Christmas.

Christmas in the Country is now offered twice, Saturday December 4^th and Saturday December 18^th, 2011. Learn how the holiday traditions of the 19th century differ from those of the 21st through hands-on historical interpretations, carols, traditional decorations and more! Enjoy making old fashion ornaments, and then try your hand at decorating your own salt dough ornament.

Saint Ann’s Children’s Choir will be performing in our Church on Saturday, December 4^th, singing time-honored Christmas carols. In addition to traditional Christmas activities, Christmas in the Country will also feature country chores and hands-on activities, including butter making, laundry, and historic toys.

Adult admission tickets are $ 7.00 each; students six to twelve years old and senior citizens tickets are $ 6.00 each. Children five and under are admitted free. Parking is free for this event when visitors enter the Fairgrounds via the Orient Road entrance.

For more information please email Susan Obarski at obarsks@doacs.state.fl.us or call 813-627-4225.

We are thankful for our museum docents

2010-11-24T12:22:00.000-08:00

As many people take time to reflect on what they are thankful for, we would like to express our gratitude for our many museum docents and the many hours that they put in to help our guests relive rural Florida's past. Thousands of people have benefited from their hard work and to that we say a big "THANK YOU!"

One our docents, Bill Vickers, volunteered to write about one of the funny experiences he had with a child that was visiting:

As a docent at the blacksmith shop, I was explaining the tools and work of the past. I had a few extra minutes and I told the children what my father & mother referred to me and other children as when I was their age—“children, boys, girls, young ones” etc. Now, their parents & friends call them 'kids.' I said, "a baby goat is a 'kid,' not you." A child looked up at me and said “Baa baa baa.” I laughed so hard that tears formed in my eyes.

Have a wonderful thanksgiving everyone and once again, "Thank You Docents!"

It’s Story Time! Come join us this Saturday, November 20th, for Florida Tall Tales

2010-11-19T08:07:00.000-08:00

For the first time in the museum’s history Cracker Country will open for Florida Tall Tales, a themed event within the Discover the Past program. Florida Tall Tales highlights Florida’s rich oral traditions woven from the threads of Native American, Spanish, English and African cultures.

Throughout the day dressed interpreters will tell Florida’s legendary tales. In addition to engaging stories, Saturday will also feature activities in such as making corn cob bird feeders and corn shuck dolls. Our traditional hands-on activities will also be offered, such as butter making, laundry, farm chores, and playing with historic toys.

Adult admission tickets are $7.00 each; students six to twelve years old and senior citizens tickets are $6.00 each. Children five and under are admitted free. Parking is free for this event when visitors enter the Fairgrounds via the Orient Road entrance.

Fall Rural Life Festival

2010-11-04T06:07:00.000-07:00

Nov. 6th, 2010

10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Join us in Cracker Country and find out what it would be like on rural homesteads of the past. Most big projects on 1898 farms needed lots of hands to complete, so that meant a gathering of family, friends and neighbors to share news, stories and work. Come help us with our Fall chores like stuffing scarecrows, making rope, and sewing quilts. Learn about the process of grinding sugar cane to produce cane syrup and have a taste of the finished product. Help us shell our corn and watch it being ground into cornmeal at the grist mill. Pitch in on the regular year-round work of butter making and laundry as well.

Click here for more details.

Meet our Newest Four-legged Volunteer

2010-10-27T10:04:00.000-07:00

Come out November 6 for our Fall Rural Life Festival and meet Cracker Country’s newest volunteer, Bullseye, a Belgian Draft Horse. Ron Tarlton, our Museum Facilities Curator, adopted this horse from the Florida Draft Horse Rescue. This organization offers a safe haven for any draft horse or draft cross horse that is in need of a safe environment to stay and finds new homes for these horses. For more information on this organization, visit www.drafthorserescue.org.

Bullseye is 3 years old, weighs about 1500 lbs. and still has a lot growing to do! He will be here November 6 and 20 helping our interpreters show how cane syrup was produced. Farmers used work animals such as horses to power their cane mills to produce sugar cane syrup. On November 6, you can meet Bullseye, learn about the production of sugarcane syrup and taste this sweet syrup as well!

Click here for more information on the Fall Rural Life Festival.

Phosphate at Cracker Country?

2010-10-15T13:50:00.000-07:00

We are happy to announce that tomorrow the Mosaic Express will be visiting Cracker Country as an interactive phosphate industry experience on wheels. Tomorrow Cracker Country will be open for our Discover the Past program welcoming the public to experience the rural Florida lifestyles between 10am and 4pm.

The Mosaic Express is a custom 24-foot trailer that provides children and adults the opportunity to learn the importance that the Florida phosphate industry has on global farming and food production. From fossil deposits made millions of years ago throughout Central Florida’s Bone Valley region, to Mosaic’s reclamation process, then finally to the role that phosphate plays in food supply.

At 10am the trailer will be parked outside of Cracker Country’s gate welcoming guests during the visit. Also, be sure to stop by our Okahumpka Depot and see a model of a phosphate mine on our model train display.

For more information about the phosphate industry in Florida visit the Mosaic website.

2010-10-13T12:06:00.000-07:00

Discover the Past
Saturday October 16, 2010
10am-4pm

Come visit Cracker Country and experience rural Florida history at your own pace. Stop in our Okahumpka Train Depot and learn the story of how one small town blossomed into a bustling train stop on Henry B. Plant’s rail line. Who would you encounter in such a place? What types of activities might occur? To find out, step through our doorway into history and Discover the Past!

Discover the Past programs let you use your senses of sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing to relive early rural Florida. Perhaps you will churn and taste butter, help make a rope, or maybe even watch in wonder as a train makes its trip around our 500 square foot model train display.

This program is an exceptional value too. An adult admission ticket is $ 7.00 each; students six to twelve years old and senior citizens tickets are $ 6.00 each. Children five and under are admitted free. Parking is free for this event when visitors enter the Fairgrounds via the Orient Road entrance.

For more information about this exciting new program call Susan Obarski, Programs Supervisor at 813-627-4225 or feel free to send her an email: obarsks@doacs.state.fl.us

Share your thoughts on membership and enter to win Busch Gardens tickets!

2010-09-20T12:22:00.000-07:00

We are looking for your input! Please help us by sharing your thoughts on a Cracker Country membership program. This short survey will take less than 10 minutes to complete and for your time, you will be entered into a drawing for two Busch Gardens Tickets.

Please note that anyone under the age of 18 and employees, docents, volunteers and board members of Cracker Country and the Florida State Fair Authority and their family members are not eligible for the drawing. The survey ends on October 17 and the drawing will be held on October 18.

The Cracker Country

membership program will be a great opportunity to support Cracker Country and our mission of preserving rural Florida’s past. Membership will also include benefits such as free admission to Discover the Past, State Fair tickets, and deals at other museums across the nation. We want to design this program for you, so please give us your thoughts. Click here to fill out the survey.

Attention all who love history and culture!

2010-09-15T13:58:00.000-07:00

Is around the corner, join us for this highly anticipated event!

September 25^th

^10am-4pm

Come visit us next Saturday, September 25^th, and participate in the most highly

anticipated event promoting history, culture and the arts: Smithsonian Magazine Museum Day. This year marks the 6^th annual Museum Day and our third year joining in this national effort stimulating discovery, exploration, and knowledge.

At 10am on Saturday, September 25^th we will open our doors welcoming all guests to experience a historic rural Florida lifestyle. Walk though our period buildings, participate in our hands-on farm chores, churn butter, and maybe even relax in the shade under our tall oak trees. Wander over to the Smith House area and learn how Florida’s pioneers did laundry over 100 years ago. As one of Tampa Bay’s best hands-on learning museums, we encourage you to take advantage of our free/discounted admissions and bring your family and friends.

