Reviews of Cracker Country (Museum)

Michelle Hales

Fantastic, hands-on experience of Florida History. Candle dipping, rope-making, working printing press and so much more. Check the website and plan for their next open day. Well worth it!

Rochelle de Villiers

Pretty cool surreal experience, like stepping into the past

Robert Robbins

Fine

Raudel Naranjo

Nice experience, I learned a lot from this country especially food,honey flavors, and real cook jam I went during Florida state fair ground, a lot of fun.

Britt Nicole

Cracker country is a living history museum. It has original buildings dating from 1870-1912 that were relocated from around the state of Florida. Costumed interpreters portray daily living as Florida pioneers. Florida crackers were people who migrated from the North and settled in the harsh Florida wilderness. The cracker cowboys herded cattle with the crack of their whips. They did not actually hit the cattle, rather made a loud pop with their whips that could be heard across long distances; and that is where the term Florida cracker comes from. Among some Floridians, the term is used as a proud or jocular self-description. Since the huge influx of new residents into Florida in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, the term "Florida Cracker" is used informally by some Floridians to indicate that their families have lived in the state for many generations. It is considered a source of pride to be descended from "frontier people who did not just live but flourished in a time before air conditioning, mosquito repellent, and screens."

Stacy Mead

Old Florida in the middle of the State Fair!

kim peters

This restaurant is great, except on Friday nights and Sunday mornings. Those days they're packed to the hill and the waiting time is about an hour or more.

Rosemarie Corrao

Fun

Frank Schifano

Really liked seeing the way things were back in old Florida.

Laurel Nichols

Had fun

Greg Bolds

I work at (FSFA)Florida State Fair Authority, and I believe that everything/anything associated with Fair Authority is top notch indeed !!!!!!!!

Beverly T.

Very informative! Craft exhibits were nice to view. Great for field trips!

Ryan Livingston

Great place for a kids field trip

Jason Shelton

Cool education experience.

Beatriz Charles

Very interesting things you learn from things in the past. Even my youngest daughter loved it, that she wants to go back.

Bert Hucks

Very nicely done. All the actors stayed perfectly in character as Florida settlers.

Roger Phelps

Great educational place to visit with tons of History.

Roger Pitts

Always a nice stroll thru at the fair..

Ruthann Wynn

Down home country

Olivier Roy De Rives

Amazing flashbacks into a simpler time. Very educational.

David Snow

Love cracker country at Florida State Fair..Go every year and always see several shows of Southern Express Bluegrass Band..

ANE CAMARA

Very fun for our kids. Learn the history of Florida. School groups. Free parking.

Donna Lewis

Great experience

rebecca Haney

most beautiful At this place! I love it here

M'kai's Dream

I loved cracker country

Mickey Pittenger

We go to Cracker Country every year from Tennessee when I visit the Florida State Fair, great excellent historic place to visit... Relax under the limbs of the trees with spanish moss hanging down to relive the simpler times & get great items of lye, soap, jerky, baskets, spices, wood craved & blacksmith made items etc... Beautiful restored buildings Railroad Depot, Post Office General Store, Church , Farm Houses, Sorghum Mill etc... Great people dressed in the period make it a most excellent experience of early Florida Cracker cattle area farm / town life... Greatly recommend visiting there, you will not be disappointed.....

Tony Trester

Full of knowledgeable people and a fun experience.

Alessandra Szul

Ridiculous that something with this name is even open. The origin of the term "Cracker" stems from slavery where the slaves would call their owners "crackers" because of the sound the whip would make when they were punished by them. I plan on organizing a protest shortly.

kara burns

Great way to learn about our history

Bruce Bragg

Getting candel made for hurricane season

Doug Ryder

Interesting and educational

Amanda Estes

I loved it so neat looking back to the old days. Will be going back in the future.

Julio Julio

Good place to go

Kimberly Lindsey

Love this place so much to see.If you love history I'd advise this place as a must see

Daniel Sanchez

I guess if you're a cracker this is the place to be the only thing I can say that's decent about it is the beef jerky

Daniel Rocha

Having a great time!!!

Daniel St.Pierre

Without a doubt, one of our favorite spots at the State Fair. Live music, interactive exhibits and various museum buildings make for quite an experience. Be sure to set a few hours aside to soak in Cracker Country the next time you come to the Florida State Fair. A+ #TGBATG

Saavik Boomgarden

Awesome place top table you're kids. Mine had a blast and left with new knowledge. The children absolutely loved making their own rope and candle. Huge plus is It is very affordable!

Kristi Sargent

The kids are so happy!

Bill Walkup

Neat place to walk around

John Holland

Great history and the pork rinds are fantastic.

