White Springs, FL

Our “home” for the last three days has been Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park in White Springs, Florida. The campsites are very large and there are many trees with Spanish moss hanging ~ very southern! Unfortunately it is 102° and it feels like 102% humidity so we can’t take advantage of the hiking trails. We feel like we are taking showers from the inside out.

This park is dedicated in memory of the man who made the Suwannee River come alive for millions of people throughout the world and devoted to the preservation and presentation of Florida’s cultural heritage. It is nestled in the midst of towering pines and moss draped oaks on the banks of the Suwannee River.

The Stephen Foster Memorial Carillon completed in 1958 is the centerpiece of the park and is the world’s largest tubular bell instrument. It has 97 bells, one of the largest musical instruments ever produced in the Western Hemisphere and the world’s largest tubular carillon in number of bells. Concerts are played three times a day featuring the music of Foster. The music resounds throughout the park’s beautiful grounds.

The Stephen Foster Museum is housed in an antebellum-style mansion typical of those that existed in Foster’s era. Several dioramas depicting interpretations of scenes from Foster’s best loved songs and the desk on which “Old Folks at Home” was completed are among the items displayed in the museum.
He wrote two songs in his lifetime that were later adopted as State Songs, “Old Folks at Home” (Florida) and “My Old Kentucky Home” (Kentucky.) Some of his other famous songs are Beautiful Dreamer, Camptown Races, Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair, Oh! Susanna, Old Black Joe, Old Folks at Home, and many more. What a talent!