To partake in this offer, visit the Smithsonian Magazine website and download a Museum Day Admission Card. This card will admit two guests inside our museum for FREE. In addition, we will admit each additional guest for half of our normal admissions price. Adult tickets will be $3.50, students six to twelve years old and senior citizens tickets are $3.00. Children five and under are admitted free.

Sharing the history…

Help promote our history, culture, and the arts by sharing your Museum Day experiences online. Please visit Smithsonian Magazine’s Facebook page as well as our own and share your stories and photographs of your museum visit.

Facebook:

Smithsonian Magazine

Cracker Country

Parking is free for this event when visitors enter the Fairgrounds via the Orient Road entrance. For more information, e-mail Susan Obarski at obarsks@doacs.state.fl.us or call 813-627-4225.

With the school year beginning we offer you a chance to win

2010-08-25T10:26:00.000-07:00

We are giving away 5 copies of our Electronic Field Trip film “School Days.” The film follows the life of Kate and Levi Moore as they go to school, complete their lessons, and interact with their family. Join them on their journey and find out what it was like to live in a rural Florida community in 1898.

To enter:

Send an email to Cracker Country
1. Include your full name
2. Address
3. And description of how you plan on using the film

The first five individuals to send this email will win! All others please check out our Education Page for free educational resources and lesson plans that meet the Sunshine State Standards.

To find out more information about Cracker Country or their Electronic Field Trips program please visit www.crackercountry.org or call 813-627-4225.

Change In Cracker Country's Public Hours

2010-08-19T11:58:00.000-07:00

An exciting new change is happening at Cracker Country. We have changed the days that we are open to the public for our Discover the Past program. Discover the Past was previously offered on the first Saturday of every month except February. Now, it will be offered more in the fall through the spring and not during the summer. This change in schedule was made in order to provide the best possible experience for our guests. The summer heat and rains can make it difficult to enjoy a day at Cracker Country because we are an outdoor living history museum. With fall, winter, and spring being the “In Season” here in Florida, we will be providing more opportunities for folks to visit when the weather is drier and cooler. It also gives seasonal residents of Florida more opportunity to visit while they are here. The new dates that we will be open to the public for Discover the Past are the first and third Saturdays in October, November, December, March and April. For the 2010-2011 season, those dates are Oct. 2 & 16, Nov. 6 & 20, Dec. 4 & 18, March 5 & 19, Apr. 2 & 16.

This change also allows us to concentrate our marketing and programming efforts into a smaller window of time. This will help us maximize our efforts to provide the best possible experience for our guests. Our special themed events will still be taking place when they used to. The Fall Rural Life Festival will be Nov. 6, Christmas in the Country will be Dec. 4, and the Spring Community Social will be April 2.

The hours for this program will remain at 10 am – 4 pm. Admission prices for the program will remain at their current rate. An adult admission ticket is $ 7.00 each; students six to twelve years old and senior citizens tickets are $ 6.00 each. Children five and under are admitted free. Parking is free for this event when visitors enter the Fairgrounds via the Orient Road entrance. As always, Cracker Country will be open as a part of the annual Florida State Fair, which will be held February 10-21 in 2011.

Hands-On History Tours will also be offered on all of the Saturdays. This program is available for youth groups by reservation only and takes place 9-11 am. Reservation requests for the Hands-On History Tours can be made online.

For more information on Cracker Country and our programs, please visit our website at www.crackercountry.org.

That's a lot of Fabric

2010-08-09T11:28:00.000-07:00

I've always admired people who can sew. Now, this is coming from me, who just recently sewed a button on a shirt and had to redo it because I sewed it on backwards. But there are people out there with some serious talent. A lot of those people are docents at Cracker Country. Some of our docents here have donated hundreds of hours making handmade items for the Cracker Country General Store, including bonnets, aprons, pot holders, beanbags, and much more. Every summer, these wonderful docents get together for the Cracker Country sewing guild. I just ran across the numbers of what they made this year and it is so incredible I just had to share!

Number of items made:

Bags for jacks and marbles: 1,274

Adult and children's bonnets: 218

Adult and children's aprons: 88

Hand dolls: 105

Plus more items for a total of 1,837 items!

Number of buttons sewn on backwards: 0 (Come on, these are talented people!)

The items that they make are for sale in the Cracker Country General Store. The store is open during our first Saturday of the month Discover the Past and other programs such as school tours. A huge thank you to all of our docents who assisted with this project and to Audrey Gantous and Leona Grant for organizing the Sewing Guild.

Go "Back In Time to School" at Discover the Past

2010-08-02T08:25:00.000-07:00

School Interior--Eastpoint, FL (1906-1910)

Photo: www.floridamemory.com

“Back to School” sales seem to be flooding the stores right now. Parents, students, and teachers are beginning to think about what they will need for the coming year. Join us on Saturday August 7 for Discover the Past to go “back in time to school” and see what school was like in 19^th century rural Florida. Not only can you see what a typical one room schoolhouse looked like, you can participate in some of the activities that would have filled a student’s day. Come and try your hand at script handwriting, work out arithmetic problems on a slate, make “form work” projects (paper crafts) and learn moral lessons from stories in McGuffey Readers.

Remember, there are many other historic buildings to see and activities to participate in during your visit. You can experience what home life was like by helping with chores such as butter making and laundry. See how a community functioned in a variety of Cracker Country’s community buildings, including the Okahumpka Train Depot, Church and Terry Store. You can also help tend to our crops at the Hands-On Farm.

Discover the Past is offered the first Saturday of each month from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., except February. This program is open to all guests and is an exceptional value. Adult admission tickets for are $7.00 each; students six to twelve years old and senior citizens tickets are $6.00 each. Children five and under are admitted free.

Parking is free for this event when visitors enter the Fairgrounds via the Orient Road entrance. For more information, visit www.crackercountry.org, e-mail Susan Obarski at obarsks@doacs.state.fl.us or call 813-627-4225.

Thank you, volunteers!

2010-07-23T13:26:00.000-07:00

At our banquet held on July 15, 2010, we honored the people that make Cracker Country come alive and keep the museum running: Our Docent/Volunteers. This talented and committed group of 111 individuals volunteered 9,862 hours of their valuable time this year (July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010). With Independent Sector valuing each volunteer hour at $20.85, our museum docents made an in-kind contribution of $205,633.13. Wow!

Each year at this gathering, our Docent of the Year is announced. Individuals are nominated for this prestigious award by their fellow volunteers for outstanding service to Cracker Country. This year’s nominees were: Joyce Balsley, Wayne Hutson, Cindy Koedoot, Louise Miranda, Art Outcalt, Stephanie Sumner, Bill Vickers and Richard White.

Stephanie Sumner, a 15 year veteran of our program, was chosen as the 2009-2010 Docent of the Year. At the banquet, she received a plaque and a beautiful quilt, handmade by fellow docent Audrey Gantous.

Congratulations to all of our volunteers for all that you do every day!

If you are interested in volunteering your time to help Cracker Country tell the story of rural Florida, please contact Dan Marshall, Museum Operations Manager at marshad2@doacs.state.fl.us or call (813)627-4225.

People, Prizes and Pies at Patriotic Past

2010-07-08T10:28:00.001-07:00

I was just packing up the last of the decorations from our Patriotic Past event last Saturday and was thinking about how much fun we all had! Except for a quick downpour in the early afternoon, the weather cooperated and the sun shone down Cracker Country as people experienced history. Guests competed in games, listened to great music played by the 97th Regimental String Band, helped with chores, and honored military personnel with our Wall of Heroes.

One of the biggest highlights of the day was the Period Pie Baking Contest. Cracker Country guests and docent volunteers baked pies using traditional recipes. They were judged at 11 am and those that took home the first place ribbons also received a lovely earthenware pie dish and a complimentary CD donated by the 97^th Regimental String Band. We had a beautiful selection of pies and everyone did a fantastic job.

