Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center

White Springs, Florida sits on the banks of the Suwannee River, and that river owes most of its fame to a man who never visited it. Stephen Foster, the Pittsburgh-born composer, heard the name Suwannee in eighteen fifty-one and used it in his song Old Folks at Home, making it one of the most recognized river names in America. Florida adopted the melody as its official state song in nineteen thirty-five.

The state park and folk culture center here opened in nineteen fifty, the vision of pharmaceutical magnate Josiah Lilly, who wanted the site to honor Foster's memory. The centerpiece is a carillon tower housing ninety-seven bells, billed as the world's largest set of tubular bells. The bells play Foster's melodies throughout the day.

The museum inside has exhibits on Foster and his songs.