Suwannee River

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Template:Short description Script error: No such module "about". Template:Use American English Script error: No such module "Unsubst". Script error: No such module "Infobox".Template:Template otherScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". The Suwannee River (also spelled Suwanee River or Swanee River) is a river that runs through south Georgia southward into Florida in the Southern United States. It is a wild blackwater river, about Script error: No such module "convert". long.[1] The Suwannee River is the site of the prehistoric Suwanee Straits that separated the Florida peninsula from the Florida panhandle and the rest of the continent. Spelled as "Swanee", it is the namesake of two famous songs: Stephen Foster's "Swanee River" (1851) and George Gershwin and Irving Caesar's "Swanee" (1919).

Geography

The headwaters of the Suwannee River are in the Okefenokee Swamp in the town of Fargo, Georgia. The river runs southwestward into the Florida Panhandle, then drops in elevation through limestone layers into a rare Florida whitewater rapid. Past the rapid, the Suwanee turns west near the town of White Springs, Florida, then connects to the confluences of the Alapaha River and Withlacoochee River.

The confluences of these three rivers form the southern borderline of Hamilton County, Florida. The Suwanee then bends southward near the town of Ellaville, followed by Luraville, then joins together with the Santa Fe River from the east, south of the town of Branford.

The river ends and drains into the Gulf of Mexico on the outskirts of Suwannee.

Etymology

The Spanish recorded the native Timucua name of Guacara for the river that would later become known as the Suwannee. Different etymologies have been suggested for the modern name.

  • San Juan: D.G. Brinton first suggested in his 1859 Notes on the Floridian Peninsula that Suwannee was a corruption of the Spanish San Juan.[2] This theory is supported by Jerald Milanich, who states that "Suwannee" developed through "San Juan-ee" from the 17th century Spanish mission of San Juan de Guacara, located on the Suwannee River.[3]
  • Shawnee: The migrations of the Shawnee (Shawnee: Shaawanwaki; Muscogee: Sawanoke) throughout the South have also been connected to the name Suwannee. As early as 1820, the Indian agent John Johnson said "the 'Suwaney' river was doubtless named after the Shawanoese [Shawnee], Suwaney being a corruption of Shawanoese."[4] However, the primary southern Shawnee settlements were along the Savannah River, with only the village of Ephippeck on the Apalachicola River being securely identified in Florida, casting doubt on this etymology.
  • "Echo": In 1884, Albert S. Gatschet claimed that Suwannee derives from the Creek word sawani, meaning "echo", rejecting the earlier Shawnee theory.[5] Stephen Boyd's 1885 Indian Local Names with their Interpretation [6] and Henry Gannett's 1905 work The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States repeat this interpretation, calling sawani an "Indian word" for "echo river".[7] Gatschet's etymology also survives in more recent publications, often mistaking the language of translation. For example, a University of South Florida website states that the "Timucuan Indian word Suwani means Echo River ... River of Reeds, Deep Water, or Crooked Black Water".[8] In 2004, William Bright repeats it again, now attributing the name "Suwanee" to a Cherokee village of Sawani, which is unlikely as the Cherokee never lived in Florida or south Georgia.[9] This etymology is now considered doubtful: 2004's A Dictionary of Creek Muscogee does not include the river as a place-name derived from Muscogee, and also lacks entries for "echo" and for words such as svwane, sawane, or svwvne, which would correspond to the anglicization "Suwannee".[10]
  • "Kikongo language": According to Larry Eugene Rivers, the name Suwanee could be derived from the Bantu word nsubwanyi, translating to “my house, my home” among the Black Seminoles in Florida who spoke an Afro-Seminole Creole and established settlements along the Suwanee river.[11][12]

History

File:Lois Duncan Steinmetz gazing at the Suwannee River (8670981193).jpg
The Suwannee River seen near Fanning Springs in 1949

The Suwannee River area has been inhabited by humans for thousands of years. During the first millennium it was inhabited by the people of the Weedon Island culture, and around the year 900 a derivative local culture known as the Suwanee River Valley culture developed.