Here are the Pie Contest winners:

Museum Guest Contest

1st place – Dana Barone with her Dried Fruit Stack Pie with Gingerbread Pastry

2nd place – Elisha Dunfee with her Cane Syrup Pie

Thank you to Amy Dunfee and Dena & Alexis Illes for their wonderful entries.

Museum Volunteers Contest

1st place – Stephanie Sumner with her Vinegar Pie

2nd place – Carolina Fox with her Jelly Pie

Thank you to Mary Fortney, Larry Henderson, Ruthie Tidwell & Nancy Wright for their wonderful entries.

The contest judges:

• Andy Huse, Florida Foodways columnist for Creative Loafing.

Check out his blog Delicious History

• Mark “Mad Dog” Luce, 97th Regimental String Band

• Rick Moock, 97th Regimental String Band

2010-06-18T12:54:00.000-07:00

Period Pie Baking Contest - July 3, 2010

Do you have a knack for baking? We have compiled a recipe book of good old Southern pies, derived from traditional and period sources. Entries will be limited to pies baked using one of these provided recipes, using ingredients that retain the spirit of 19th century rural Florida.

Please click here for the official entry form and approved recipe list. Judging will take place in public at Cracker Country’s Center Stage at approximately 11:00 a.m. There is no contest entry fee to submit a pie and a great prize will be awarded to the winner.

Oh, and while you are here you can explore our 19th century Independence Day celebration, full of fun, games and a big slice of Florida History.

For more information, visit http://www.crackercountry.org/, e-mail Susan Obarski at obarsks@doacs.state.fl.us or call 813-627-4225.

Celebrate 4th of July Weekend with a Historic Twist

2010-06-16T10:35:00.000-07:00

Come explore a 19th century Independence Day celebration! Patriotic ceremonies highlight a day of crafts, games, competitions and a big slice of Florida history.

The 97th Regimental String Band will present a musical salute to America at noon and 2:00 pm.

This program is open to all guests and is an exceptional value. Adult admission tickets are $7.00 each; students six to twelve years old and senior citizen tickets are $6.00 each. Children five and under are admitted free. Veterans receive half-price admission. Active military and their immediate families are admitted free with ID as a part of the Blue Star Museums Program.

Parking is free for this event when visitors enter the Fairgrounds via the Orient Road entrance.

Details of the day's activities are coming soon! For more information, please call Susan Obarski at 813-627-4225 or email her at obarsks@doacs.state.fl.us.

Strawberry Schools--a whole new meaning to summer school

2010-06-10T11:13:00.000-07:00

Strawberry Harvest-1910

photo source: www.floridamemory.com

Ahh...today is the last day of school for many Tampa Bay area students. That means a whole summer of freedom until school starts up again next fall. In the early part of the 20th century, many students in Florida were actually attending school during the summer. The other months were no vacaction, though. During the months of December--March, they were helping their families with the strawberry harvest. Schools with this type of schedule were called "strawberry schools" and many were located near Plant City and Lakeland.

Some area schools that were strawberry schools:

Cork Elementary, Trapnell Elementary, and Springhead Elementary in Plant City, FL

Kathleen Elementary and Winston Elementary in Lakeland, FL

Cracker Country is a Blue Star Museum

2010-06-04T11:36:00.000-07:00

This is Susan here to tell you about the Blue Star Museums Program, which Cracker Country is extremely proud to be a part of the Blue Star Museums program. This national program is a partnership between the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Families, and over 700 participating museums across the country. The museums participating in this program are offering free admission to active military personnel and their immediate families with ID from Memorial Day through Labor Day.

So, here at Cracker Country, military families can receive free admission for Discover the Past in June, July, August, and September. More information on this program can be found at www.arts.gov/national/bluestarmuseums. We look forward to welcoming military families in appreciation for their service to our country.

Discover the Past

2010-06-02T05:10:00.000-07:00

Imagine it’s the year 1898 and you have just settled in rural Florida. What would you be doing, seeing and experiencing? On June 5, come step through our doorway into history, where you can use your senses of sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing to relive early rural Florida at your own pace.

Making butter was one of the many daily chores done by families in the 1890s. Children would usually be responsible for the process, often making multiple pounds of butter every day. From milking the cow to washing the butter, a lot of time was invested into the process. Every morning during Discover the Past, we are making butter in this traditional way. Come and help us to learn more about this process and have a taste of what real homemade butter tastes like! This is one of the many chores and activities that you can participate in during Discover the Past. Perhaps you will also help make a rope, spin wool into yarn, or maybe feel the soil as you help plant crops.
Discover the Past is offered the first Saturday of each month from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., except February, and is a fun way for families to spend an enjoyable day together. Activities and programs change with the seasons so you’ll want to come back often for new experiences.
This program is open to all guests and is an exceptional value. Adult admission tickets for June 5 are $6.00 each; students six to twelve years old and senior citizens tickets are $5.00 each. Children five and under are admitted free.

Memorial Day and its History

2010-05-28T07:20:00.001-07:00

"Soldier's Memorial Day,"

Words by Mary B. C. Slade and music by W. O. Perkins, 1870. Library of Congress. American Memory.

Memorial Day, honoring our military, became a national holiday in 1976 by President Reagan. It is observed on the last Monday of May. The history of this holiday begins following the American Civil War when communities began to observe Decoration Day to commemorate fallen soldiers. Decoration Day is celebrated near the anniversary of the reunification of the states following the Civil War.

Decoration Day, which was first observed three years after the civil war, is often associated with the celebration of Union Soldiers. Seven southern states, including Florida, participated in Confederate Memorial Day, observed on the fourth Monday in April. Both memorial days were honored by decorating the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers with flowers.

Memorial Day Parade.Brownsville, Texas, Robert Runyon, photographer, 1916. Library of Congress. American Memory.

Images retrieved from: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/may30.html

QR Code Tour Extention

2010-05-21T05:24:00.000-07:00

A lot of you may be familiar with a QR code, or maybe not. For the people that are visiting our museum, they are quickly learning that they can be a really cool thing.

The technology we have in our pockets has grown considerably from the 1890's, from heavy coins and receipt books, to debit cards and smart phones. Fortunately, many people that our coming to our museum have a huge source of information in the palm of there hand, and whats even more amazing, is they carry it wherever they go. Cracker Country is really excited to add more of that technology for your visits, and let you experience with your cell phone, a guided audio tour of our museum.

By scanning these objects that our placed on points of interest on museum grounds, you will be able to here one of our Docents or staff explain the histories of the building or items included in our collection.

On July 3rd, we will be adding even more buildings and locations top audio tour, and slated to have Cracker Country covered by fair next year! We hope to see you there at our July "Discover the Past".

What is a split-rail fence?

2010-05-14T10:38:00.000-07:00

A split-rail fence is a type of fence constructed out of logs, usually split lengthwise into "rails". This type of fence has several different names such as snake, zigzag, worm, crooked rail, and rickrack.

Split-rail fences are easy to construct, however, they require more timber to build then other types of fences. In rural Florida in the late 19th century, large pine trees were plentiful, which made these easy to construct fences--requiring minimal tools--very common to construct.

Florida's pioneers would gather together in the community for rail splitting's. This is when families would get together and help each other cut lumber into rails needed to construct a split-rail fence. Other social gatherings such as house raising's, hog killings, land clearing, and cane grinding are also work related activities that brought communities together.

Fenced in areas were very important on Florida's frontier, especially with the wondering cows who may stumble upon your kitchen garden.

Atlantic Coast Line Railroad

2010-05-10T08:18:00.000-07:00

The Atlantic Coast Line railroad existed from 1898 and 1967. The Atlantic Coast Line Company was organized to run railroads from Virginia to Georgia. In 1902 the Atlantic Coast Line Company took over the Plant System following the death of Henry Plant in 1899, Florida's west coast railway developer. This is an image of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad and its connections.