Brenda Anderson

So much fun. So educational.

April Mitchell

I have been to Cracker Country many times and I learn something new every time, the volunteers who sit in the building's are very knowledgeable. Great place to listen to some bluegrass and pick up some hand made goodies.

Leiah Shamblin

This is a great place to learn what life was like just a hundred years ago. You step back in time and learn about the hardships and yet symplicity of life. A time before electricity, chain grocery stores, technologically-advanced school's, and suburban sprawl. A time when homes had their own gardens and crops, your closest neighbor was a couple miles away, and you bartered with neighbors for the things that you needed. This mock town is comprised of actual buildings built 100 years ago and now relocated from various parts of the state to this one "town" to share what life used to be like. The grounds are immaculate and all the buildings have been very well-preserved. Visitors are taken into the town in groups and led by a tour guide. My group had the distinct pleasure of being led by Ms. Clara. Ms. Clara will tell you that she is 85 years young, and she actually grew up during this time in history, so she gave us a first-hand view about life back then. She was a delightful tour guide and it was so interesting to hear her personal accounts. If you visit cracker country, I definitely recommend asking to be in Miss Clara's group.

Mercedes Porsche

Great place to take a break from the fair rides. Lots of cool history.

Isaiah Hogan

I was pleasantly surprised by all the artifacts that they had assembled in this museum. A $2 entrance fee was a fair price for all there was to see and learn about the area. Been to the area in the winter for years and never made it over to see it. Glad I finally took the plunge. Well worth the visit and knowledge that was gained in the process. Very friendly and knowledgeable woman that ran the museum.

Christopher Starks

Horse enthusiasts will enjoy the riding at the Crescent J Ranch. Lots of wildlife to observe on the ride with wranglers who are knowledgeable about flora, fauna, bugs, and creatures. Lunch at the ranch was also very tasty and a welcome stop after the ride. Horses were well cared for, trained, and appropriate safety measures were enforced. Thumbs up!

Ivan Diaz

Learned a lot about Florida’s history and agriculture. So Many fun activities to do! Great for kids and adults! Staff was very friendly too!

Katia Gundersen

Educational and entertaining for all members of the family. If you are willing to probe and question, most of the volunteers were very helpful!!

Dana Crowder

Great way to show kids what life was like in the 1800's. Fun, guided tour where we made candles, ropes, printed post cards and churned butter!

Karen Heinrich

Cracker Country has always been a favorite of mine! We go every year to the fair, specifically for it. Love the rope making, butter making, and candle making. The same 2 guys that have been doing the rope have literally been there for atleast 15 years. I have pictures of me as a little girl with them and new pictures from this year! It’s definitely worth seeing.

Shelby McDonald

I love the homey feeling I get at Cracker Barrel and the food never disappoints. I especially like our local one.

Jackie Higgins

Loved it!! Sooo much fun, You can't miss it!!

Justin Johns

Great experience

Freddy Carvalho

Good. Food. Fun spot to let kids run around. Try the popcorn and cracklings.

Grady Terry

Thursday night is there turkey and dressing night only. Got there about 6:30 and they have no dressing. Food came out cold and Bland. Took about 30 minutes to get our food maybe that's why it was cold. To me not worth the time.

Alphonse Vitiello

Old Florida, and they are authentic buildings move to the site, you must experience.

Ron Smith

Good

David Cy

Very cool and historic place to see. Great for kids. Learn how to make rope, candles, buy grits, soap, spices... overall well worth the visit if you are in the area.

Lee Anne Roquemore

Great field trip for the kids. Really neat information and experiences like candlemaking, ropemaking, etc. Was disappointing that some things were closed and our tour didn't have time to see all of the stops. Some stops had great historical or practical lessons, some lacked that a bit. Overall it was a great trip and we'd visit again as well as recommend it to others.

Jasmine Armstead

Very exciting

Michelle Sweeney

I had a lot of fun. I visited this museum several times still haven't seen everything and done everything that I had wanted to do. I especially enjoyed the authentic buildings and their architecture. Knowledgable staff too.

Linda Edwards

Always fun to visit for a quick trip back in time.

Nena Mala

Great place to explore with the kids.

Allan Ragaller

Great place good food

Barak Stasiowski

It was Ok I guess..Kids will Get "Bored"

Brittney Blanton

Pretty boring. Showed the field trip some things but we didnt learn very much.

Patricia Pretty

This is not a great educational place there is a video circulating the internet with a tour guide that works there that has a whip flinging it at a black child. Horrible place and that man should be fired. Whip cracking? A mess. do NOT bring your children here

Sam Foster

Meh

Grace Adkison

Love to step back in time and revisit what life was like in the "yesteryears" of Florida. It never gets old!

