Suwannee River

This article is about the river in the southern United States. For the Stephen Foster song, see Old Folks at Home.

Suwannee
River
Suwannee River, Florida
Country	United States
Tributaries
- left	Santa Fe River
- right	Alapaha River, Withlacoochee River
Cities	Fargo, Georgia, White Springs, Florida, Branford, Florida
Source	Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge
- location	Fargo, GA
Mouth	Gulf of Mexico
- location	Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge, Suwannee, FL
- elevation	0 ft (0 m)
- coordinates
Length	246 mi (396 km)
Suwannee River Drainage Basin

The Suwannee River (also spelled Suwanee River) is a major river of southern Georgia and northern Florida in the United States. It is a wild blackwater river, about 246 miles (396 km) long. The Suwannee River is the site of the prehistoric Suwanee Straits which separated peninsular Florida from the panhandle.

Geography

The river rises in the Okefenokee Swamp, emerging at Fargo, Georgia. The river then runs southwest into Florida, dropping in elevation through limestone layers resulting in a rare Florida whitewater rapid. It then turns west near White Springs, Florida, receiving the waters of the Alapaha and Withlacoochee rivers, which together drain much of south-central Georgia. This meandering forms the southern border of Hamilton County, Florida. It then bends south near Ellaville, Florida, then southeast near Luraville, Florida, receives the Santa Fe River from the east just below Branford, then south again to the Gulf of Mexico near the town of Suwannee.

Suwannee Valley

As the river turns north-northwest near White Springs, Florida, it begins to border the Suwannee Valley and Suwannee County. This continues to form a "C"-shaped curve as it drops southeast, and south again.

Etymology

Several theories exist about the origin of the name "Suwannee":

• Jerald Milanovich states that "Suwannee" developed through "San Juan-ee" from the 17th-century Spanish mission of San Juan de Guacara, located on the river known to the Spanish as "Guacara".
• A University of South Florida web site states the "Timucuan Indian word Suwani means Echo River ... River of Reeds, Deep Water, or Crooked Black Water".
• William Bright says the name "Suwanee" comes from the name of a Cherokee village, Sawani.

History

The Suwannee River area has been inhabited by humans for thousands of years. During the first millennium CE, it was inhabited by the people of the Weedon Island archaeological culture, and around 900 CE, a derivative local culture, known as the Suwanee River Valley culture, developed.

By the 16th century, the river was inhabited by two closely related Timucua language-speaking peoples: the Yustaga, who lived on the west side of the river; and the Northern Utina, who lived on the east side.

In the 18th century, Seminoles lived by the river.

The steamboat Madison operated on the river before the Civil War, and the sulphur springs at White Springs became popular as a health resort, with 14 hotels in operation in the late 19th century.

Music

"Historic Suwannee River" sign with the first line of sheet music from "Old Folks at Home", at Interstate 75's crossing of the Suwannee.

This river is the subject of the Stephen Foster song "Old Folks at Home", in which he calls it the Swanee Ribber. Foster had named the Pedee River of South Carolina in his first lyrics. It has been called Swanee River because Foster had used an alternative contemporary spelling of the name. Foster never actually saw the river he made world-famous.

George Gershwin's song, with lyrics by Irving Caesar, and made popular by Al Jolson, is also spelled "Swanee" and boasts that "the folks up North will see me no more when I get to that Swanee shore".

Both of these songs feature banjo-strumming and reminiscences of a plantation life more typical of 19th-century South Carolina than of among the swamps and small farms in the coastal plain of south Georgia and north Florida.

Don Ameche starred as Foster in the fictional biographical film Swanee River (1939).

When approaching the Suwannee River via several major highways, motorists are greeted with a sign which announces they are crossing the Historic Suwannee River, complete with the first line of sheet music from "Old Folks at Home". This is Florida's state song, designated as such in 1935.

In 2008, its original lyrics were replaced with a politically correct version. There is a Foster museum and carillon tower at Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park in White Springs. The spring itself is called White Sulphur Springs because of its high sulphur content. Since there was a belief in the healing qualities of its waters, the Springs were long popular as a health resort.

