Remembering Suwannee: The Suwannee Hotel, Part 1

Eric Musgrove Contributor By 1905, Live Oak was the fifth-largest city in Florida. Several railroads crisscrossed the landscape, meeting in the county seat. Visitors from all around the world traveled to Suwannee County to enjoy the natural beauty of the Suwannee River and tour the manufacturing facilities in town. These visitors needed a place to stay. Although Live Oak had several hotels and boardinghouses that had been around for 20 or 30 years, there was the need for a modern, opulent hotel that would showcase Live Oak’s position as one of the largest cities in the state. A group of 29 businessmen gathered in January of 1907 and petitioned the state to incorporate a business to co