Flooding forces temporary cave tour halt at Florida Caverns State Park

Flood conditions on the Chipola River have forced a temporary halt to cave tours at Florida Caverns State Park as well as the temporary closure of much of the park.

The Chipola crested earlier this week at its highest level in years and water covered much of the flood plain area of the park, a major attraction near Marianna, Florida. The latest information from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection indicates that the cave tours, Blue Hole swimming area, campgrounds and Hickory Picnic Area are all closed. The Visitor Center remains open for day use visitors.

To learn more about Florida Caverns State Park, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/floridacaverns.

A number of other Florida State Parks are also completely or partially closed due to flooding, including the popular Suwannee River State Park (completely closed) and Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park (partially closed). Here is the complete list of closings as of today from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection:

Continued state park closures include:

Adams Tract River Camp
C/o Troy Springs State Park
674 N.E. Troy Springs RoadBranford, Florida 32008
*Closed until further notice.

Holton Creek River Camp
C/o Suwannee River State Park
3631 201st Path
Live Oak, Florida 32060
*Closed until further notice.

Dowling Park River Camp
C/o Suwannee River State Park
3631 201st Path
Live Oak, Florida 32060
*Closed until further notice.

Fanning Springs State Park
18020 N.W. Highway 19Fanning Springs, Florida 32693
*Closed to swimming until further notice. The cabins and park remain open for day use visitors.

Madison Blue Springs State Park
8300 N.E. State Road 6Lee, Florida 32059
*Closed until further notice.

Lafayette Blue Springs State Park
799 N.W. Blue Spring RoadMayo, Florida 32066
* Closed until further notice.

Manatee Springs State Park
11650 NW 115th Street
Chiefland, Florida 32626
*The Usher Boat Ramp, swimming and diving are closed until further notice. The park remains open for campers and day use visitors.

Peacock Springs State Park
12087 SW US Highway 27
Ft. White, Florida 32038
*Portions of the park, including swimming and diving, are closed to visitors until further notice.

Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park
U.S 41 North
White Springs, Florida 32096
* Hiking trails and other portions of the park are closed to visitors until further notice.

Suwannee River State Park
3631 201st Path
Live Oak, Florida 32060
*Closed until further notice. Adjacent U.S. 90 bridge is also closed to traffic.

Troy Springs State Park
674 N.E. Troy Springs RoadBranford, Florida 32008
*Closed to swimming and diving until further notice. The park remains open for day use visitors.

Florida Caverns State Park
3345 Caverns Road
Marianna, Florida 32246
*Campground, cave tours and the Blue Hole use area, and hickory picnic area are closed until further notice. The visitor center and is open for day use visitors.

Topsail Hill Preserve State Park
7525 W. Scenic Highway 30A
Santa Rosa Beach, Florida 32459
*The isolated day use area accessed by Topsail Road, off of Highway 98 is closed until further notice. The rest of the park remains open for day use and overnight visitors.

Visitors can contact state parks directly for the most up to date information on park closures, or visit http://www.floridastateparks.org/. For additional information on flood conditions, visit http://www.floridadisaster.org/, or visit http://www.fl511.com/ for traffic updates.

Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park - White Springs, Florida

On the banks of the Suwannee River at White Springs, Florida, stands the Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State park.

A beautiful facility, the park memorializes the life of the 19th century composer that sparked the tourism boom that eventually led to the development of the modern Florida tourism industry and provides a place where visitors can explore the folk life and culture of the Suwannee River Valley.

It is remarkable that Stephen Foster's life and legacy are so intertwined with a state he never visited. He died in 1864 at the young age of 37 with only 37 cents in his pocket, but his songs captured the imagination of millions of people around the world.

Two Stephen Foster songs - Suwannee River and My Old Kentucky Home - are now the official state songs of Florida and Kentucky. Many of his other melodies - Oh! Susannah, Camptown Ladies, Jeannie with the Light Brown Hair and Beautiful Dreamer - are still familiar today.

Foster wrote Suwannee River without ever seeing the river or Florida. In fact, the original lyrics went "Way down upon the Pedee River." The combination didn't give the composer quite the sound he wanted, so he began scanning a map of the South for a better name. He saw the name Suwannee River on the chart and the rest is history.

If you would like to learn more about the Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center, commonly known as the Stephen Foster Memorial, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/stephenfoster.

Suwannee River State Park - Live Oak, Florida

This beautiful and historic state park is nestled along the banks of the picturesque Suwannee River near Live Oak, Florida.

Located within the borders of the park is the site of the lost Florida town of Columbus. A prosperous community during the antebellum area, the town was an important riverboat port and commercial center. At its height it was home to more than 500 people, but not a single building remains today. Only an old cemetery along one of the park's hiking trails has survived.

The park is also the site of a Confederate fort built to protect the railroad bridge over the Suwannee River during the Civil War. Union troops named this bridge as one of their key objectives during their East Florida invasion of 1864, but were soundly defeated by a Southern army at the Battle of Olustee and turned back to Jacksonville without ever approaching their planned target on the Suwannee.

To learn more about Suwannee River State Park, please visit our new page on the park at www.exploresouthernhistory.com/suwannee1.