UF Students Craft a Vision for the Future of Rural Florida

Nestled in Hamilton County, right off of where I-10 and I-75 meet, is White Springs, a town of 800 which is probably best known for hosting the Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park. While Floridians will head over to White Springs during May when the annual folk festival is held there, the town has seen better days. A century ago, the town was home to 14 luxury homes, and more than a few prominent Americans -- including Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft -- vacationed in White Springs, enjoying the warm weather and lovely views of the Suwannee River.

While more than 50,000 people visit the park every year, very few of them spend much time -- or money -- in the town itself. An unusual partnership has been formed that is hoping to change that between town leaders and the University of Florida.

Martha Kohen, a professor of architecture at UFs college of design, construction and planning, had third-year students taking Studio 5 in the fall 2010 semester design an observatory specifically planned for White Springs. With the encouragement of Mayor Helen Miller, the class designed buildings to keep visitors in White Springs, creating models of hotels, convention centers, folk schools and shops to attract visitors.

The models captured the attention of attendees at the Florida Rural Summit held in St. Augustine on Thursday -- and, as Kohen noted, allowed people to see what White Springs could become once again.