In the mid-1800s, the Dudley family moved from Charleston, SC to North Central Florida. Three generations owned and worked the 640-acre piece of land. By the 1880s, Dudley was a significant crossroads community, successfully maintaining livestock, crops and large vegetable gardens and attaining prominence in Alachua County. Eighteen buildings constructed between the 1880s and 1945 include the 1880s family farmhouse and separate kitchen, general store, dairy shed, canning house, smokehouse, syrup house and mill, hay and tobacco barns, stables, and drinking well and rainwater cistern. Other original items include hand-stitched quilts, a large quilting frame, an 1835 Bible carried by P.B.H. Dudley through the Civil War, photographs and farm implements.
Where
Dudley Farm Historic State Park
18730 W. Newberry Road
Newberry, FL (352) 472-1142
Dudley Farm Historic State Park is located seven miles west of I-75 on State Road 26 between Newberry and Gainesville.
Fee: $5.00 per vehicle. Please use the honor box to pay fees. Correct change is required. Limit 8 people per vehicle.
When
May 19, 2018
Park opens at 7:30 AM for JCC members.
A shuttle to the site will be available for members with mobility issues.
Contact
Outing Leader: Jan Vallely
Cell Nr.(904) 635 8688
Register here
Information
Maps and Trails
Prior Outing Photos
Park Photo Gallery
Road Map to Dudley Farms at the bottom of this post.
Picnic Lunch at 11:45 AM:
Bring your own lunch, the club will provide drinks and dessert.
Photo Tips
If it is a bright sunny day you can expect harsh contrasting shadows. In the above banner photo, the porch and shrubbery were nearly indistinct until they were coaxed to appear using Lightroom and Photoshop.
The house interior poses a different challenge since it is lit within only by window light. Most of the furnishings are of subdued colors contrasted by sunlight streaming through the windows. The stairs and upper rooms may be closed to visitors.
The lower rooms are closed off but you can photograph their interiors from the house hallway.
The detached kitchen is barricaded as well but its interiors can be photographed through windows and doors.
You may consider using a speed light and perhaps a longer lens to photograph the details of some of the artifacts.
The rest of the farmstead is mostly accessible.