Suwannee River Guidebook

Kevin M. McCarthy

Suwannee River GuidebookKevin M. McCarthy

Pineapple Press, Inc.

Pineapple Press, Inc.Sarasota, Florida

Travel/History

Anyone looking to escape the hustle and bustle of the modern world for a while is invited to sit back and enjoy a leisurely trip down one of the best-known and most beloved rivers

in the country. Flowing more than 230 miles from the Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia to the Gulf of Mexico in Florida, the Suwannee may well be the last unspoiled river in the Southeast. Complete with travel information and tips for those exploring the area by water or by land, this comprehensive guide describes the history, major towns/cities along the way, wildlife, and personages associated with the river. As you journey down the river, you’ll stop by places like White Springs and Branford, Old Town and Fowler’s Bluff. You’ll see manatees, jumping fish, alligators, and many species of birds. You’ll also be introduced to some of the most important people and groups in Florida’s history, including the Timucuan and Seminole Indians, Spanish missionaries and explorers, Stephen C. Foster, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, and William Bartram, as well as the organizations and agencies that have fought to preserve and protect this magnificent river and its watershed. This guidebook will open your eyes to a part of Florida you may be surprised to learn still exists, one largely untouched by developers and full of natural wonders.

$14.95

A guide to the history, wildlife and sites from the northern headwaters in the Okefenokee Swamp to the outlet in the Gulf of Mexico

Cover image courtesy of the Florida State Archives Design by gileshoover.com

Suwannee River Guidebook

Fargo

WhiteSprings

Live Oak

Mayo

Luraville

Branford

Old Town Fanning Springs

Suwannee

GEORGIAFLORIDA

O K E F E N O K E ES WA M P

Suwannee River

Suwannee River Guidebook

Kevin M. McCarthy

Pineapple Press, Inc.Sarasota, Florida

Copyright © 2009 by Kevin M. McCarthy

All photos were taken by the author except: Photos from the Florida State Archives appear on pages 2, 17, 22, 33, 35, 38, 48–49, 58, 60, 63 (top and bottom), 64, 67, 71–73, 75, 80–82, 86, 90–91, 97, 103–5, 110, 113, 118, 144, and 146. A photo from a nineteenth-century issue of Harper’s Weekly appears on page 150.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Inquiries should be addressed to:

Pineapple Press, Inc.P.O. Box 3889Sarasota, Florida 34230

www.pineapplepress.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data McCarthy, Kevin (Kevin M.) Suwannee River guidebook / Kevin M. McCarthy. -- 1st ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-56164-449-0 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Suwannee River Valley Region (Ga. and Fla.)--Guidebooks. 2. Suwannee River Valley Region (Ga. and Fla.)--Description and travel. I. Title. F317.S8M33 2009 917.59’802--dc22 2009008659

First Edition10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Design by Giles Hoover, www.gileshoover.comPrinted in the United States of America

ContentsHow to Use This Book viiIntroduction ix

1 Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in Georgia to Big Shoals in Florida 1 by land 192 Little Shoals to White Springs 21 by land 353 Woods Ferry to Ellaville 37 by land 55

4 Anderson Spring to Troy Spring State Park 57 by land 755 Branford to the Santa Fe River 77 by land 926 Little Lake City to Old Town 93 by land 1087 Fanning Springs to Manatee Springs 109 by land 1258 Manatee Springs to Fowler’s Bluff 127 by land 1419 Fowler’s Bluff to the Gulf of Mexico 143 by land 160

Conclusion 161Appendices Information for Boaters 164 Places to Visit, Stay, and Eat 165 Further Reading 169

Index 174

Dedication

I dedicate this book to the members of Save Our Suwannee, who have devoted an enormous amount of time and energy to preserving a beautiful river.

Acknowledgments

Among the people who helped me in the research for this book are Captain Chris Brown (who gave me a boat tour from Manatee Springs south toward Suwannee), Shirley Clark (librarian at the

Branford Public Library), Rangers Amy Conyers and Merrill “Catfish” Phillips (both of whom work at Troy Spring State Park), Robena Cornwell (who helped me access information about Stephen Foster’s famous song), Courter Films and Associates (for the production of a DVD entitled “The Florida Water Story”), Cary and Lynn Crutchfield (who gave me tours of the river and helped me with its literature), Susan Duser (who produced the maps), Annette Long (president of Save Our Suwannee), Ranger Andrew Moody (who gave me a detailed tour of Fanning Springs), Nan Myrick (who led me to my river guide and urged me to write this guide), Joanna Norman (archives super-visor at the State Library and Archives of Florida), and Tracy Woodard (librarian at the White Springs Library).

About the Author

Kevin M. McCarthy is a professor emeritus of English and Florida studies at the University of Florida in Gainesville. He has written fifteen other books for Pineapple Press, including African Americans

in Florida, African American Sites in Florida, Alligator Tales, Apalachicola Bay, Aviation in Florida, Baseball in Florida, Book Lover’s Guide to Florida, Christmas in Florida, Georgia’s Lighthouses and Historic Coastal Sites, Lighthouses of Ireland, Native Americans in Florida, Over Southeast Florida, St. Johns River Guidebook, Thirty Florida Shipwrecks, and Twenty Florida Pirates.

v i i

How to Use This Book

The first part of each chapter, “by water,” describes the trip boating along from one section of the river to the next, each ending at a good stopping place for the night. I briefly describe

my experiences and then tell of the history and natural history of that area of the river. The last part of each chapter, “by land,” tells you about that same section if you are going along the river by land in a car. The “by land” sections are much shorter, so even if you are going by car, you need to read the “by water” sections to get all the history and background.

The Appendices, “Information for Boaters,” and “Places to Visit, Stay, and Eat,” contain many general, practical hints as well as information on food and lodging and tourist sites. It seemed better to put all this together for your touring convenience.

i x

“Rivers are the most important feature of any terrestrial land mass because the river not only defines the geology, but it also defines the biology—dictating what lives there, what plants will grow, and what animals can function.” —National Parks Magazine, Spring 2008, p. 14

Introduction

After boating the St. Johns River in Florida from near its begin-nings in central Florida to Mayport on the Atlantic Ocean five years ago, I began looking at other rivers in the state

and wondered if I could do the same: boat them from beginning to end. I first considered boating the Suwannee when I took my younger children to camp out in Georgia and visited the Okefe-nokee Swamp. There a guide told me that one could put in a small boat at the Suwannee River near the campgrounds and go all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico, over two hundred miles to the south. At the time I thought, “Wow, that would be neat.” Little did I realize that I would do just that in 2008, although in a piecemeal fashion. What I was particularly interested in doing was to see how the Suwannee played a role in Florida’s history and culture and, most importantly, what efforts were being made to preserve it for the future.

At a time when Florida attracts some nine hundred residents a day, much of the state has changed dramatically, and not all for the better. The Suwannee River, however, has not changed dramatically, due in no small part to the concerned efforts of environmentalists, residents, lawmakers, and other concerned citizens who want to preserve the river for future generations. Just as important as the concern of such people has been the geography/topography of the river: its shallowness during periods of drought and its treacherous sandbars at the mouth have prevented the kind of development that other Florida rivers have seen, such as the St. Johns, Miami, and Hillsborough rivers.

The Suwannee is the state’s most famous river, partly

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because a musical composer who had never visited Florida wrote about it in a popular song of the nineteenth century. This waterway may be the only major river in the southeastern United States that is still unspoiled, pristine, and largely unvisited by most of the thousands of new residents to the state. What makes it particularly unusual is the large number of springs—over sixty in the river floodplain—that flow into it along the way, increasing its volume and speed and allowing swimmers, divers, and snorkelers access to their constant temperatures all year round. The river also has the state’s only white-water rapids, something that surprises many Floridians, including me.

One could conceivably put a boat in at the headwaters of the Suwannee, not paddle a single stroke, and still make it to the Gulf, although it would take several weeks. The river averages about four miles an hour on its way to the Gulf as it slowly falls from an elevation of 120 feet above sea level in the Okefenokee. The Suwannee is relatively easy to paddle, though, as its narrowness enables one to see both sides all the way down, and its width prevents overhanging branches from causing problems. For boating and fishing, the river is probably best below the Suwannee River State Park at Ellaville, since above that it can be very shallow in times of drought and below that the underwater grasses and structure provide more habitat for a wide variety of fishes. However, many fishermen prefer the quiet of the upper river to the busyness of the lower part, where the broad water attracts water-skiers and Jet-Skiers. Kayakers are attracted to the upper river since they can more easily maneuver in the shallows. Many places along the way allow people to launch their boats or canoes, and maps are readily available at dive and fish-tackle stores along the way.

Of the sixty-plus springs that empty into the Suwannee, many are on private property and not accessible to the public, but enough of the larger ones are open and offer recreational activities for the whole family all year round. The springs are crystal clear and offer a sharp contrast to the tannin-colored river, made opaque by decaying vegetation. Three main tributaries feed into it, adding speed and depth and access to different parts of north Florida.

The river has certainly been host to some important people and moments in Florida’s history: from the Native American tribes that lived along it to Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto (who traversed it on his ill–fated trip to the Mississippi River) to General Andrew Jackson (who chased, caught, and executed two British inciters near

x iIntroduction

it) to steamship pilots (one of whom scuttled his boat at Troy Spring to keep it out of the hands of Union troops in the Civil War) to modern entrepreneurs who hope to exploit it for their own use and profit.

Unlike the major rivers in this country, for example the Mississippi or Ohio or even the St. Johns in Florida, commercial interests have not established large settlements on the Suwannee and therefore have not destroyed much of its natural beauty and wildlife. The river has no large factories to pollute the air and water, and the shallowness of the upper part has prevented most boats from using it, thus discouraging the construction of large settlements along its banks.

For those who want something more than amusement parks, sunny days on the beach, and spring baseball training, the Suwannee and its springs offer a unique opportunity to enjoy nature at its finest. Whether you enjoy scuba diving or snorkeling, kayaking or canoeing, camping or walking in the forest, fishing or hunting, watching for birds and other animals, or even alligator hunting, the river has something for everyone. It only asks that its users not pollute or harm its habitat and creatures. The facilities along the way have not changed dramatically in the last fifty years; there are still canoe-rental businesses and dive shops, as well as a growing number of campgrounds and state parks. Most importantly, there is a group of individuals, members of an amazing organization called Save Our Suwannee, Inc., determined to preserve the river from those forces and corporations that might have done much damage to its shores and water.

Although the distance from the headwaters in the Okefenokee Swamp to its outlet at the Gulf of Mexico is about one hundred miles as the crow flies, the Suwannee wanders and meanders more than 230 miles along the way. Unlike the St. Johns River—which provided access to the interior of Florida through its north-south orientation and a good deep-water port to the Atlantic Ocean—the Suwannee offered no important interior or ocean access to earlier settlers, nor does it to modern developers. The rapids of Big Shoals above Branford made it unnavigable for steamers beyond that point, and the spread-out delta at the Gulf did not lead to the establishment of a port there. But such limitations are what have preserved its beauty and made it off limits to most commerce.

Because not everyone interested in the Suwannee has the time or facilities to boat it from Georgia to the Gulf of Mexico, the last part of each chapter describes the land on each side of the river, from

x i i Suwannee River Guidebook

north to south. The Appendices contain the names and descriptions of some of the many places to stay and eat along the way, although these change frequently.

On April 12, 2008, I began a series of one-day boating trips on the Suwannee with a skilled guide and professional alligator trapper, Cary Crutchfield, who lives on the river near Branford and who pointed out flora and fauna in, on, and under the river that I never would have noticed. We used two of his boats, a shallow-draft one in the very north and a much bigger, faster one in the south, depending on the conditions of the river (shallow, deep, slow, fast) and weather. I should also note that we usually boated up the river so that, in case of a mechanical breakdown, we would simply float downstream to where we had put in. While one can navigate most of the river by oneself, taking a skilled guide adds immensely to the pleasure and knowledge one gleans from such a memorable trip.

In preparing for the journey, I read as many articles and books as I could find about the Suwannee. For the land part, I drove up and down both sides of the river, stopping at motels, restaurants, and bait stores—not only to find the practical information about where to stay and eat, but also to interview people who live along or make a living from the river. Because I know that many (most?) travel books are read by people who have neither the time nor the inclination to make the same trip, I have included anecdotes, cultural history, allusions to novels and songs, or whatever the reader might find of interest in learning more about this fascinating waterway.

