City in Georgia, United States
Thomasville
is the
county seat
of
Thomas County, Georgia
, United States. The population was 18,881 in 2020.
The city deems itself the "City of Roses" and holds an annual Rose Festival. The city features plantations open to the public, a historic downtown, a large farmer's market, and
an oak tree from about 1680
at the corner of Monroe and Crawford streets.
[4]
History
[
edit
]
Thomasville was founded in 1825 as seat of the newly formed Thomas County. It was incorporated as a town in 1831 and as a city in 1889. The community was named for
Jett Thomas
, a general in the
War of 1812
.
[5]
Geography
[
edit
]
According to the
United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 14.9 square miles (39 km
2
), of which 14.9 square miles (39 km
2
) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km
2
) (0.40%) is water. It is the second largest city in
Southwest Georgia
after
Albany
. The city has three U.S. Routes:
19
,
84
and
319
. It is located 34 miles northeast of
Tallahassee, Florida
, 28 miles southwest of
Moultrie
, 43 miles west of
Valdosta
, 95 miles east of
Dothan, Alabama
, 59 miles south of
Albany
and 22 miles north of
Monticello, Florida
.
Climate
[
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]
The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the
Koppen Climate Classification
system, Thomasville has a
humid subtropical climate
, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.
[6]
Climate data for Thomasville, Georgia
|
Month
|
Jan
|
Feb
|
Mar
|
Apr
|
May
|
Jun
|
Jul
|
Aug
|
Sep
|
Oct
|
Nov
|
Dec
|
Year
|
Record high °F (°C)
|
86
(30)
|
86
(30)
|
96
(36)
|
96
(36)
|
102
(39)
|
104
(40)
|
106
(41)
|
104
(40)
|
106
(41)
|
97
(36)
|
89
(32)
|
85
(29)
|
106
(41)
|
Mean daily maximum °F (°C)
|
63
(17)
|
68
(20)
|
73
(23)
|
79
(26)
|
86
(30)
|
90
(32)
|
92
(33)
|
91
(33)
|
87
(31)
|
81
(27)
|
73
(23)
|
65
(18)
|
79
(26)
|
Mean daily minimum °F (°C)
|
39
(4)
|
42
(6)
|
47
(8)
|
53
(12)
|
61
(16)
|
69
(21)
|
71
(22)
|
71
(22)
|
67
(19)
|
57
(14)
|
49
(9)
|
41
(5)
|
56
(13)
|
Record low °F (°C)
|
5
(?15)
|
11
(?12)
|
19
(?7)
|
30
(?1)
|
41
(5)
|
48
(9)
|
56
(13)
|
53
(12)
|
37
(3)
|
26
(?3)
|
11
(?12)
|
8
(?13)
|
5
(?15)
|
Average
precipitation
inches (mm)
|
4.80
(122)
|
4.88
(124)
|
5.67
(144)
|
3.08
(78)
|
3.00
(76)
|
5.84
(148)
|
5.68
(144)
|
5.72
(145)
|
4.52
(115)
|
3.02
(77)
|
3.44
(87)
|
3.65
(93)
|
53.3
(1,353)
|
Source: The Weather Channel
[7]
|
Demographics
[
edit
]
Historical population
Census
| Pop.
| Note
| %±
|
1870
| 1,651
| | ?
|
---|
1880
| 2,555
| | 54.8%
|
---|
1890
| 5,514
| | 115.8%
|
---|
1900
| 5,322
| | ?3.5%
|
---|
1910
| 6,727
| | 26.4%
|
---|
1920
| 8,196
| | 21.8%
|
---|
1930
| 11,733
| | 43.2%
|
---|
1940
| 12,683
| | 8.1%
|
---|
1950
| 14,424
| | 13.7%
|
---|
1960
| 18,246
| | 26.5%
|
---|
1970
| 18,155
| | ?0.5%
|
---|
1980
| 18,463
| | 1.7%
|
---|
1990
| 17,457
| | ?5.4%
|
---|
2000
| 18,162
| | 4.0%
|
---|
2010
| 18,413
| | 1.4%
|
---|
2020
| 18,881
| | 2.5%
|
---|
As of the
2020 United States census
, there were 18,881 people, 7,529 households, and 4,983 families residing in the city.
Economy
[
edit
]
The bakery company
Flowers Foods
is based in Thomasville. Senior Life Insurance Company and Archbold Medical Center are also based in Thomasville.
Arts and culture
[
edit
]
Thomasville plants and maintains more than 1,000
roses
located throughout the city, as do a number of residents who have their own rose gardens. During the last week of April, rose growers from all over the world display their prize roses for a panel of judges. The Thomasville Rose Garden at Cherokee Lake Park is the largest of 85 rose beds maintained by the city, and is host to the annual rose festival.