The New Encyclopedic Atlas and Gazetteer of the Word, New York: Collier, 1914. Retrieved from http://www.railga.com/acl14.html.

Railroads moved into Florida in the mid to late 19th century. The railroad system made travel and shipping a lot faster in Florida. Florida could now export citrus, sweet potatoes and other cash crops up north by train or by boat.

Country Food

2010-04-29T11:30:00.000-07:00

Pioneer women living in Florida during the late 19th century cooked over a wood burning stove or in the fireplace. Fireplaces were located in the living space and could be used to keep the house warm and for cooking. Stoves were often located in a kitchen which was sometimes attached to the house through a breezeway. This helped to prevent house fires.

Old-Timey Cracklin’ Bread

Cracklin’ bread was a pioneer favorite. It was a slight variation on the popular food cornbread. It added bits of leftover lard to make a scrumptious treat. It was usually served at the beginning of hog-killing season.

1 pint Cracklin’s
1 quart cornmeal
1 pint buttermilk
1 teaspoon soda
Big pinch of salt

Crush cracklin’s with a rolling pin. Make a dough of cornmeal, buttermilk, soda and salt. Heat the cracklin’s and stir them into the dough, which must be stiff enough to mold well. Mold the bread with your hands into small, oblong pones about 3 inches wide. Bake in a hot, well-greased pan.

Dabney, J.E. (1998). Smokehouse Ham, Spoon Bread, and Scuppernong Wine: The Folklore and Art of Southern Appalachian Cooking. Nashville,Tn: Cumberland House. p. 105.

Are you hungry for a taste of Country Cooking? Visit us for our Discover the Past event on May 1st!

View of a building: Silver Glen Springs

2010-04-27T06:04:00.001-07:00

View of a building: Silver Glen Springs

Originally uploaded by State Library and Archives of Florida

Call number: pr25488

Between 1939 and 1940

Historic Photograph from Florida Memory, State Library and Archives of Florida.

This is a great image to see how Florida's pioneers built their homes. You can see the layering of logs, similar to our new Corn Crib which was built during the 2010 Florida State Fair.

This building was actually used during the filming of The Yearling. The Florida Cracker lifestyle was researched in the making of this film, preserving the rural Florida way of life prior to electricity.

Our Wonderful Volunteers

2010-04-22T05:19:00.000-07:00

During National Volunteer Week we would like to take the time to thanks all of docents who help us in so many ways throughout the year. Without each of your involvement in our museum we would not be able to open our doors and provide such a unique experience for our guests.

Thank You!

April 16 4sqday

2010-04-15T13:08:00.000-07:00

FourSquare Day

April 16

2pm-4pm

Cracker Country will open tomorrow for a different type of event. Between 2pm and 4pm we will open our doors to show a sneak preview of our upcoming event on May 1st. Those who visit our museum will be entered into a drawing for a weeks free advertising on all four of the Florida State Fairgrounds digital signs, including our full color I-4 sign.* Everyone who attends our event will receive a coupon for our May 1st event: 4 tickets for $16!

Enter through Orient Road.

For more information please call 813-627-4225.

Cracker Country
4800 Highway 301 North
Tampa, Florida 33610

Website: http://www.crackercountry.org

Twitter: http://twitter.com/FLLivingHistory

Facebook Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tampa-FL/Cracker-Country/162671511364

United States of America

*The Fairgrounds reserves the right to accept or reject any content provided for advertising purposes before it will be displayed.

A VERY SPECIAL EVENT

2010-04-15T10:42:00.000-07:00

Discover the Past

May 1, 2010

Museum open from 10am-4pm

Follow your senses to relive Follow your senses to relive early rural Florida at your own pace. The fun starts at 9:30 with a taste of the country at our old-fashion breakfast, which includes sausage gravy and biscuits. Those attending breakfast also receive museum admission for only $1. Hurry, this special offer is for our first 75 pre-registered guests, so be sure to send in your registration. Register Here. Be the first to test our newly designed audio tour created for internet capable cell phones.

Relive the past following your senses of sight and sound. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook and participate in our virtual scavenger hunt and you could win 2 tickets to the Country Throwdownconcert at the Ford Amphitheater, iTune gift cards, and museum passes. Play a part in our hands-on activities and learn how to make your own butter, spin wool, twist rope, and help us take care of our crops.

General admissions: An adult admission ticket is $ 6.00 each; students six to twelve years old and senior citizens tickets are $ 5.00 each. Children five and under are admitted free. Parking is free for this event when visitors enter the Fairgrounds via the Orient Road entrance.

Visit our website or call

813-627-4225

For more information!

http://www.crackercountry.org/

If you are have any questions about our event please email beckerj@doacs.state.fl.us

How to make your own soap:

2010-04-09T12:17:00.000-07:00

Rural Floridians use to make their own soap out of lye and pig fat. They would build a wooden troughlike box out of wood called a hopper. The hopper would be lined with corn shucks and on top ashes would be placed. The corn shucks are used to keep the lye from leaking out. A large pot was placed under the spout of the hopper to catch all of the lye dripping down. Buckets of water would be poured over the ashes until the lye began to drip out of the spout. This would be done until a couple gallons of lye were collected.

Hopper

Next, the lye was heated over an open fire in a large iron pot. For each gallon of lye poured into the pot, two pounds of pig fat were added. This mixture needs to be stirred until it is thickened. Next the lye mixture will be poured into a container to harden, and stored safely until its use.

Spring Community Social

2010-04-02T08:33:00.001-07:00

Cracker Country will be open tomorrow for our Spring Community Social.

Come Discover the Past with your family, loved ones, and community!

Come celebrate the change in the seasons at our 1890s gathering filled with history and fun. Kids can test their skills, and maybe win a ribbon, in 19th century contests like sack racing, hoop rolling and ring tossing. Win prizes in our period guessing games. Explore our special collection of antique quilts and try your hand at stitching. Lend your muscle to household and farm chores, including making 100 feet of rope. All while wandering through our original rural homes & structures.

Visit our facebook page for a discount on admissions.
Adult admission tickets are $ 6.00 each;

students six to twelve years old and senior citizens tickets are $ 5.00 each.

Children five and under are admitted free.

Cracker Country's Spring Babies

2010-03-26T09:02:00.000-07:00

Cracker Country is looking forward to new baby animals joining the museum. We have three types of animals on our property that will be hatching babies shortly: Nankin Chickens, Plymouth Rock Chickens, and Cotton Patch Geese.

Cotton Patch Gosling

Cotton Patch Geese are in critical status. There are less than 500 breeding birds in the U.S. and they are globally endangered. We have been keeping a close eye on our flock in hopes of recovering this breed and protecting each egg they lay. Our Geese have been laying eggs for nearly a month now. We have constructed nests out of old barrels for the females to lay their eggs. Daily we collect the eggs and we store them in an incubator until they hatch. This is a twenty-eight day process. We hope that our goslings will arrive next week!

Both of our chicken breeds live together inside of our period inspired chicken coop. Our Nankin Chickens are an endangered species with five or fewer breeding flocks (50 or more birds) left in the country. Nankins are a very fertile bird and known to be good mothers. Plymouth Rock Chickens are in the recovery phase. There are over 5,000 breeding birds in the U.S. but they still need to be closely monitored to ensure their status will not become critical again. Plymouth Rock Chickens lay throughout the winter and spring. An average hen can lay up to 200 eggs a year.

Spring Community Social

2010-03-24T05:28:00.000-07:00

April 3, 2010
Discover the Past: Spring Community Social at Cracker Country, 10-4

Come celebrate the change in the seasons at our 1890s gathering filled with history and fun. Kids can test their skills, and maybe win a ribbon, in 19th century contests like sack racing, hoop rolling and ring tossing. Win prizes in our period guessing games. Explore our special collection of antique quilts and try your hand at stitching. Lend your muscle to household and farm chores, including making 100 feet of rope. All while wandering through our original rural homes & structures.

