Table of Contents
1. Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in Georgia to Big Shoals in Florida
2. Little Shoals to White Springs
3. Woods Ferry to Ellaville
4. Anderson Spring to Troy Spring State Park
5. Branford to the Santa Fe River
6. Little Lake City to Old Town
7. Fanning Springs to Manatee Springs
8. Manatee Springs to Fowler’s Bluff
9. Fowler’s Bluff to the Gulf of Mexico
Conclusion
Appendices
Further Reading
Suwannee River Guidebook
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 where noted.
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 3889
Sarasota, 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
ISBN 978-1-56164-667-8 (e-book)
First Edition
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Design by Giles Hoover, www.gileshoover.com
Printed in the United States of America
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.
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 supervisor 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.
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 beginnings 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 Okefenokee Swamp. There a guide told me that one could put in a small boat at the Suwannee River near
