Suwannee River

Suwannee River
Map of the Suwannee River
Data
location	Georgia , Florida ( USA )
River system	Suwannee River
muzzle	at Suwannee in the Gulf of Mexico Coordinates: 29 ° 17 '18 "  N , 83 ° 9' 57"  W 29 ° 17 '18 "  N , 83 ° 9' 57"  W
length	426 km
Postcard from 1904 with melody and text from Old Folks at Home

The Suwannee River (also Suwanee River or Swanee River ) is a river that flows through the US states of Florida and Georgia . Its length is 426 kilometers.

The river has its origin in the Okefenokee Swamp in Fargo . The river then flows in a southwest direction to Florida. In its course it has the only waterfalls in Florida. In White Springs the direction of flow changes to the west, here the Alapaha River and the Whitlacoochee River also flow into the Suwannee River. The river flows into the Gulf of Mexico near the town of Suwannee in Florida .

history

At the time of the Spanish exploration expeditions in the 1530s, the Timucua people , who called the Suwani River , lived on the banks of the river . The name can be translated as Echo River . In the 18th century the Seminoles lived on the river. Shortly before the American Civil War , a steamship operated on the river. In the late 19th century, a spa town came into being in White Springs because sulphate sources were discovered there, which were thought to have healing properties.

music

The Suwannee River is the subject of Stephen Foster's ballad " Old Folks at Home ", in which he speaks of a Swanee River . Foster was actually referring to the Pedee River in South Carolina , but misspelled the river's name. Foster himself never saw the river he made famous. George Gershwin's song, made famous by Al Jolson , also misspells the river. Here his name is Swanee . Banjos play a role in both pieces of music and take up reminiscences that are more typical of plantation life in South Carolina than of the swamps and small farms on the coast of Georgia and Florida.

From 1952 , a country program called Suwanee River Jamboree was broadcast from Live Oak , Florida, the name of which is based on the Suwanee River. The moderators were the Stanley Brothers .

The song "Swanee River" is also mentioned and quoted by the American civil rights activist Anne Moody in her autobiography "Coming of age in Mississippi". She describes a deep connection between the people in the small town Centerville with this piece: "I got a feeling that there existed some kind of sympathetic relationship between the older Negroes and whites that the younger people didn't quite get or understand."

The Suwannee River Wilderness Trail

The Suwannee River now has a long-distance hiking trail, the so-called Suwannee River Wilderness Trail . It is thanks to the combined efforts of the Florida Department of the Environment, the Suwannee River Water Management District, and eight counties along the Suwannee River Valley. The trail runs from the Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park to the Gulf of Mexico.

swell

1. ↑ - ( Memento of the original from March 7, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
2. ^ Anne Moody: Coming of age in Mississippi, New York 1968, pp. 112-113.
3. ^ Anne Moody: Coming of age in Mississippi, New York 1968, p. 113.