The city of Thomasville is the seat of Thomas County, southwest Georgia, with a rich history and eclectic points of interest.
Thomasville was established as a county seat a year after the foundation of Thomas County in 1825.
The historic charm of Thomasville revolves around its plantations, of which there are 71, the largest cluster in all of the county.
Each of these plantations has a unique character and is open to public visits.
The charm and hospitality iconic of the South stand out at Thomasville, which keeps these quaint monikers: T-Ville, The City of Roses, The Rose City, and Beacon Hills.
Take these 15 destinations to discover why Thomasville earned these nicknames.
Judson McCranie, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Peek into the amazing past of Thomasville at the circa 1800s Pebble Hill Plantation listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
A former working farm, this 3,000-acre property was converted into a winter home and quail-hunting plantation.
Judson McCranie, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The plantation is now a museum after its last owner, Elisabeth Ireland Poe, willed that it be opened to the public after her demise.
Today, the Pebble Hill Plantation is the only historic hunting plantation in the Red Hills region straddling Thomasville, Georgia, and Tallahassee, Florida.
Judson McCranie, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Take a self-guided grounds tour of this plantation for a closer look at its stable and cow barn complex, dog hospital, nurse’s station, log cabin school, and many other interesting sites.
A tour guide, on the other hand, will show you the Main House and its prime antiques, Audubon lithographs, and a Sporting Art Gallery for a full appreciation of this plantation.
Judson McCranie, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Take a walk through this beautiful garden and admire its hundreds of fragrant and unique roses.
The Thomasville Rose Garden has over 1,500 rose bushes in full bloom each spring.
The garden excites in its four themed beds—Heroes, Holidays, Love & Cherish, and Famous People—plus two memorial beds and two assorted beds.
Take the entire family to the Thomasville Garden, where there is a picnic area and picnic shelter.
Also pet-friendly, the garden provides free entrance, free parking, and public restrooms.
The garden’s colorful setting is a perfect venue for dating couples, and there is a gazebo in the garden for relaxation and photo opportunities.
Stroll a few steps west of Thomasville Rose Garden for a little getaway at the Cherokee Lake Park.
This park is one of Thomasville’s most scenic recreation spots, thanks to its well-maintained lake and greeneries.
There is a one-mile-long paved and lighted walking path that winds around Cherokee Lake.
If you’re a running buff, your laps around the lake can segue to several exercise stations in the park.
The park also features several sitting areas and piers along the way, offering options for recreational activities.
Fishing and small electric boats are allowed on the lake, and there is a children’s playground in the park as well.
You can choose from several covered picnic spots and grills, restrooms, and a modern playground for the kids.
The park also offers a large, main covered pavilion available for special events.
Drop by this park at your convenience between dawn and dusk; its admission and parking are free.
Draw inspiration from the thousands of artifacts at the Jack Hadley Black History Museum.
This museum was set up as the first Black history museum in Thomasville by African-American historian James “Jack” Hadley in 1995.
It preserves over 4,669 artifacts highlighting Thomasville’s first Black achievers on the state and national levels.
You’ll be amazed at the museum’s exhibits chronicling the years of slavery, the Buffalo Soldiers, Dr. Martin L. King, and other black luminaries.
The museum’s artifacts include documents, books, prints, posters, and photos.
For all these, you’ll visit the former campus of Douglass High School in Thomasville, where the museum is located.
Judson McCranie, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Let your imagination drift to the Victorian era with a visit to the Lapham-Patterson House.
Built in 1885, this historic house is iconic of the creative craftsmanship at play in a Queen Anne-style home.
Marvel at this home’s unusual asymmetric construction with no rectangular or square configuration among its 19 rooms.
Judson McCranie, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Here, you’ll also see a stairway with a cantilevered balcony wrapped around a double flue chimney.
Built with 50 exits, 53 windows, and 24 doors, you’ll discover how this house was designed as easy to flee from, a feature that came out of a phobia of fire.
Avoid straying away from companions in a group tour, though, especially if you’re afraid of ghosts; locals say this house is haunted.
Michael Rivera, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Encounter a rare mix of bikes and beer at the Hubs and Hops in historic Downtown Thomasville.
This unique combo is located on the block of W Remington, where its Bike Shop is located, and W Jackson, where the Tap Room is.
At the Tap Room, you can enjoy craft beer and wine, with live music featured occasionally.
The Cicerone-certified bartenders at Hubs and Hops handpick popular craft beers across the country with a focus on Georgia brews.
The draft beer selection in the Tap Room of Hubs and Hops are often rotated for a wide variety of flavors that can satisfy any palette.
The Bike Shop of Hub and Hops offer bike rentals, thus allowing visitors a convenient and affordable mode of touring Thomasville.
Check out the Farmer’s Daughter Vineyards Tasting Room to sample some of the best locally produced wine.
This Tasting Room is located on Broad Street just a few blocks south of the Big Oak, the historic tree landmark of Downtown Thomasville.
The Farmer’s Daughter Vineyards has its farm winery at Pelham, about a 30-minute drive north of Thomasville.
This third-generation farm grows three French-American hybrid grape varieties and produces eight fruit-forward wines.
At the farm’s Tasting Room in Thomasville, you will get a chance to savor off-dry wines and cider with unexpected complexities and a bright, clean finish.
These wines are hand-crafted using a balance between traditional Old World practices and modern wine-making technology.
You can indulge not only in wine-tasting at Farmer’s Daughter Vineyards Tasting Room in Thomasville but also arrange a tour of its farm winery in Pelham.
You can’t go wrong in choosing The Plaza Restaurant & Oyster Bar for the best traditional Southern cuisine.
