907x 50c + 45p
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This image is of the "Suwannee River,” the title of a timeless tune penned by Stephen Foster in 1851. Here's the kicker: Foster never even laid eyes on the Suwannee River his entire life! Talk about composing a hit from the comfort of your imagination.
Foster and his brother dove into an atlas, looking for the name of a river that would fit the lyrics. They came upon "The Swanee," saying "this little Florida river" that runs down to the Gulf of Mexico would fit the song. However, the Suwannee is no small fry! It begins in the Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia, meandering through North Florida, racking up 246 miles before reaching the Gulf of Mexico.
The image was taken from the Hillman Bridge in Ellaville, Florida (a ghost town); it's a prime example of those robust Pratt metal truss bridges that were popular from the mid-1800s until the end of World War II. And that railroad truss bridge you see spanning the river is the former Pensacola and Georgia Railroad line, now under the CSX banner.
And that little ditty, "Suwannee River," has been Florida's State Song since 1935.
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