By the 16th century, the river was inhabited by two closely related Timucua-speaking peoples: the Yustaga, who lived on the west side of the river; and the Northern Utina, who lived on the east side.[13] By 1633, the Spanish had established the missions of San Juan de Guacara, San Francisco de Chuaquin, and San Augustin de Urihica along the Suwannee to convert these western Timucua peoples.[14]

In the 18th century, Seminoles and lived by the river. During the colonial period into the antebellum era, Black Seminoles lived near the river and allied with the Seminoles during times of war.[15]

The steamboat Madison operated on the river before the Civil War, and the sulphur springs at White Springs became popular as a health resort, with 14 hotels in operation in the late 19th century.

"Swanee River"

The Suwanee (given as "Swanee") is the locale of the protagonist's longed-for home in two famous songs: Stephen Foster's 1851 "Old Folks at Home", which is commonly called by its first line ("Way down upon the Swanee River") or just "Swanee River",[16] and George Gershwin's 1919 song "Swanee" (partly inspired by Foster's song)[17] made a #1 hit by Al Jolson.[18]

The river thus being internationally famous much beyond other rivers of its size and importance, the Suwanee is presumably the referent in the idiom "go down the swanny" (a variation of "go down the river"), meaning "finished, used up, gone to hell".[19]

"Swanee whistle", another name for slide whistle, is also probably based on "swanee" as a variant spelling of "Suwanee".[20]

Ecology and biota

The Suwannee River is a diverse and rich ecological space, hosting varied aquatic and wetland habitats. It is home to a large number of temperate and subtropical species, including unique and endangered ones.[21] The Suwannee alligator snapping turtle, described scientifically only in 2014,[22] is endemic to the Suwannee river basin.

Recreation

File:Thelma Boltin and the Bryant children fishing along the Suwannee River (7979258047).jpg
Children fishing on the Suwannnee River, 1957

According to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, "The Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge is unlike other refuges in that it was not established for the protection of a specific species, but in order to protect the high water quality of the historic Suwannee River."[23]

The Suwannee River Wilderness Trail is "a connected web of Florida State Parks, preserves and wilderness areas" that stretches more than 170 miles (274 kilometers), from Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park to the Gulf of Mexico.[24]

The Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge offers bird and wildlife observation,[25] wildlife photography, fishing, canoeing, hunting, and interpretive walks.[26] Facilities include foot trails, boardwalks, paddling trails, wildlife drives, archaeological sites, observation decks and fishing piers.[23]

Crossings

Image Crossing Carries Location Opened Closed ID number Coordinates

Georgia

Suwannee River Sill Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge Script error: No such module "Coordinates".
Norfolk Southern Railway
(Former Atlantic, Valdosta and Western Railway line) 		Fargo Script error: No such module "Coordinates".
Script error: No such module "Jct". Edith to Fargo 1952 Script error: No such module "Coordinates".

