Looking more like a southern mansion than a museum, the stately columns welcome guests into a grand hall with dioramas depicting scenes from some of Foster's most popular songs. Among the more well known are My Old Kentucky Home, Beautiful Dreamer, Camptown Races, Oh! Susanna, Old Folks at Home and Jeanie With the Light Brown Hair. Also, guests will find exhibits throughout the museum providing a closer look into Foster's life.
Foster was a talented musician and composer, he was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on July 4, 1826, and he actually wrote many of his songs there. He never visited Florida, nor set eyes on the Suwannee River before his tragic death in 1864.
So, how did he end up memorialized in Florida? In 1931, Josiah K. Lilly, the son of Indiana pharmaceutical manufacturer Eli K. Lilly and collector of Stephen Foster's music, wanted to develop a memorial to him. The idea was adopted by the Florida Federation of Music Club and contributions of land in White Springs made the idea possible, and the Stephen Foster Memorial Commission made the idea a reality by administering the development of the park. It opened in 1950.
