Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park

ABOUT THIS PLACE

This park stands on the Suwannee River at White Springs and honors Stephen Foster, who wrote the song about this river that became Florida's state song. He never set foot in Florida, and picked the name because it fitted the tune. Josiah K. Lilly Sr. proposed the memorial in 1931 and the park opened in 1950. Its centerpiece is the carillon tower. J. C. Deagan built the instrument for the 1939 World's Fair with 75 bells weighing 25 tons, which made it the largest carillon anywhere by number of bells; it was installed here in the summer of 1958 with the count raised to 97, and it plays Foster's songs through the day. An electrical storm damaged it in 2017 and restoration has been under way since. The museum holds dioramas and exhibits built around his songs, with a second museum inside the tower about Foster and the bells. The park covers over 800 acres with a full campground, cabins, an amphitheater, picnic pavilions and a canoe launch, and people hike, cycle, paddle, ride horses and fish here. The Florida Folk Festival is held on the grounds every Memorial Day weekend. It is at 11016 Lillian Saunders Drive, open 8 to sunset