This restaurant, after all, is over a century old and holds the record as the longest continuously operating dining destination in Georgia.
Founded in 1916, The Plaza Restaurant & Oyster Bar offers both sit-down and buffet banquets.
The delights that await you here are not just quality food at reasonable pricesbut also exceptional customer service.
Don’t count The Plaza out if you aren’t a seafood fan, as this restaurant also offers hand-cut beef and fried chicken.
Also among the winners in The Plaza’s menu, besides its trademark oysters, are local farm-fresh vegetables and homemade pies from a 50-year old recipe.
You may also try the restaurant’s crème brúlée, New York-style cheesecakes and, Greek baklava for a five-star dining experience.
If you want to play golf minus the hefty private country club fees, proceed to Country Oaks.
The city of Thomasville owns this municipal course located on Highway 22, just four files from the city’s downtown area.
You’re unlikely to miss out on golf rounds at Country Oaks due to bad weather, as the warm climate of the South allows this course playable year-round.
A tee off from its links will take you around greens and fairways with wild azaleas, dogwoods, pines, oaks, and magnolias.
The 160-acre Country Oaks offers a par 72, 18-hole layout that extends to 6,284 yards with a USGA rating of 71.3.
Play in this course can be more forgiving if you choose its family tees with two placements for the novice or junior golfers.
Celebrate with friends in a visit to the 1861 Distillery in Thomasville, which, besides its distilled spirits, also has a kitchen serving lunch and dinner.
This historic distillery is built upon a Southern tradition of liquor manufacturing dating back to the 1800s
The artisan spirits that 1861 Distillery delivers are the product of a slow distilling process using the finest ingredients.
Credit to the superiority of the spirits 1861 Distillery makes also goes the pristine limestone aquifers of Thomasville holding a superior basis of sweet, pure water.
Proceed to the bar of 1861 Distillery and sample its handcrafted bourbon whisky, single malt whiskey, rye whiskey, gin, vodka, and cocktails.
Such sips should surely create an experience so unlike any other in a Thomasville itinerary.
Expect no dull moment in your visit to Thomasville, as you can always drop by the city’s Remington Park Sports Complex.
Many adult and recreation programs are held in this sports hub which is less than 2 kilometers east of Thomasville’s downtown.
The activities in this sprawling sports complex center on its soccer fields, baseball and softball fields, and football/multi-purpose fields.
Other features at this sports hub include three pickleball courts, two tennis courts, a basketball court, a skate park, a playground, and picnic areas.
The complex is run by the Thomasville YMCA, which also has other facilities in its three other facilities in the city, including basketball courts and swimming pools.
The swimming pool at the Francis F. Weston YMCA serves as Thomasville’s community pool and operates from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
Apply with the Georgia Depart of Natural Resources (DNR) for a hunting license, Georgia Lands Pass, or a fishing license.
Having a license from the Georgia DNR opens outdoor adventures at the 2,437-acre River Creek, The Rolf, and Alexandra Kauka Wildlife Management Area (WMA).
Hone your skills with firearms, archery, and primitive weapons when visiting this WMA.
Here you can hunt squirrel, dove, rabbit, deer, waterfowl, quail, and turkey.
Camping is allowed during WMA-managed hunts and special youth hunts.
You can only go fishing, though, during DNR-sponsored events.
Besides hunting and fishing, you can also enjoy wildlife observation in this WMA.
Seek sponsorship from a member of the private Arven Country Club for golfing as a guest in its prestigious and historic golf links.
Glen Arven was founded in 1892, and as one of the oldest clubs in America, it has hosted many prestigious U.S. golf championships.
The country club attractions at Glen Arven rivets around its par72, 18-hole golf course, where the longest play runs 6,903 yards fit for professional PGA Tour players.
Privileged as a guest Glen Arven, you will be treated to gourmet dining at its beautiful clubhouse.
Besides golf, Glen Arven Country Club members and guests also have access to a swimming pool, pickleball facilities, and award-winning tennis courts.
Tour the four galleries of the Thomasville Center for the Arts in its historic building wedged on E Washington and W Jefferson St.
This center boasts an amazing collection of wildlife and sporting art, the works of emerging and seasoned local contemporary artists.
A visit to this art center offers you the chance to catch its rotating exhibits and rolling educational programs for young, aspiring artists.
Take your kids to inspire their creative minds in the interactive youth studio on the ground floor of the Thomasville Center for the Arts.
You can likewise check out schedules at the 480-seat theatre of this center for cultural shows highlighting Southern talents.
Be sure to stop by The Gift Shop when visiting Downtown Thomasville to hunt for presents and souvenirs of your visit to the city.
You won’t miss this downtown with its striking ornate façade overlooking Broad St.
Operating since the 1920s, The Gift Shop takes pride in having drawn The Duchess of Windsor as one of its celebrity customers in the past.
The Gift Shop ably fills the Thomasville tradition of offering exceptionally fine gifts like elegant home décor, accessories, and fine art originals and prints.
Wind up your tour of Thomasville with a stop at The Gift Shop, where the small-town personalized service will be part of the experience to remember.
Thomasville, Georgia, offers something for everyone that makes this city an exciting place to visit for the entire family.
Trips to this city can already be satisfying to family and friends together, enjoying museum tours interspersed with quiet walks and picnics in Thomasville’s parks.
The tempo in exploring can level up to adult activities centered on Thomasville’s lively restaurants and watering holes.
The adrenaline can even pump some more in pursuing sports and outdoor activities that the city also generously offers.
To fully enjoy the delights of Thomasville, everything must be well-planned from the very beginning.
Create a well-planned itinerary and consult in advance the family or friends you’re bringing along on what they think is their best bet on the things to do in Thomasville, Georgia.
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