The idiom "up the Swannee" or "down the swanny" means something is going badly wrong, analogous to "up the creek without a paddle".

Recreation

A unique aspect of the Suwannee River is the Suwannee River Wilderness Trail, a cooperative effort by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the Suwannee River Water Management District, and the cities, businesses. and citizens of the eight-county Suwannee River Basin region. The boating route encompasses 170 river miles (274 river kilometers), from Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park to the Gulf of Mexico.

The Florida National Scenic Trail runs along the Suwannee River's western banks for approximately 60 miles (97 km), from Deep Creek Conservation Area in Columbia County to Twin Rivers State Forest in Madison County.

The Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge offers bird and wildlife observation, wildlife photography, fishing, canoeing, hunting, and interpretive walks. A driving tour is under construction, and several boardwalks and observation towers offer views of wildlife and habitat.

In recent years, the Suwannee River has been the site of many music gatherings. Magnolia Festival, SpringFest, and Wanee have been held annually in Live Oak, Florida, at the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park, adjacent to the river. Performing artists have included Vassar Clements, Peter Rowan, David Grisman, Allman Brothers Band, and the String Cheese Incident.

Crossings

1908 postcard: "Away Down the Suwanee River"

Crossing	Carries	Image	Location	ID number	Coordinates
Georgia
	Suwannee River Sill		Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge
	US 441 SR 89 SR 94		Edith, Georgia to Fargo, Georgia

Crossing	Carries	Image	Location	ID number	Coordinates
Florida
	CR 6			290027
Ed Scott Bridge	US 41		White Springs, Florida	290083
J. Graham Black-Joseph W. McAlpin Bridge	SR 136		White Springs, Florida	290030
	Interstate 75
Old US 129 Bridge	93rd Drive (Closed)		Suwannee Springs, Florida
	US 129		Suwannee Springs, Florida	320019
	CR 249			320052
Rail Bridge	CSX Transportation		Ellaville, Florida
Hillman Bridge(a.k.a.; Old Ellaville Bridge)	Old US 90 (Closed)		Ellaville, Florida
	US 90		Ellaville, Florida	350062
	Interstate 10		Suwannee River State Park
	County Road 250		Dowling Park, Florida	370018
Hal W. Adams Bridge	SR 51		Mayo to Luraville, Florida	330009
Drew Bridge	Suwannee & San Pedro Railroad
Frank R. Norris Bridge	US 27		Branford, Florida
W. O. Cannon - D. W. McCollister Bridge	County Road 340		Bell, Florida	310002
	Nature Coast State Trail		Old Town, Florida
Joe H. Anderson Sr. Bridge	US 19 US 98 Alternate US 27		Fanning Springs, Florida	300031, 300061

See also

• List of Florida rivers
• List of Georgia rivers
• South Atlantic-Gulf Water Resource Region

References

• Milanich, Jerald T. (2006). Laboring in the Fields of the Lord: Spanish Missions and Southeastern Indians. University Press of Florida. ISBN 0-8130-2966-X
• http://www.dot.state.fl.us/statemaintenanceoffice/CBR/Florida%20Bridge%20Information%2001-05-2009.pdf Florida Dept. of Transportation, Florida Bridge Information PDF

External links

• Suwannee Online
• USF page with history
• EPA info on Suwannee basin
• Suwannee River Wilderness Trail
• Info on the Suwannee River and surrounding areas from SRWMD
• Suwanee River Watershed - Florida DEP
• Recording of "Old Folks at Home" at the 1955 Florida Folk Festival; made available for public use by the State Archives of Florida
• U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Suwannee River
• Where it's SpringTime year round <http://www.springsrus.com>

Further reading

• Light, H.M., et al. (2002). Hydrology, vegetation, and soils of riverine and tidal floodplain forests of the lower Suwannee River, Florida, and potential impacts of flow reductions [U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1656A]. Denver: U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey.