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Suwannee River with mist over the water and banks lined with bald cypress trees.

Welcome to Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park

Situated on the banks of the legendary Suwannee River, this center honors the memory of American composer Stephen Foster, who wrote "Old Folks at Home," the song that made the river famous. The museum features exhibits about Foster's most famous songs and his music can be heard emanating from the park's 97-bell carillon throughout the day. In Craft Square, visitors can watch demonstrations of quilting, blacksmithing, stain glass making, and other crafts, or visit the gift shop. Hiking, bicycling, canoeing, and wildlife viewing are popular activities. Miles of trails wind through some of the most scenic areas of North Florida. For overnight stays, visitors can camp in the full-facility campground or stay in a cabin. Every Memorial Day weekend (last weekend in May), the park hosts the Florida Folk Festival. Other special events include concerts, weekend retreats, a monthly coffeehouse, a regional quilt show, and an antique tractor show. Located in White Springs off U.S. 41 North.

Contact the Florida Park Service Information Center for general inquiries.
For Information about Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park, please call 386-397-2733.

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Hours of Operation

Museum, Tower and Gift Shop are open from 9:00 A.M. until 5:00 P.M. daily.

Driving Directions

Located on U.S. 41 in White Springs. From I-75 to S.R. 136 (Milepost Exit 439 - Old Exit 84), travel east on S.R. 136 for 3 miles. Turn left on U.S. 41. Park entrance is on the left. From I-10 to U.S. 41 North (Milepost Exit 301 - Old Exit 43), travel 9 miles to White Springs. Park entrance is on the left.


Park Fees

Admission Fee - $4.00 per vehicle (limit 8 people per vehicle).
Single Car Occupant - $3.00
Motorcycle Fee (one or two persons) - $3.00 Pedestrians, bicyclists, extra passengers, each passenger in vehicle with a holder of an Annual Individual Entrance permit - Admission fee is $1.00

Cabin Fee - $90.00 per night.

Camping Fee - $16.00 per night per campsite.

Organized Youth and Adult Group Camping - $1.00 per youth. $2.00 per adult/chaperon.

Nelly Bly's Kitchen - $60.00 per day.

Auditorium - $60.00 per day.

Food Shelter - $30.00 per day.

Activities at Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park

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Bicycling

Both on-road and off-road trails wind through a beautiful countryside in the Suwannee River Valley. Trails are available to meet or challenge a range of riding skills levels for the entire family. The Suwannee Bicycle Association hosts a Fat-Tire Festival in White Springs in the autumn and weekend rides throughout the year. The town of White Springs has accommodated bicyclists with marked riding lanes through town along Highway 41. A variety of trail challenges is an easy ride away at Big Shoals Public Lands where 33 miles of trails take riders through thirteen natural communities.

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Cabins

Conserve water and energy…
… and help us save nature’s resources while vacationing in a beautiful Florida State Park cabin.

Florida state parks will begin a new initiative for cabin guests on
July 1, 2009, which will save water, detergent, electricity and related costs. Florida state parks will no longer supply bedroom, bathroom or kitchen linens for cabin or yurt stays, including sheets, blankets, pillowcases, mattress pads, bed covers, towels (bath towels, hand towels, face towels, or dish towels), or bathmats. When making reservations, available beds and bed sizes may be found by looking online at the Site Type details pages for the cabins.

Each of our five riverside cabins can accommodate a maximum of 6 people. These spacious two-bedroom cabins have centralized heating and cooling, a gas fireplace, screened-in porch, and kitchenette. They are fully equipped with linens and kitchen utensils. One of the cabins is ADA accessible. Cabin rates are $90.00 per night. Pets are not permitted in the cabins or cabin area. No minimum or maximum stay is required. Cabin Reservations can be made up to 11 months in advance through Visit Reserve America's website to Reserve your Cabin or Campsite
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Canoeing & Kayaking

For about six months a year water levels in the Suwannee make the river accessible only by canoe. In the springtime wild azaleas crowd the ridgeline above the river. During periods of low water flow, limestone outcroppings, small caves, rock formations and overhangs can be enjoyed along the river course. Alligators and turtles can be viewed in their natural habitats. Canoeing also affords visitors excellent fishing opportunities. Canoe liveries are available locally.

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Fishing

Fresh water fish are plentiful, especially when traveling the river by canoe. Large-mouth bass, black crappie, known locally as speckled perch, channel catfish, and many types of sunfish and bream are swimming and breeding in the waters year-round. A fishing license is required.
Do you need a Fishing License?