Chanel Anderson

Love this place, so do the kids.

Tonija D

History is always important to both young and old and this is a GREAT place to start.

Eric Peterson

Gorgeous old Florida

Daniel Mycek

State Fair Baby

Rebecca Borders

Great place to go back in time and relax. Love the old buildings.

Frank Erickson

Great place to visit!

Grom O'Hilshae

Enjoyed myself here.

Danny Rubino

Very cool place. Learn alot about how people used to live in Florida 100+ years ago. Great place to bring the kids for a day.

Anastasia Gaspar

We went on a field trip with the school and it was great! Even I learned something new. The kids made a candle, made a rope, churned real butter, washed laundry, got to see how soap was madeand more. Ourguide was awesome and very knowledgeable!

Wendy Noe

Cool place

Hajar Abdul-Rahim

Very nice museum of what florida looked like in the old days the actors are very good!

Debra Burkart

Interesting stuff to see.

Malika Thompson-Sanks

Great place to learn about Florida history for adults and children. Friendly and knowledgeable staff. Reasonable prices for admission and souvenirs.

Judy Johnson

interesting

Mary McKenzie

This is such a fun place to go. The folks doing the reenactments are friendly and full of info about this era in history. Very interactive exhibits and a really fun "general store" aka gift shop. The kids love it.

Kristina Allen

This is a great little outdoor museum that tells of Florida country like in the "olden days". A nice place to spend an afternoon. There are several activities for kids like candle and rope making. It's a nice little slice of history!

Jesse Jaye

Great place to learn about Florida old country heritage. Kind of like a colonial Williamsburg for floridians. Enjoyed this on my daughter's field trip. Fun and kept 50 ten year olds engaged.

Ginger Sadler

Had some family time and we had a good time

Annika Blenke

Huge! Love this place. Staff is very knowledgeable and politely explained how things were made and used in early Florida

Kim Croy

Informative and a relaxing atmosphere

gary spina

Great place for a field trip cracker country!

Manny Matos

Great spot to learn about early Florida settlers.

Fred Dombski

A step back in time with era clad vendors and musicians.

Monniy Rose

A great place to visit very educational for kids.

Javier Rodriguez

Bring back memories

Stephanie Andrews

Very educational. Many homemade vendors.

The Germano's

:) Nice and shady. :) Love the trees. :)

Cary Brown

We stumbled across this attraction when we visited the fairgrounds aiming to see a poultry show. This was a great surprise which was fast in a very nostalgic historical setting. We learned history from the various fast of characters who were actually living in the life style reminiscent of old Florida history books. The people were extremely nice, talented at various crafts, generous with their time, and willing to field any questions. The area was very clean, peaceful, and is one of the most relished memory of our trip.

Damara Gonzales

Nice experience I love

Danii _Love

Its pretty normal

Mike Mercer

A fun and historical place

Irish Boss

What an amazing testament to how Americans have strived. Each building is from the 1800s and still standing, beautiful craftsmanship. We had a great time here.

jeannette bogart

Fun but inaccessible

Laurie Ingramwdgdchddryi

Nice experience

Barbara Labbe

Very nice!! Wished we had more time to explore this during our visit!!

Ray Lance

Always knowledgeable people explaining the past!

chau le

My class went on a field trip here yesterday. Had lots of fun! We get to churn butter, eat delicious saltines with homemade butter on them, make candles, and more. My favorite building is probably the gift shop because it's basically the most futuristic building there lol.

Ray Higgins

Great examples of Florida history and life

Warner Arthur

Wonderful learning experience

Christopher Krollage

Love the fair and old time Florida Cracker Country

Mike Funkhowser

Cracker Country is located on the Florida State Fair Grounds. That's when most people visit it. School children visit it through out the school year on field trips. It has relocated old Florida buildings such as a one room school house, a church (including graveyard with headstones from the 1800s), a model train museum, a general store (that sells actual goods) and similar. They also have the opportunity to make a candle or make a rope. You can see how sugar cane is turned into a syrup using mules and a mill. There are vendors that fit the "theme", i.e., soap, beeswax candles, shaving soap and brushes, pine straw and palm woven into baskets, an iron worker, along with food items such as pork rinds, kettle corn, hand squeezed lemonade. It's a relaxing break under the giant oak trees from the balance of the State Fair and the junk food extravaganza (deep fried stick of butter anyone?) and carnies screaming at you to part with your money.

Scott Jaze

This is the family starting and finish point each year at the Florida State Fair!

Cyndi C.

Had so much fun here. Great place to rest after riding so many rides and drinking soda constantly.

