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Saturday March 14, 2009

DUDLEY FARM HISTORIC STATE PARK

This weekend is the big Paint Out fundraiser at the farm and one of our friends is among the artists scattered all over the place painting farm scenes. We had never been to the farm before and decided to spend the morning. It is about 8 miles west of Gainesville and was founded before the Civil War. Three generations of Dudleys worked the farm for over 100 years. It is still worked daily by volunteers who are well versed in how things were done in the late 1800’s.
Today the farm includes the farmhouse, separate kitchen, gardens, cane syrup house, sweet potato cellar, general store, hay barn, stables, corn crib, tobacco barn, chicken area, smoke house, outhouse, corn fields, sugar cane fields, grape arbors, well with a hand pump. There were a few mules and horses. The volunteers were working in the gardens, spinning yarn, cooking, washing clothes, making baskets and rag rugs. They were eager to explain how these things were done.The weather was delightful and we had a good time.