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Full Facility Camping

The newly renovated campground offers 45 oak-shaded sites with electricity available and state-of-the-art bathhouses. Pets are also welcome at Stephen Foster campground. Reservations are accepted up to one year in advance by calling 1-866 I CAMP FL (1-866-422-6735) or 1-800-326-3521. The fee for Camping is $16.00 per night per campsite

Official Universal Symbol of Accessibility ADA restrooms are located at the two campground bathouses.

Visit Reserve America's website to Reserve your Cabin or Campsite
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Horse Trails

We have multi-use trails in the Carter Camp trail that make up about a four-mile course that can be used for horseback riding. Proof of negative Coggins test is required.

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Nature Trails

Carter Camp Trail is a multi-use trail for hiking, bicycling, and horseback riding. The four-mile trail winds through piney flatwoods and along a river flood plain hammock. Alongside the Suwannee River visitors can see limestone outcroppings and rock formations. Gopher tortoise, box turtles, alligators, white-tailed deer, wood ducks and many bird species are companions along the forested trail. A portion of the trail is designated as part of the Florida Scenic Trail, which travels approximately 100 miles through north central Florida. Maps of trails are available in the local community. Proof of a negative Coggins test is required for horseback riding.

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Pet Camping

Pet camping is available in our campground. Florida law requires that pets be vaccinated against rabies. Pets must be confined, leashed, or otherwise under the physical control of a person at all times. Leashes must be hand-held and may not exceed six feet in length. Pets must be well-behaved at all times and must be confined in the owner's camping unit during designated quiet hours (11:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m.). Unconfined pets must be leashed and cannot be left unattended for more than thirty minutes. Pet owners are required to pick up after their pets and properly dispose of all pet droppings in trash receptacles. Pets considered a nuisance are not allowed to remain in the park.

Visit Reserve America's website to Reserve your Cabin or Campsite
Pets Icon

Pets

Well-behaved dogs are welcome at Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park. They must be kept on a 6-foot leash at all times and can not be left unattended for more than a half-hour. Dogs are not permitted in our buildings or cabins and may not be allowed at some special events. If you are planning to bring your pet to a special event, please call the park in advance to confirm pet access.

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Picnicking

Picnic tables are located throughout the park, in tall pine groves and beneath shaded oaks. Tables are available near the carillon, at the childrens playground, near the museum, and Nelly Bly's Kitchen. Each campsite in the park also has a picnic table.

Official Universal Symbol of Accessibility ADA accessible restrooms are located at Nelly Bly's Kitchen, Cousin Thelma C. Boltin Gift Shop and the two campground bathhouses.
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RV's

The campground at Stephen Foster State Park has 45 oak-shaded sites, all of which will accommodate RV camping. Fourteen of the sites are pull-through sites for larger rigs. Three of the sites have 50 AMP electrical hookups and the remainder have 30 AMP hookups. All of the sites have an in-ground fire ring, potable water, and a picnic table. The campground features two state-of-the-art bathhouses and a washer and dryer. The dump station is located at the campground entrance.

Visit Reserve America's website to Reserve your Cabin or Campsite
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Wildlife Viewing

Wildlife viewing is possible at this park

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Youth camping

Youth Group camping is available

Special Events for Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park


Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park Ranger Programs


Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park History

In 1931 Josiah K. Lilly, an Indiana pharmaceutical manufacturer, suggested that Florida create a memorial to the American composer Stephen Foster, whose lyrics had made the Suwannee River famous around the world. The Florida Federation of Music Clubs worked with local citizens in White Springs to obtain land contributions that were then presented to the state. In 1950 the Stephen Foster Memorial Commission was set up to administer development of the park. Shortly thereafter the Florida Folk Festival was established to highlight the state’s cultural history and traditions. In 1979 the memorial became a part of the Florida Park Service and now carries the name of the Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park. In 2002, the Florida Folk Festival will celebrate its 50th year anniversary.

Stephen Foster
Stephen Collins Foster was born outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on July 4, 1826. He showed early promise as a musician and in a life span of only 37 years, Foster became America’s first professional songwriter. Altogether he wrote more than 200 songs with tunes and lyrics that captured the heart and spirit of the nation at a critical point in its history.

While he wrote songs for both the minstrel show and the family parlor, Foster blended musical styles throughout his career. The songs of immigrants from Germany, Italy, Africa and the British Isles influenced his work. He incorporated elements of religious hymns, ballads, opera and popular songs into his compositions. The popularity and endurance of his compositions are due in part to Foster’s ability to write tunes that were in some way familiar to everyone.

Influenced by the anti-slavery activism of his contemporaries in Pittsburgh in the mid 1800s, Foster considered it his mission to reform the stereotypical images of African Americans in minstrel shows. Some of his best-known songs are written from the viewpoint of slaves who express common themes in human experience, including the importance of family, personal freedom, and the right to an honorable life.