Unlike my trip on the St. Johns River, which I made with two friends (Edwina and Bob Davis) in one long week, sleeping in cabins and motels along the way, I made this trip over many single days. Several factors made this necessary: my guide had a full-time job catching alligators and selling their meat and hides, insects like mosquitoes on the Suwannee can make camping very unpleasant, and the upper reaches of the waterway have no cabins/motels. Days between weekly trips on the river allowed me to read about the forthcoming stretch and visit museums/shops along the way.

So let’s begin our trip. Put on your hat and sunscreen, or your reading glasses and comfortable slippers, and let’s journey down one of the most famous rivers in the world.

1

“Named after songwriter Stephen

Foster, this remote park is a primary

entrance to the famed Okefenokee

Swamp and is one of the most

intriguing areas in Georgia.”

—brochure for the Stephen C. Foster State Park in Georgia

Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in Georgiato Big Shoals in Florida

1

2 Suwannee River Guidebook

The Okefenokee Swamp is where the Suwannee begins. According to Allen Morris’s Florida Place Names the word

“Okefenokee” goes back to Hitchiti oki “water” and Creek fenoke “trembling” or, together, “trembling water,” referring to the movement of the spongy bogs, which seem to undulate when walked on. The Creek Indians also referred to the swamp as ekan “land” and fenoke “trembling” or, together, “trembling land.”

The huge swamp, which covers 438,000 acres in southern Georgia and northern Florida, is in large part protected by being part of the

402,000-acre Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and the Okefenokee Wilderness. The swamp, considered by many to be one of the seven natural wonders of Georgia, formed in the last seven millennia by the growth of peat in the relatively shallow basin. Only Florida’s Everglades

is a larger freshwater swamp in the South. Just how vulnerable such huge uninhabited, inaccessible areas can be became apparent in 2007, when a wildfire—begun with a lightning strike near its center—merged with another fire and burned more than 600,000 acres of southern Georgia, an area nearly the size of Rhode Island.

Readers of Walt Kelly’s “Pogo” strip know the Okefenokee as the place where Pogo Possum and his friends make their home. Kelly might have chosen the

by water from the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge to Big Shoals

The Okefenokee Swamp is the beginning of the Suwannee River.

3Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in Georgia to Big Shoals in Florida

Fargo

WhiteSprings

GEORGIAFLORIDA

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Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge to Big Shoals, by water and by land

OKEFENOKEEWILDLIFE

NATIONALREFUGE

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177

Suwa

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e Rive

r

Suwa

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swamp as his locale because of the land’s inaccessibility, mystique, and distance from civilization. The cypress trees in and near the water—with their broad bases and tapered tops—and the Spanish moss draped over many of the trees all add an otherworldliness to the swamp and river. If boaters venture out early enough in the day, before the sun has a chance to heat up the air, they may see an eerie mist rise from the warm river into the chilly air, lending a ghostly vista to the scene.

4 Suwannee River Guidebook

How that swamp was formed is still not clear. Theories range from its being a lagoon

near the Atlantic Ocean or a depression in the Carolina Bay to its being the result of a meteor shower or even the scouring of the land by millions of fish when the area was part of the ocean bottom. Scientists estimate that the swamp formed more than seven thousand years ago, at a time when Native Americans were living in the southeastern part of the present United States.

The Suwannee River begins in the Okefenokee as small channels and creeks (with names like Alligator, Bay, Cane, Jones) slowly join one another and steadily flow south. A major creek, Suwannoochee, enters the river just below Fargo and increases its flow perceptibly. The St. Marys River, which forms the border between Georgia and Florida, drains about five to ten percent of the swamp, while the Suwannee drains ninety percent of the swamp’s watershed. In the late nineteenth century workers dug the Suwa(n)nee Canal across the swamp in an unsuccessful attempt to drain it. When the digging company went bankrupt, the Hebard family of Philadelphia bought most of the land and ran large cypress logging operations from 1909 to 1927. The train tracks of that company and other logging companies into the 1940s can still be seen throughout the area.

Public entrances or landings into the Okefenokee include the Suwannee Canal Recreation Area in Folkston, Georgia; Kingfisher Landing in Race Pond, Georgia; Stephen C. Foster State Park in Fargo,

An eerie mist arises from the river in the early hours.