Florida

Turner Bridge (defunct) Northeast 38th Trail Cypress Creek Conservation Area late 1950s Script error: No such module "Coordinates".
File:Rt-6 Bridge Hamilton-Co-FL.JPG Script error: No such module "Jct". Bay Creek Conservation Area 1951 290027 Script error: No such module "Coordinates".
Cone Bridge (defunct) Cone Bridge Road late 1960s Script error: No such module "Coordinates".
Godwin Bridge (defunct) Godwin Bridge Road late 1950s Script error: No such module "Coordinates".
File:FL US 41 Suwannee River RR bridge west02.jpg Norfolk Southern Railway
(Former Georgia Southern and Florida Railway line) 		White Springs Script error: No such module "Coordinates".
File:FL US 41 Suwannee River bridge east01.jpg Ed Scott Bridge Script error: No such module "Jct". White Springs 1980 290083 Script error: No such module "Coordinates".
File:White Springs FL SR 136 bridge02.jpg J. Graham Black-Joseph W. McAlpin Bridge Script error: No such module "Jct". White Springs 1954 290030 Script error: No such module "Coordinates".
Script error: No such module "Jct". 1962, 1997 Script error: No such module "Coordinates".
File:Suwannee Springs Bridge.jpg Suwannee Springs Bridge (closed) Former US 129 Suwannee Springs 1931 1974 Script error: No such module "Coordinates".
Old Suwanee Springs Bridge (defunct) 91st Drive Suwannee Springs 1930s Script error: No such module "Coordinates".
File:FL US 129 Suwannee River bridge north01.jpg Script error: No such module "Jct". Suwannee Springs, Florida 1971 320019 Script error: No such module "Coordinates".
Former Savannah, Florida & Western Railway line (ACL, SBD, CSXT) 186? 1988 Script error: No such module "Coordinates".
File:FL CR 249 Suwannee River bridge05.jpg Nobels Ferry Bridge Script error: No such module "Jct". 1984 320052 Script error: No such module "Coordinates".
Old Nobels Ferry Bridge (defunct) Script error: No such module "Coordinates".
File:Ellaville FL Suwannee River RR bridge03.jpg CSX Transportation
(Former Pensacola and Georgia Railroad line) 		Ellaville Script error: No such module "Coordinates".
File:Ellaville FL US 90 Hillman bridge north03.jpg Hillman Bridge (closed) Former US 90 Ellaville 1926 1986 Script error: No such module "Coordinates".
File:Ellaville FL US 90 bridge west01.jpg Script error: No such module "Jct". Ellaville 1986 350062 Script error: No such module "Coordinates".
Script error: No such module "Jct". Suwannee River State Park 1971 Script error: No such module "Coordinates".
File:Dowling Park FL CR 250 bridge west under01.jpg Script error: No such module "Jct". Dowling Park 1955 370018 Script error: No such module "Coordinates".
File:Dowling Park FL Suwannee River other bridge south03.jpg Former Live Oak, Perry and Gulf Railroad line Dowling Park 1957 1977 Script error: No such module "Coordinates".
File:Luraville FL Hal Adams bridge north01.jpg Hal W. Adams Bridge Script error: No such module "Jct". Luraville 1947 330009 Script error: No such module "Coordinates".
File:Drew Bridge on the Suwannee River.jpg Drew Bridge (closed) Former Suwannee & San Pedro Railroad line Mayo 1901 1920 Script error: No such module "Coordinates".
File:Branford FL Frank Norris Bridge01.jpg Frank R. Norris Bridge Script error: No such module "Jct". Branford 1989 Script error: No such module "Coordinates".
File:Bell Cannon Bridge01.jpg W. O. Cannon - D. W. McCollister Bridge Script error: No such module "Jct". 1965 310002 Script error: No such module "Coordinates".
File:Old Town Nature Coast Trail SP bridge03.jpg Nature Coast State Trail
(Former CSX Transportation line) 		Old Town 1907-1909 Script error: No such module "Coordinates".
File:Fanning Springs Park Suwannee03.jpg Joe H. Anderson Sr. Bridge Script error: No such module "Jct". Fanning Springs 1963 300031, 300061 Script error: No such module "Coordinates".

See also

Notes

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  1. ↑ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed April 18, 2011
  2. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  3. ↑ Milanich:12-13
  4. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  5. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  6. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  7. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  8. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  9. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  10. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  11. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  12. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  13. ↑ Worth vol. I, pp. 28–29.
  14. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  15. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  16. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  17. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  18. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  19. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  20. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  21. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  22. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  23. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  24. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  25. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  26. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".

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References

  • Milanich, Jerald T. (2006). Laboring in the Fields of the Lord: Spanish Missions and Southeastern Indians. University Press of Florida. Template:ISBN
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External links

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Further reading

  • Light, H.M., et al. (2002). Hydrology, vegetation, and soils of riverine and tidal floodplain forests of the lower Suwannee River, Florida, and potential impacts of flow reductions [U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1656A]. Denver: U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey.

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