[10]
Thomasville is home to several historic and cultural organizations, including the Thomas County Historical Society and Museum of History, Thomasville Landmarks, Inc.
[11]
the Thomasville Center for the Arts, the
Jack Hadley Black History Museum
, and
Pebble Hill Plantation
. Daily tours and research hours are available at each institution.
An Annual MLK (Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.) Walk and Festival is held there in January of each year since 2009.
Education
[
edit
]
Thomasville City School District
[
edit
]
The
Thomasville City School District
serves pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of three elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school, Thomasville High School.
[12]
The district has 204 full-time teachers and over 3,107 students.
[13]
Thomas County School District
[
edit
]
The
Thomas County School District
serves pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of three elementary schools, a middle school, and two high schools, Thomas County Central High School and Bishop Hall Charter School.
[14]
The district has 329 full-time teachers and over 5,466 students.
[15]
Private schools
[
edit
]
- Thomasville Christian School (Pre-K - 9)
- Brookwood School (Pre-K-12) Independent college preparatory school.
Higher education
[
edit
]
Media
[
edit
]
Newspaper
[
edit
]
- The
Thomasville Times-Enterprise
is a daily newspaper owned by Community Newspaper Holdings, CNHI. The newspaper publishes the glossy magazine
Thomasville Scene
.
Radio
[
edit
]
Infrastructure
[
edit
]
The city has installed a
fiber optic network
, known as CNS, which provides affordable, high speed Internet access. The city's network has been in place since 1999. The city transfers excess revenues from CNS services and from its other utilities to the city's general fund to pay for police and fire protection, street maintenance, and other essential services. In 2012, because of these revenues, the city was able to eliminate property fire tax for its residents and businesses.
[18]
Notable people
[
edit
]
- William Andrews
? NFL player for
Atlanta Falcons
[19]
- Lloyd J. Austin
?
U.S. Army
,
United States Secretary of Defense
[20]
- Stephanie Bentley
? country music artist
[21]
- Mike Bobo
? college football coach
[22]
- Elbridge Bryant
? singer and one of the founding members of
The Temptations
[23]
- Joe Burns
? running back for the
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
and NFL's
Buffalo Bills
[24]
- Benjamin Butterworth
? U.S. Representative from Ohio
[25]
- Joelle Carter
? actress
[26]
- Robert Carter
(born 1994) - basketball player in the
Israeli Basketball Premier League
[27]
- Tashard Choice
? running back for
Georgia Tech
and NFL's
Dallas Cowboys
[
citation needed
]
- Reshard Cliett
? NFL player
- Danny Copeland
? NFL safety for
Washington Redskins
(
Super Bowl XXVII
championship team)
[28]
- Henry Elrod
? U.S. Marine captain, posthumously awarded Medal of Honor for actions on Wake Island, 1941
- Harris English
? professional golfer
[
citation needed
]
- Mary Lena Faulk
? professional golfer, 1953 winner of US Women's Amateur Championship; one of the founders of the LPGA
[29]
- Henry Ossian Flipper
? first African American graduate of West Point in 1877
[
citation needed
]
- Myron Guyton
? NFL safety for
New York Giants
and
New England Patriots
[30]
- Raymond Hughes
? conductor and
Metropolitan Opera
chorus master
- Clifford Ivory
? NFL and CFL football player
- Shawn Jones
? football player, quarterback for
Georgia Tech
including
1990 National Championship
team, safety for the
Minnesota Vikings
- Rolf Kauka
? German cartoonist (died in Thomasville)
- Sam Madison
? NFL defensive back for
Miami Dolphins
and New York Giants
- Guy McIntyre
? NFL player for
San Francisco 49ers
,
Green Bay Packers
,
Philadelphia Eagles
- Delia Owens
- author
[31]
[32]
- Marcus Stroud
? NFL defensive tackle
- Edward Thomas
? gridiron football player
- Brandon Thompson
? NFL player
- Dina Titus
? member of the U.S House of Representatives from
Nevada
's 1st District
- Theo Titus
- Georgia state legislator, journalist, writer, and businessman
- Charlie Ward Jr.
?
Heisman Trophy
-winning quarterback for
Florida State
football, basketball player for NBA's
New York Knicks
, assistant coach for
Houston Rockets
- Bailey White
? author
- Scott Wilson
? actor
- Sheddrick Wilson
? NFL player
- Joanne Woodward
? Academy Award-winning actress, philanthropist, wife of actor
Paul Newman
[33]
- Andrew Young
? civil rights leader, minister, ambassador to the United Nations
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files"
. United States Census Bureau
. Retrieved
December 18,
2021
.