This Florida history can be relived for an exceptional value. Adult admission tickets are $ 6.00 each; students six to twelve years old and senior citizens tickets are $ 5.00 each. Children five and under are admitted free.

Parking is free for this event when visitors enter the Fairgrounds via the Orient Road entrance. For more information about this exciting program call Susan Obarski, Programs Supervisor at 813-627-4225 or feel free to send her an email: obarsks@doacs.state.fl.us

Social Networking of the 1800s

2010-03-20T07:05:00.000-07:00

Something struck me as we were in the process of planning our Spring Community Social on April 3. This is our next regular 1st Saturday of the month Discover the Past program with a special theme focusing on how communities in the late 1800s gathered together. We will have some games for the kids such as spoon races, sack races, and jump rope contest. Quilting was a popular activity that brought community members together and you can see some of our beautiful quilts on display as well as try your hand at making one! Communities often gathered in order to get work done and you can help us make 100 feet of rope. Trust me, we need a lot of people to make rope that long.

Anyway, what struck me is how precious these social gatherings must have been to rural Floridians back then. When your neighbors are miles and miles away, any time that you are able to spend with others must have been very special. Now, when we are so connected, it seems we try to make special time to "get away" from everyone else. I thought about that neighborhood girl that I was sick of playing with every day when I was a little girl and how I would hide and pretend not to be home when I saw her come over. Then I thought of what it would have been like to live back then and how the children must have treasured the times when they were able to play with other children.

I hope you will join us for our Spring Community Social on Saturday, April 3, 10 am to 4 pm. Let's treasure the time together and remember the importance of family, friends, and community.

Mary McLeod Bethune

2010-03-08T08:38:00.001-08:00

March is women’s history month and today marks the anniversary of its beginnings. On March 8, 1857 women staged a protest in New York City over the working conditions in a textile factory.

Florida has many notable women in its history and one of the most active as a lead for women and civil rights is Mary McLeod Bethune (1875-1955). Bethune is well-known for being an advisor to President Franklin D. Roosevelt and for her active leadership in women’s clubs. She served on Roosevelt’s Black Cabinet sharing concerns of African-Americans with Roosevelt and spreading his messages to the black community.

Mary McLeod Bethune (C. 1915) retrieved from Florida Memory Image # N034708

Bethune also contributed to the well-being of Florida education when she rented a small schoolhouse in 1904 in Daytona. The budget for this school was very meager. Bethune, her students, and local community members raised money by selling baked goods, and made their own chairs out of crates, and ink out of elderberry juice. In the beginning the schoolhouse has six students (five girls and one boy her son). Curriculum focused on Bible and Christian life plus she taught her students the skills needed to provide a good home for their family and how to be self sufficient. As the school grew the curriculum did as well adding classes in math, business, English, and science.

By 1920 the enrollment grew to include 351 students and in 1923 the school merged with the Cookman Institute for men becoming the Bethune-Cookman College. This became one of the leading educational institutes for African-Americans in Florida.

This university still exists today.

Cracker Country's Our Cotton Patch Geese

2010-03-03T06:28:00.000-08:00

Cotton Patch Geese derive their name from the job they once performed, weeding cotton and corn fields. These Geese were once very common in the Southeastern United States and they helped many southern families help survive the Great Depression. Cotton Patch geese are descendants of sex-linked European breeds from West of England, Shetland, and Normandy. And they were brought to America during the colonial period.

The status of these geese is critical, meaning there is less than 500 of them left in the United States and they are globally endangered. Cracker Country is currently a home to a flock of Cotton Patch Geese who are currently breeding. We have hopes of hatching a few eggs this year.

Bealsville in the news

2010-03-01T13:30:00.000-08:00

On February 24, 2010 ABC Action News created a newscast centered around Bealville. For more information please watch the video below.

Cracker Country Open this Saturday!

2010-03-01T05:47:00.000-08:00

Imagine it’s the year 1898 and you have just settled in rural Florida. What would you be doing, seeing and experiencing? To find out, step through our doorway into history and Discover the Past!

Discover the Past programs let you use your senses of sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing to relive early rural Florida at your own pace. Perhaps you will churn and taste butter, help make a rope, spin wool into yarn, or maybe feel the soil as you help plant crops.

Offered the first Saturday of each month from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., except February, this event is a fun way for families to spend an enjoyable day together. Activities and programs change with the seasons so you’ll want to come back often for new experiences.

This program is an exceptional value too. An adult admission ticket is $ 6.00 each; students six to twelve years old and senior citizens tickets are $ 5.00 each. Children five and under are admitted free. Parking is free for this event when visitors enter the Fairgrounds via the Orient Road entrance.

History of African-American settler in Bealsville Florida

2010-02-22T10:00:00.000-08:00

Bealsville, located in Plant City, is a rural Florida settlement in Hillsborough County where life was centered on farming, church, school, and family life. Its inhabitants include freed slaves from surrounding communities who were interested in creating their own homestead. The town was founded in 1865 with the name Howell’s Creek, when eleven individuals surveyed the area and decided that Bealsville was a good location to start a community. They cleared the land, built log cabins and fences, and began building farms and roads.

In 1868 the community founded Antioch Baptist Church and began opening the church’s doors as a school. Education and religion were very important in Bealsville with five churches being built within the community.

Alfred Beal planted the first orange tree in the community and donated land to establish the Antioch church, school and cemetery. In 1923 the community was officially named the town Bealsville in honor of Beal’s importance to the community. Prior to this name change the community was known as Alafia and was originally named Howell’s Creek.

*The information provided above comes from the Hillsborough Country Historic Resources Survey Report. Prepared by: Hillsborough County Planning & Growth Management on October 1998.

For more information on this history of Bealsville please click on the following link
http://www.hillsborough.wateratlas.usf.edu/upload/documents/HILLSBOROUGH_COUNTY_Historic_Resources_Excerpts_Bealsville.pdf

The Fair is now over, but Cracker Country has many other events to begin planning for!

2010-02-17T08:08:00.000-08:00

Our School Tours will begin again in two weeks and we are very excited to share our historic buildings and traditional rural Florida activites with the children who come and visit. Many of them are very surprised to see that people use to live in old wooden buildings with small bedrooms and no televisions! Plus they love to come out and learn how to do laundry, be a blacksmith, and see what types of items were sold in stores over 100 years ago.

We are also planning our Discover the Past event which will take place on March 6, 2010. We offer this program the first Saturday of every month year round! Discover the Past programs let you use your senses of sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing to relive early rural Florida at your own pace. Perhaps you will churn and taste butter, help make a rope, spin wool into yarn, or maybe feel the soil as you help plant crops. We will open our doors at 10:00am and close at 4:00pm. I hope many of you will be able to come visit!

Cracker Country Events: Feb. 15

2010-02-15T06:25:00.000-08:00

Open Daily from 9 am - 6 pm

-Musical entertainment from the Sweeney Family Band and Pleasant Family Band

Crafters and Demonstrations:
- Hands-on Farm Site, Felting, Flax Processing, Lye Soap Making, Appalachian Style Pottery,
Open Fire Cooking, building a Log Corn Crib, Woodworking/Birdhouses, Spinning and Weaving, Sewing, Doll Making and Honey/Beekeeping.
-Antique tool demonstration, chair caning, smoked meats, sugar cane syrup making, palm frond weaving, wood carving, Heirloom roses and herbs, whip making, lye soap making, decoy carving, pine needle basket making, Corn grinding, and quilting
-Blacksmithing, print shop, post office, and a Cracker Cow

-Kettle corn, pork rinds, lemonade, beef jerky, and boiled peanuts

Community Groups:
- 11:00-11:30 Sessums Elementary
-2:30-3:15 Fiddle Duet

Cracker Country Events: Feb. 14

2010-02-14T05:57:00.001-08:00

Open Daily from 9 am - 6 pm

-Musical entertainment from the Sweeney Family Band

Crafters and Demonstrations:
- Hands-on Farm Site, Felting, Flax Processing, Lye Soap Making, Appalachian Style Pottery,
Open Fire Cooking, building a Log Corn Crib, Woodworking/Birdhouses, Spinning and Weaving, Sewing, Doll Making and Honey/Beekeeping.
-Antique tool demonstration, chair caning, smoked meats, sugar cane syrup making, palm frond weaving, wood carving, Heirloom roses and herbs, whip making, lye soap making, decoy carving, pine needle basket making, Corn grinding, and quilting
-Blacksmithing, print shop, and a Cracker Cow

-Kettle corn, pork rinds, lemonade, beef jerky, and boiled peanuts

Community Groups:
- 2-3pm Centurians
-3:15-4 Community Baptist Choir

Cracker Country Events: Feb. 13

2010-02-13T07:23:00.000-08:00

Open Daily from 9 am - 6 pm

-Musical entertainment from the Sweeney Family Band and Pleasant Family Old Time String Band.