Clinton Hayes

Neat to see old Florida, eat some pork rinds and have some lemonade

Valerie Bennett

It was easy to get around and very interesting. Exhibits are explained as to how they work and why. The $8.00 parking fee being cash only was a surprise, (i expected to pay for parking) fortunately I had some cash with me.

Robbie Scicolone

This is a great educational experience. Very fun for all ages

FIG GAR

Really neat place. Historically accurate.

Anna Denham

Paradise on earth. Step back in time at this wonderful place. Great staff. Very educational!

Reggie Holder

There are a lot of interactive displays here. Kids can make rope or candles. There are basket weavers, wood carvers and a blacksmith. Nice shaded grass area also. Nice place to take a break from the crowds out on the midway.

Stephany Schreck

Fun place to visit. Very informative and I love how everyone dresses the era! We went in every house and was pleasantly greeted by everyone. Fun for the kids too. They all get a kazoo if they participate in the sing along. Fun times!

Carla Casela

We loved it! Very nice for families, interacting. Staff is so friendly and knowledgeable

Connie Allgire

I went during the state fair. Nice place and nicely done.

Helpful Critic

Really great place to visit. Learned alot and had fun. The people were dressed in the time frame and told you about each location and the history and had hands on stuff to show you how everything worked. Was nice

Jack

This place was so much fun. It's very educational as well. I would recommend it to adults and children alike.

Anthony DeJesus

Awesome! Great for the whole family!

Elyse Rouse

I volunteered here for two years during the statefair and Chrismas time. I really enjoyed speaking with guests about the one room school house since my grandmother used to work as a teacher in a one room school house up north. I'm also a teacher so it's very intriguing to discuss the differences and similarities in schools then vs now. I'm moving out of state and I'm really going to miss Jennifer (head of the volunteer program) and the rest of the staff and other volunteers. I also loved the garden, it was so well kept and beautiful! It was a great experience.

Anna Aponte Lollar

Had a great time visiting during Smithsonian museum day. It was free family fun with great historical significance. Would recommend visiting.

Laura Wood

Had a good time, watched wood carving, blacksmith, old houses, stores.

Old No name

Great resource for kids to learn.

Bryan Reed

Pretty great and fairly true to history. Absolutely rustic and peaceful environment. As always, the real jewel of this place are the people that run the exhibits and bring so much charm, friendliness, and knowledge to the experience. Keep it up, folks!

Autumn Mathews

Many educational sites. Actors are very nice and informing. The items sold are beautifully handmade.

daniel ocasio

Had a great time at Summerfield field trip

Tremaine Wright

Went as a chaperone on a field trip. Not impressed. and really didn't learn anything interesting.

Duane Bryant

Cracker Country is always a favorite place to visit.

Alec Vancil

Very interesting place, loved seeing the donkey and the horses. The old buildings make for a good photo and the big trees draw a nice shade and relaxing environment.

Jamie O

Great experience for the kids. Really well done.

Brandon Nova

Pretty expensive to get in but it was worth it. So much historical beauty is here and all the buildings are original. Basically like living in the past, one day is plenty.

Tracy Tejon

Awesome place for kids and adults it was fun & educational.

Rick Haberman

Wonderful experience.

Cynthia Rivera

Loved it

FRANK hill

Great Experience and knowledge... Great Fun for all ages...

Lisa Bates

Wonderful time for my 2nd grade students!

Sherrie Patterson

Great class field trip!

Steve Lawton

Fun cool place

Ricky Brooks

Fun

Arlene D

Love it! I try to go every year.

Janell Edmondson

Favorite part of the fair! Great finds and lots of cool things to see

Stephanie C

Wonderful living museum

diana king

The Caribbean festival held here was really nice

Madlyn Blom

History reenactment

ALICIA JOHNSON

My daughter's class went to Cracker Country for a field trip. They had a great time learning all about how people lived in years past.

Mariana M

Great place to learn about our culture

Virginia Moroney

I love going to cracker country and see all the historical buildings. It's a great place to bring the kids. They also have a special event at Christmas time.

Melody Scott

I love this part of the fair.

Robert Suarez

Mr Dennis was awesome on our tour

Calvin Johnson

Very educational

Steven Sikorski

Great place to actually see old Florida history in person. I could spend an extra couple of hours with a more detailed tour. I would love to hear or read more about the history of the buildings and just learn about the history of this city and state. The food or snacks were delicious - yes even with the State Fair up and running. Best beef jerky by far was in Cracker Country. Animals would be an interesting addition to have there like a cow or pig...?

michael sapp

I have always loved Cracker Country. Great piece of Florida history, highly recommended for any fan of history or Florida. Very educational and knowledgeable staff in period clothing