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Fun Facts About Thomasville (Founded 1825)

  
 
*  Joanne Woodward, Oscar-winning actress and ...
a wife of actor Paul Newman made her acting debut on the old East Side School (now the Thomasville Cultural Center).
* Thomasville native Lt. Henry O. Flipper was the
A.  first black graduate of West Point in 1877. He is buried in Thomasville in The Old Cemetery next to his mother and father. A Georgia State Marker defines his gravesite.
* The oldest perimeter road in the United States is
A.  Pinetree Boulevard. It was established as a “country drive” for visiting Northerners who wintered in Thomasville. It is situated 2.5 miles from the center of town.
* Several famous and wealthy people are
A.  connected to Thomasville – including the Vanderbilts, the Goodyears, the Rockefellers, and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.
* Jacqueline Kennedy chose to stay on a
A.  Thomasville plantation following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in November of 1963. Arriving in February 1964, she was the guest of Mrs. John Hay Whitney of Greenwood Plantation for three days. She attended mass at the local Catholic Church (now All Saints Episcopal, c. 1881). Her photo was taken as she exited the church and made the AP wire service. All Saints was moved to 443 S. Hansell Street.
* There are 71 plantations in and around Thomas
A.  County. It is the largest concentration of its kind in the United States. The plantations cover some 300,000 acres, and are mostly owned by family descendants. Only one is open for touring – Pebble Hill Plantation.
* Several presidents loved Thomasville for varying
A.  reasons. William McKinley was introduced to southern Republican leaders in the sunroom in the Hanna-McKinley House (c.1883) during his 1895 bid for the presidency. He returned as president in 1899. The First United Methodist Church, at 425 Broad Street, was refurbished in preparation for his visit.  Dwight Eisenhower teed up numerous times at the Glen Arven Country Club. He and Jimmy Carter both enjoyed hunting on local plantations.
* Thomasville is home to the Big Oak (c.1680), a
A. massive and majestic tree with a limb span of 162 feet. Its age and beauty make it a living treasure of our city’s heritage. The Big Oak is located on the corner of Monroe and Crawford Street.
* Thomasville is one of the first Main Street cities in
A.  the state of Georgia. In 1998, Thomasville received the Great American Main Street award.
* Thomasville’s oldest mercantile is Jerger-Johnson
A.  Jewelers, established in 1857. Its current location at 130 S. Broad Street was built in 1881, and still contains the original cabinets and old safe. The cherry wood cabinets were custom-made in Cincinnati for the store’s grand opening.
* Thomasville is a member of Tree City, USA,
A.  Main Street, Keep America Beautiful, and a Bird Sanctuary.
* Thomasville is home to five Miss Georgia
A.  pageants, and one National Junior Miss.
* The Miss Thomasville pageant is the oldest Miss
A.  America preliminary in the state of Georgia (1952) and is second only to the Miss Georgia pageant in scholarship money.
* The Lapham-Patterson House (c.1885) is a National
A.  Historic Landmark, and has no square rooms or right angles. It is three stories tall, has 19 rooms, 45 doors and was built for the enormous sum of $4,500. It has a rare, cantilevered, double-flue walk-through chimney in the main dining room. The house is located on Dawson Street, and is open to the public for tours.
* Thomasville Landmarks Inc. is one of the oldest and
A.  most active preservation organizations of its kind in the nation.  Its purpose is the preservation of our city's heritage (i.e., old trees, parks, buildings, or historic roadways).
* WPAX Radio Station (c.1920) is the third oldest
A. station in Georgia and the 20th oldest station in the nation. The original broadcasting range reached as far away as Australia (being no other signal interference at the time). Franklin D. Roosevelt used one of the station’s sound systems for a campaign speech from Warm Springs, Georgia. He wrote a thank-you letter to the station for the superb quality of the system.
* The old wrought iron fence surrounding The Old Cemetery
A.  on N. Madison St. once encircled the Thomas County Courthouse.  Its original purpose was not to keep things IN, but to keep things OUT of the yard.  It was going to be discarded, but a bond of local women saved it and had it placed around The Old Cemetery.
* Thomas County and its neighbors are located in the
A.  coastal plains region of Georgia. The soil in the area is some of the most fertile in the world. During the Civil War, it served as the breadbasket of the Confederacy, and is still highly agricultural today.
* The State Farmers Market (c.1930), located at Smith
A.  Avenue and Hansell Street, is the second largest fresh-produce market in the southeast.
* Near the end of the Civil War, Sherman's march through
A.  Georgia concerned keepers at Andersonville Prison.  Five thousand Yankee prisoners were relocated to Thomasville for about two weeks until the threat passed.  The prisoners were treated so well here that following the War, some brought their families back here to live.
* The Thomasville Cultural Center (c. 1915) is housed in a
A.  renovated school building.  Built originally with tax money as a public school,, it was saved from the wrecking ball by some 3.3 million dollars of PRIVATE funds.
* Thomas County is hometown to nine players in the
A. National Football League, and the county has been dubbed the “Gridiron Breeding Ground.” In the 1990s, Thomas County Central High School won five state championships.  
* Thomas County is home to 1994 Heisman Trophy Winner
A. Charlie Ward, Jr.  There is a street named in his honor that runs adjacent to the campus of his Alma Mater, Thomas County Central High School.  Charlie Ward's Heisman Trophy is on display at the Thomas County Public Library located at 201 N. Madison St.                                                                                         
 
       
 
 
                 
 
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