Foster’s music has continued to influence the nation’s music and history for the past 150 years. “Oh! Susanna” became wildly popular with the men who followed the California gold rush. “Camptown Races” and “Old Black Joe” have alternately been heralded and reviled as emblems of America’s struggle for racial equality. “Beautiful Dreamer” and “Jeanie With The Light Brown Hair” are sentimental ballads with lasting lyrical beauty. Two of his compositions, “My Old Kentucky Home” and “Old Folks at Home” became state songs in the 20th century, long after Foster’s death. (Credit for this analysis of Foster’s music belongs to Steven Saunders and Deane L. Root, who authored, “The Music of Stephen C. Foster, Vols. I & II.” Smithsonian Institution Press. 1990.) For more information on Stephen Foster, visit our Favorite Links page.

While writing “Old Folks at Home,” Foster had difficulty finding the right word to complete a verse joining his image of a beautiful river and longings for family and home. Legend holds that his brother suggested the Suwannee River after consulting a world atlas. The word fit and “Way down upon the Suwannee River,” was on its way to becoming imprinted in the national memory. Foster never visited Florida and he never saw the Suwannee River. For those who know the tannic waters and white limestone banks of the Suwannee, the song is a fitting tribute to their own sense of home.

White Springs
The Suwannee River has its headwaters in the Okefenokee Swamp of southeastern Georgia. It travels a southwestern course for about 250 miles before it empties into the Gulf of Mexico. East of White Springs, the river’s limestone outcroppings and a drop in elevation create Florida’s only whitewater rapids at Big Shoals. Opportunities abound for fishing, canoeing, kayaking and camping along the Suwannee River.

White Sulphur Springs, located on the banks of the Suwannee River at the Stephen Foster Center, can be dated at least to the 1700s. Native Americans regarded the sulphur springs as sacred ground because of its curative powers.

White European settlers did not establish substantial populations in the area until after the Civil War. In the late 1800s, they began promoting the springs as a health resort, advertising the sulphuric waters as a cure for almost any ailment.

In 1906 the spring was enclosed with gates and a high concrete wall to keep the river out. Buildings on either side of the spring contained shops, dressing rooms, and clinical examination rooms. Among the resort’s many famous visitors were Henry Ford and Teddy Roosevelt. The spring house continued to attract visitors as late as the 1950s. Today the original concrete wall and gate still exist. White Springs retains its cultural heritage as a tourist destination spot.

Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park Volunteer Information


Volunteers can do many things -- greet visitors, conduct tours, help rangers remove exotic plants or maintain the natural beauty of a beach, waterway or trail.

Letter from Volunteer David Dickel
Thank you very much for your help in letting me participate in the 50th Folk Festival. I would definitely like to forward to all of the DEP people involved my absolutely sincerest congratulations. The festival was the best ever, and certainly nothing speaks more for Dip's hard work and excellent organization that everything ran so well. I was asked before I left that Monday if I had any suggestions for improvement for next year, and the only one I have is so minor I hesitate to mention it - but for what it is worth: There were few of those little wire cages for recycled glass and aluminum, or they were not conveniently placed/labeled if there were more than I realize. I roamed a lot from area to area during the day because my hitch was at night, and I would see three or four garbage cans before I would see a recycle cage to get rid of my pop bottle. My only suggestion would be to see if we could get a few more of those [recycling bins]. I think people want to recycle but if they see general trash [receptacles] first and no recycle bin nearby, they get lazy and dump bottles/cans into the general trash. Anyhow, of the whole three days and nights, that is the only suggestion that comes to mind. Again, please extend my thanks to absolutely everyone involved, and I hope to see you in White Springs next year.
Letter from Volunteer Larry Ellis
I want to thank you for the nice letter and say what a pleasure it was to volunteer at the Florida Folk Festival this year. I have attended the FFF since the early 70's and volunteered for over 15 years. It is an honor to work with you and the DEP to help the FFF 50th celebration be such a grand success. Thank you for allowing me to be part of such a spectacular team.

Visit the Main Volunteer page for information on volunteering in Florida State Parks

Visit the Main Volunteer page at http://www.floridastateparks.org/volunteers/default.cfm for more detailed Information


Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park

Post Office Drawer G
White Springs, Florida 32096
Phone: 386-397-2733
Fax: Contact Park for Number


Citizen Support Organization

Stephen Foster Citizen Support Organization
P.O. Box 666
White Springs, Florida 32096

Visitor Service Provider

Kelli Pipkins, Concession Manager
Post Office Drawer G
White Springs, FL 32096
(386) 397-2733

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