Crafters and Demonstrations:
- Hands-on Farm Site, Felting, Flax Processing, Lye Soap Making, Appalachian Style Pottery,
Open Fire Cooking, building a Log Corn Crib, Woodworking/Birdhouses, Spinning and Weaving, Sewing, Doll Making and Honey/Beekeeping.
-Antique tool demonstration, chair caning, smoked meats, sugar cane syrup making, palm frond weaving, wood carving, Heirloom roses and herbs, whip making, lye soap making, decoy carving, pine needle basket making, Corn grinding, and quilting
-Blacksmithing, print shop, Post Office, and a Cracker Cow

-Kettle corn, pork rinds, lemonade, beef jerky, and boiled peanuts

Community Groups:
-Jerry Gentry

Cracker Country Events: Feb. 12

2010-02-12T05:52:00.000-08:00

Open Daily from 9 am - 6 pm

-Musical entertainment from the Sweeney Family Band and Pleasant Family Old Time String Band.

Crafters and Demonstrations:
- Hands-on Farm Site, Felting, Flax Processing, Lye Soap Making, Appalachian Style Pottery,
Open Fire Cooking, building a Log Corn Crib, Woodworking/Birdhouses, Spinning and Weaving, Sewing, Doll Making and Honey/Beekeeping.
-Antique tool demonstration, chair caning, smoked meats, sugar cane syrup making, palm frond weaving, wood carving, Heirloom roses and herbs, whip making, lye soap making, decoy carving, pine needle basket making, Corn grinding, and quilting
-Blacksmithing, print shop, Post Office, and a Cracker Cow

-Kettle corn, pork rinds, lemonade, beef jerky, and boiled peanuts

Community Groups:
-10:00-10:30 Liberty Middle School
-10:30-11:15 Burns Middle School

Cracker Country Events: Feb. 10

2010-02-11T06:14:00.001-08:00

Open Daily from 9 am - 6 pm

-Musical entertainment from the Sweeney Family Band and Pleasant Family Old Time String Band.

Crafters and Demonstrations:

- Hands-on Farm Site, Felting, Flax Processing, Lye Soap Making, Appalachian Style Pottery, Open Fire Cooking, building a Log Corn Crib, Woodworking/Birdhouses, Spinning and Weaving, Sewing, Doll Making and Honey/Beekeeping. -Antique tool demonstration, chair caning, smoked meats, sugar cane syrup making, palm frond weaving, wood carving, Heirloom roses and herbs, whip making, lye soap making, decoy carving, pine needle basket making, Corn grinding, and quilting -Blacksmithing, print shop, Post Office, and a Cracker Cow

-Kettle corn, pork rinds, lemonade, beef jerky, and boiled peanuts

Community Groups: -9:30-4:00pm Silver Strings, Tampa East Choir & Barbershop Quartet

Cracker Country Events: Feb. 9

2010-02-09T05:24:00.000-08:00

-Hauch Music Studio (4-4:45pm)

Cracker Country Events: Feb. 8

2010-02-08T06:07:00.000-08:00

Open Daily from 9 am - 6 pm

-Musical entertainment from the Sweeney Family Band and Pleasant Family Old Time String
Band.

Crafters and Demonstrations:
- Hands-on Farm Site, Felting, Flax Processing, Lye Soap Making, Appalachian Style Pottery,
Open Fire Cooking, building a Log Corn Crib, Woodworking/Birdhouses, Spinning and Weaving,
Sewing, Doll Making and Honey/Beekeeping.
-Antique tool demonstration, chair caning, smoked meats, sugar cane syrup making, palm frond weaving, wood carving, Heirloom roses and herbs, whip making, lye soap making, decoy carving, pine needle basket making, Corn grinding, and quilting
-Blacksmithing, print shop, Post Office, and a Cracker Cow

-Kettle corn and pork rinds, and lemonade

Community Groups:
-Maniscalco Elementary

Cracker Country Events: Feb. 7

2010-02-07T06:28:00.000-08:00

Open Daily from 9 am - 6 pm

-Musical entertainment from the Sweeney Family Band and Pleasant Family Old Time String
Band.

Crafters and Demonstrations:
- Hands-on Farm Site, Felting, Flax Processing, Lye Soap Making, Appalachian Style Pottery,
Open Fire Cooking, building a Log Corn Crib, Woodworking/Birdhouses, Spinning and Weaving,
Sewing, Doll Making and Honey/Beekeeping.
-Antique tool demonstration, chair caning, smoked meats, sugar cane syrup making, palm frond weaving, wood carving, Heirloom roses and herbs, whip making, lye soap making, decoy carving, pine needle basket making, Corn grinding, and quilting
-Blacksmithing, print shop, Post Office, and a Cracker Cow

-Kettle corn and pork rinds, and lemonade

Community Groups:
-Knights Baptist Choir

Cracker Country Events: Feb. 4

2010-02-04T04:59:00.000-08:00

Open 9-6

-Musical entertainment from the Sweeney Family Band and Pleasant Family Old Time String

Band.

Crafters and Demonstrations:

- Hands-on Farm Site, Felting, Flax Processing, Lye Soap Making, Appalachian Style Pottery,

Open Fire Cooking, building a Log Corn Crib, Woodworking/Birdhouses, Spinning and Weaving,

Sewing, Doll Making and Honey/Beekeeping.

-Antique tool demonstration, chair caning, smoked meats, sugar cane syrup making, palm frond weaving, wood carving, Heirloom roses and herbs, whip making, lye soap making, decoy carving, pine needle basket making, Corn grinding, and quilting

-Blacksmithing, print shop, Post Office, and a Cracker Cow

-Kettle corn and pork rinds, and lemonade

Community Groups:

-Maniscalco Elementary

-Lee Co. Fiddle

-SWFL Dulcimer

Craft and Trade Demonstrations

2010-02-02T10:18:00.000-08:00

In two days Cracker Country will be filled with crafters, musicians, and community groups eager to introduce you to late 19th-century Florida history. Learn how to make a bullskin whip, a corn husk doll, or even how to cane your own chair. See demonstrations of corn grinding, antique tools, wood carving, and how to make cane syrup. Be sure to check out our food vendors who will be selling everything from Kettle corn and pork rinds, to honey and sugar cane. Our docents will be located around the grounds to answer any of you may have about Florida’s history and our historic buildings.

Stop in at Cracker Country’s general store where you can purchase old fashion stick candy, period toys and games, home décor, and our new Electronic Field Trip program. All purchases in our general store help to support our educational programs.

Check back daily for updates about our events and more information about our craft and trade demonstrations or view our event

The fair is almost here!

2010-02-01T06:55:00.000-08:00

In two days and twenty-two hours Cracker Country will open its door to welcome fair visitors into Florida’s past. With such a limited time left to prepare, Cracker Country’s staff is working hard to organize our historic buildings, finialize our schedule, and train docents for the upcomming fair.

