Suwannee River

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the river in the southern United States. For the Stephen Foster song, see Old Folks at Home.
Coordinates: 29°17′18″N 83°9′57″W / 29.28833°N 83.16583°W / 29.28833; -83.16583
Suwannee
River
Suwannee River, Florida
Country United States
Tributaries
 - left Santa Fe River
 - right Alapaha River, Withlacoochee River
Cities Fargo, Georgia, White Springs, FL, Branford, FL
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 29°17′18″N 83°9′57″W / 29.28833°N 83.16583°W / 29.28833; -83.16583
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.[1] 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 "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".[2]
  • A University of South Florida website states the "Timucuan Indian word Suwani means Echo River ... River of Reeds, Deep Water, or Crooked Black Water."[3]
  • William Bright says the name "Suwanee" comes from the name of a Cherokee village, Sawani.[4]

History

The Suwannee River area has been inhabited by humans for thousands of years. During the first millennium AD it was inhabited by the people of the Weedon Island archaeological culture, and around 900 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.[5]

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 misspelled the name.[6] Foster never 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 these songs feature strumming banjos and reminiscences of a plantation life more typical of 19th century South Carolina along the Peedee than among the swamps and small farms of the coastal plain of Georgia and Florida.

Don Ameche stars as Foster in the 1939 fictional biopic Swanee River.

When crossing the river by car today, the sign greeting visitors announces that they are crossing the Historic Suwannee River, complete with the first line of sheet music from the song. "Old Folks at Home" is the state song of Florida, designated as such in 1935, although in 2008 its original lyrics were replaced[7] with a political corrected version.[8] There is a Foster Museum and Carillon Tower at Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park at White Springs. The spring itself is called White Sulphur Springs because of its high sulphur content. Because of 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 going badly wrong; analogous to "up the creek without a paddle."[citation needed]

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 region of the Suwannee River Basin. The Trail encompasses 170 river miles from Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park to the Gulf of Mexico.

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

In recent years, the Suwannee River has been the site of 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 include Vassar Clements, Peter Rowan, David Grisman, Allman Brothers Band, and the String Cheese Incident.[citation needed]

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
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
CSX Rail Bridge Tallahassee Subdivision 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

Notes

  1. ↑ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed April 18, 2011
  2. ↑ Milanich:12-13
  3. ↑ "The Suwannee River,Exploring Florida: A Social Studies Resource for Students and Teachers". College of Education, University of South Florida. 2002. Retrieved August 18, 2010. 
  4. ↑ Bright, William (2004). Native American placenames of the United States. University of Oklahoma Press. pp. 466–467. ISBN 978-0-8061-3598-4. Retrieved 11 April 2011. 
  5. ↑ Worth vol. I, pp. 28–29.
  6. ↑ http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/030707/met_8429196.shtml/
  7. ↑ "Summary of Bills Related to Arts, Cultural, Arts Education. Or Historical Resources That Passed the 2008 Florida Legislature May 5, 2008", Retrieved 2011-12-14
  8. ↑ Center for American Music. "Old Folks at Home". Center for American Music Library. Archived from the original on March 13, 2009. Retrieved October 1, 2012. 

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Suwannee River.

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.
Significant waterways of Florida
Larger rivers
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