Preparation for the fair starts in the fall when the staff finalizes their plans for new exhibits and exhibitors. This year we have two new exhibits to look forward to: 1) An immersive display in our Okahumpka Train Depot and 2) a sharecroppers site. Our exhibit inside the Okahumpka Train Depot was designed to use your senses so be sure to open your eyes, ears, and nose to prepare for this sensory experience. Cracker Country’s sharecroppers site was designed to allow for a dynamic location to interpret African American history in late 19^th-century Florida. Come visit during this year’s fair to see the plot of our new homestead and listen to our crafters as they explain late 19^th-century construction while they begin building our sharecroppers site.

Electronic Field Trips

2010-01-29T08:43:00.001-08:00

Bring rural Florida history into your classroom…

We are happy to announce that our Electronic Field Trip program is now available for your use in the classroom. We hope that this resource will bring a new perspective on Florida’s history into your classroom, infuse technology into history curriculum, and encourage children from across the state to learn together.

Currently, the museum hosts field trips for local elementary school children, but the EFT program is designed to reach children from all over the state. The EFTs are not designed to replace existing elementary school field trips program, but rather to complement them with a more in-depth look at subjects we don’t have time to cover during school visits.

What are Electronic Field Trips?

An innovative program for K-12 students that meets state and national standards. Videos on DVD that bring Florida’s past to life and make it relatable for students. Interactive E-learning activities that reinforce learning. Teacher resources for further exploration.

Benefits include:

-Infusing technology into the classroom.
-Utilizing a multiple faceted program that appeals to a variety of learners.
-Enhancing students’ content area knowledge.
-Helping to improve students’ communication and literacy skills.

Each school year, four EFTs on different Florida history topics will be released and available for purchase through the Cracker Country General Store.

Season one, Episode one: “School Days”

Join Kate and Levi Moore on a typical school day and find out what it was like to live in a rural Florida community in 1898. Will they learn the importance of hard work both at school and at home? Follow the children as they discover that education extends beyond reading, writing, and arithmetic.

DVD Includes:

“School Days” Video
“Martha Moore in the Smith House” a short video exploring the inside of the Moore family home
Links to online School Days interactive activities and other educational resources

Link to purchase: Order form

Also available for purchase in Cracker Country’s General Store during our public programs.

For more information please visit our Education page

*All of those who have registered on our Education page are now able to login with the user name and password.

Shape Note Singers at Cracker Country

2010-01-26T12:24:00.000-08:00

State Fair is quickly approaching! It starts February 4 and runs through the 15th. Right now we are in the last leg of our preparations for the Fair. We are very excited to have the Bethlehem Sacred Harp Singers perform here on Saturday, February 6, 10:30-2:30 in our Church. What is Shape Note Singing? This type of singing is rooted in the colonial music schools. Here, music was taught to beginners by using different syllables (fa, sol, la, mi) for the different pitches. Songbooks also used different shapes to help distinguish the notes and singers would sing the songs first using the syllables to familiarize themselves with the melody and then sing the words. The term “Sacred Harp Singing” is also used, referring to the popular songbook first published in 1844, The Sacred Harp, which has undergone revisions but still widely used today. The “sacred harp” is the instrument everyone has--the human voice.

Over time, this singing tradition moved into the south and was preserved in many country churches across the south. The music is a cappella and everyone is invited raise their voice and take part in it. It has gained popularity and today, there are modern day singings held all over the country.

The Bethlehem Sacred Harp Singers meet at the Bethlehem Primitive Baptist Church every fifth Sunday of the month—the next one is THIS Sunday, January 31. They start at 10:30 and end around 2:30 with “dinner on the grounds” (potluck lunch). Here are directions to the church:
Bethlehem Primitive Baptist Church, I-75 south to Hwy 674, then east on 674 to Fort Lonesome (from I-4 go south on Hwy 39) where 674 and 39 cross; east on Hwy 674 five miles to Bethlehem Road, then north one mile to church.

There is a ton of online info out there, but here are some great links:
Online hub for Sacred Harp Music: http://www.fasola.org/
Website for the Sacred Harp documentary Awake My Soul: http://awakemysoul.com/

Florida Freezes

2010-01-11T07:04:00.000-08:00

Extreme weather has always been a concern for Florida farmers. In the late 19th century Florida’s pioneers relied on growing their own crops for both their own nourishment as well as to sell for a profit. When cold freezes threatened their crops, farmers were concerned that the harsh weather would wipe out their crops and livelihood. Many farmers would protect their crops by building small fires in the middle of their fields or covering their plants to keep them warm.

CC093 retrieved from Florida Memory

This image is from 1900 and shows a farmer covering his citrus plant with hay to keep it warm.

Transportation of crops was also worrisome in cold weather. In the late 19th century railroads were just making their way through the state of Florida and it became widely used for the transportation of crops.* Citrus crops in particular are very sensitive to cold weather and they would spoil when temperatures plummet leaving farmers with little to no profit for their hard work throughout the year.

Rc10546 retrieved from Florida Memory.

Image from the 1930s showing a citrus grove prepared for cold weater with piled wood ready for small fires to keep the citrus from freezing

*In the year 1884 Tampa got its first railroad thanks to Mr. Plant.

Cracker Country Docents

2010-01-05T11:11:00.001-08:00

Cracker Country Docent
Originally uploaded by Cracker Country Living History

View our flickr photostream to see some of our Cracker Country Docents who give their time to help our museum grow.

A Rural Florida Christmas

2009-12-22T12:44:00.000-08:00

Christmas in Florida’s countryside was very different than the holiday season in cities. Rural Floridians used the land and their hands to create holiday decorations and gifts. These families would not have a lot of time to celebrate Christmas with their daily routines of work, farming, and cleaning and approached the holiday season much as they did the rest of the year. However, when time permitted families would gather for good food, music and games.

Their decorations on the mantle and in windows consisted of greens, berries and pine cones gathered from the land surrounding their homesteads. Families made their own ornaments using sheets of paper from old catalogs and a mixture of flour and water to make paste. Also garlands were made out of popcorn, berries and paper chaines.

Bring some of rural Florida’s Christmas traditions into your home by making your own hand-made decorations out of popcorn, berries, palm fronds and citrus fruit.

The Whitted family and Christmas Tree ca. 1900.

Retrieved from Florida Memory.

Cracker Camp Tales

2009-12-17T12:22:00.000-08:00

Bring the tradition of oral history to your classroom…

Cracker Camp Tales is a new contest created by Cracker Country that invites classrooms across the state to submit an audio podcast written and recorded by students. Each podcast will uncover a topic in rural Florida history and provide classrooms with the opportunity to work together in the creation of history based research. This contest will encourage the study of rural Florida, history preservation of the oral history tradition, and use of technology within the classroom.

* All podcast submissions are due no later than January 29, 2010 at 5:00pm

Click to view rules and guidelines Cracker Camp Tales
or visit our Education website

Discover the Past on January 2, 2009

2009-12-17T12:00:00.000-08:00

Imagine it’s the year 1898 and you have just settled in rural Florida. What would you be doing, seeing and experiencing? To find out, step through our doorway into history and Discover the Past!

Discover the Past programs let you use your senses of sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing to relive early rural Florida at your own pace. Perhaps you will churn and taste butter, help make a rope, spin wool into yarn, or maybe feel the soil as you help plant crops.

Offered the first Saturday of each month from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., except February, this event is a fun way for families to spend an enjoyable day together. Activities and programs change with the seasons so you’ll want to come back often for new experiences.

This program is an exceptional value too. Adult admission tickets are $ 6.00 each; students six to twelve years old and senior citizens tickets are $ 5.00 each. Children five and under are admitted free.

Parking is free for this event when visitors enter the Fairgrounds via the Orient Road entrance. For more information about this exciting program call Susan Obarski, Programs Supervisor at 813-627-4225 or feel free to send her an email: obarsks@doacs.state.fl.us

Smith House

2009-12-17T06:35:00.001-08:00

Smith House
Originally uploaded by Cracker Country Living History

This is the Smith House used as the Moore family home in Cracker Country's first Electronic Field Trip "School Days." Visit our Education Page for more information about our new efield trip project.

Jacob Summerlin in the News

2009-12-14T05:45:00.000-08:00

Jacob Summerlin often called the “King of the Crackers” is one of Florida’s best known cowmen. He was an entrepreneur in the cattle industry and frugal with all of his earnings. A contemporary New York reporter said of him:

One of the most eccentric characters… the name ‘King of Crackers’ mightly pleased him. He was proud of his early hardships and dangers; he dresses, lives and trades as a poor man, but he gives to the poor and defends the cause of the fatherless against the land shark as only a rich man can. *

Recently, Summerlin was in the Polk Chronicles where Cinnamon Bair wrote a history of Summerlin being the first white baby born in the state of Florida. Click on the following link to view her article:

King of the Crackers in the news

*Akerman, Joe (1976). Florida cowman: A history of Florida cattle raising. Copyright Florida Cattlemen’s Association: Kissimmee, Florida. Printed in Madison Florida by Jimbob Printing. Pg 108.

Christmas in the Country Recap

2009-12-11T07:16:00.001-08:00

Despite the ominous weather reports, the rain stopped before 10 am and Christmas in the Country was a huge success. A fun time was had by all. It was a little chilly, so popping popcorn over the fire was definately very popular! Guests also had a lot of fun making cornshuck dolls; I was impressed with how great the dolls turned out. Guests also enjoyed decorating the Christmas trees, filling cornucopias with candies and nuts, singing traditional Christmas carols, and listening to a reading of "Twas the Night Before Christmas." Of course, there's always work that needs doing, so our guests helped us make butter, do laundry, and work on the farm. Overall, we had a great crowd for a wonderful, festive day.

Yesterday, a group of staff and docents visited Historic Spanish Point in Osprey, FL for a guided tour. We like to visit other musueums as a part of our ongoing personal development. There is a lot that everyone can learn from each other. We had a wonderful tour guide and enjoyed learning about the rich history of the site, all the way back to prehistoric times. If you have never been there, I highly recommend visiting. Plan on spending a few hours there as there is a lot to see. Their website is www.historicspanishpoint.org and phone is 941-966-5214. They have a special holiday program on weekend afternoons as well that includes living history dramas at various locations on the site. It runs through this weekend, so hopefully you will be able to check it out this weekend. If not, their regular tours are incredible as well. Thank you to everyone at Spanish Point for a great tour!

Christmas in the Country--Rain or Shine

2009-12-04T07:10:00.000-08:00

Just an update on the Christmas in the Country event Saturday, Dec. 5, 10 am - 4 pm. This event will take place rain or shine, so be sure to join us for some wonderful holiday traditions at Cracker Country. For more information about the event, see the article below.

Teacher Appreciation Week

2009-12-01T05:17:00.000-08:00

Cracker Country Teacher Appreciation Week
November 30 through December 4, 2009

Cracker Country would like to take the time to thank our teachers for all the time they spend helping our children learn and grow by providing you with free educational resources during Cracker Country’s Teacher Appreciation Week.

Visit Cracker Country’s Teachers Page between November 30 and December 4 to view a new educational resource daily. Visit our Teachers Page on December 4th for a free admission coupon to our Christmas in the Country event, December 5th 2009 10am-4pm!

To view our teachers page follow this web link: http://crackercountry.info/moodle/ and create a username and password to login to the site.

Join us for Christmas in the Country

2009-11-23T08:05:00.000-08:00

Christmas in the Country
Saturday December 5, 10 am - 4 pm

By joining us in Cracker Country from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., you and your family will have a great day experiencing the sights, sounds and smells of an old fashion country Christmas. Learn how the holiday traditions of the 19th century differ from those of the 21st through hands-on historical interpretations, carols, making traditional decorations and more! Remember all the regular year-round work like butter making and laundry still have to be done, despite the time of year. So come on out and lend a hand.

This program is open to all guests and is an exceptional value. Adults: $6; children (age 6 to 12) and seniors: $5; and youngsters (5 and under): FREE. Parking is free for this event when visitors enter the Fairgrounds via the Orient Road entrance.

For more information, visit online http://www.crackercountry.org/, e-mail Susan Obarski at obarsks@doacs.state.fl.us or call 813-627-4225 on Monday through Friday during business hours from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Cow Hunters

2009-11-20T05:45:00.001-08:00

We are currently working on our third Electronic Field Trip called "Cow Hunters". This field trip discusses the traditions, lifestyles, and heritage of cowmen in Florida. Our first stop in our filming schedule was Lake Kissimmee State Park. Check out this short clip of Kissimmee cowmen.

The entire film will be available for purchase Monday March 1, 2010. Visit eFieldTrips for more information.

International Education Week

2009-11-12T11:46:00.000-08:00

International Education Week

November 16-20, 2009

Cracker Country would like to take the time to thank our teachers for all the time they spend helping our children learn and grow by providing you with educational resources during International Education Week.

Visit Cracker County's Facebook page between November 16th and 20th to view a new educational resource daily.

Resources will include:

-Interactive image presentations with audio

-Community-based learning environments

-A community art board to create, save, and present your cracker country art to the public

Visit our Facebook page on November 20th for a free admissions coupon to our Christmas in the Country event! December 5th 2009 10am-4pm. (Educators ID required).

Facebook:

Also check out our Facebook page to learn about Cracker Country events, listen to podcasts, watch short videos and voicethreads, and to learn about the projects we are working on.

Cracker Country

Historic General Store

2009-11-04T05:45:00.001-08:00

Below is a voicethread discussing the history of rural Florida general stores in the late 19th century. Please view this voicethread and share any comments, questions, or ideas you may have about historic general stores.

Fall Rural Life Festival

2009-10-28T11:39:00.000-07:00

Join us in Cracker Country from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and find out what it would be like on rural farms of the past.

Most big projects on 1898 farms needed lots of hands to complete, that meant a gathering of family, friends and neighbors to share news, stories and work. So, come help us with our Fall chores like stuffing scarecrows, grinding corn, making rope, and sewing quilts. Learn about the process of grinding sugar cane to produce cane syrup and have a taste of the finished product. Pitch in on the regular year-round work of butter making and laundry, as well.

This program is open to all guests and is an exceptional value. Adult admission tickets are $6 each, children ages six to 12 years old and senior citizens enter for $5, and kids five and under are admitted free. Parking is free for this event when visitors enter the Fairgrounds via the Orient Road entrance.

For more information, visit online http://www.crackercountry.org/, e-mail Susan Obarski at obarsks@doacs.state.fl.us or call 813-627-4225 on Monday through Friday during business hours from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Discover the Past!

2009-10-27T08:41:00.000-07:00

Imagine it’s the year 1898 and you have just settled in rural Florida. What would you be doing, seeing and experiencing? To find out, step through our doorway into history and Discover the Past!

Discover the Past programs let you use your senses of sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing to relive early rural Florida at your own pace. Perhaps you will churn and taste butter, help make a rope, spin wool into yarn, or maybe feel the soil as you help plant crops.

Offered the first Saturday of each month from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m! This event is a fun way for families to spend an enjoyable day together. Activities and programs change with the seasons so you’ll want to come back often for new experiences.

This program is an exceptional value too. An adult admission ticket is $ 6.00 each; students six to twelve years old and senior citizens tickets are $ 5.00 each. Children five and under are admitted free. Parking is free for this event when visitors enter the Fairgrounds via the Orient Road entrance.

For more information about this exciting new program call Susan Obarski, Programs Supervisor at 813-627-4225 or feel free to send her an email: obarsks@doacs.state.fl.us