- ^
"U.S. Census website"
.
United States Census Bureau
. Retrieved
January 31,
2008
.
- ^
"US Board on Geographic Names"
.
United States Geological Survey
. October 25, 2007
. Retrieved
January 31,
2008
.
- ^
"Southern live oak 'The Big Oak' at corner of Monroe & Crawford STS, Thomasville, Georgia, United States"
.
- ^
Hellmann, Paul T. (May 13, 2013).
Historical Gazetteer of the United States
. Routledge. p. 249.
ISBN
978-1135948597
. Retrieved
November 30,
2013
.
- ^
"Thomasville, Georgia Travel Weather Averages (Weatherbase)"
.
Weatherbase
. Retrieved
July 11,
2018
.
- ^
"Climate Statistics for Thomasville, Georgia"
. Retrieved
May 23,
2012
.
- ^
"Census of Population and Housing"
. Census.gov
. Retrieved
June 4,
2015
.
- ^
"Explore Census Data"
.
data.census.gov
. Retrieved
December 7,
2021
.
- ^
Lotz, CJ (April 21, 2016).
"The South's Rose City Throws a Party"
. Retrieved
May 22,
2016
.
- ^
"Thomasville Landmarks"
.
Thomasville Landmarks
. Retrieved
July 11,
2018
.
- ^
"Schools in Thomasville City"
. Georgia Board of Education
. Retrieved
September 5,
2010
.
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
"School data for Thomasville City"
. School-stats
. Retrieved
September 5,
2010
.
- ^
"Schools in Thomas County"
. Georgia Board of Education
. Retrieved
September 5,
2010
.
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
"School data for Thomas County"
. School-stats
. Retrieved
September 5,
2010
.
- ^
"Thomas University"
. Retrieved
September 5,
2010
.
- ^
"Southwest Georgia Technical College"
. Archived from
the original
on August 6, 2010
. Retrieved
September 5,
2010
.
- ^
Dozier, Patti (September 29, 2012).
"City fire tax extinguished"
.
Timenterprise.com
. Retrieved
July 11,
2018
.
- ^
"William L. Andrews"
. databaseFootball.com
. Retrieved
December 21,
2012
.
- ^
Block, Gordon (April 5, 2016).
"As Gen. Lloyd Austin retires, north country remembers his Fort Drum command"
.
Watertown Daily Times
. Archived from
the original
on March 27, 2018.
- ^
MusicHound Country: The Essential Album Guide
ISBN
978-1-578-59006-3
p. 83
- ^
"MIKE BOBO"
. tvillebulldogs.com
. Retrieved
February 13,
2015
.
- ^
Simmonds, Jeremy (2012). "Elbridge 'Al' Bryant".
The Encyclopedia of Dead Rock Stars: Heroin, Handguns, and Ham Sandwiches
(2nd ed.). Chicago:
Chicago Review Press
. p. 82.
ISBN
978-1-61374-478-9
.
- ^
"Joe Frank Burns"
.
DatabaseFootball.com
. Retrieved
December 21,
2012
.
- ^
"BUTTERWORTH, Benjamin, (1837 - 1898)"
.
Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
. Retrieved
December 21,
2012
.
- ^
"As Kentucky-based 'Justified' comes to an end, actress reflects on her character, Ava, and what's next"
.
Kentucky.com
. Retrieved
July 11,
2018
.
- ^
Fischer, Jake (June 16, 2016).
"The twists, turns of Robert Carter's long NBA draft road"
.
Sports Illustrated
. Archived from
the original
on March 27, 2018.
- ^
"Danny Lamar Copeland"
. databaseFootball.com. Archived from
the original
on October 15, 2012
. Retrieved
December 21,
2012
.
- ^
Watt, Will (April 14, 2016).
"The Life of Mary Lena Faulk"
.
Thomasville Times-Enterprise
. Retrieved
March 27,
2018
.
- ^
"Myron Guyton"
. databaseFootball.com. Archived from
the original
on July 17, 2012
. Retrieved
December 21,
2012
.
- ^
Grey, Tobias (November 12, 2018).
"With 'Where the Crawdads Sing,' a Debut Novel Goes Big"
.
Wall Street Journal
.
ISSN
0099-9660
. Retrieved
May 14,
2022
.
- ^
"Delia Owens"
.
BookPage | Discover your next great book!
. July 11, 2018
. Retrieved
May 14,
2022
.
- ^
Wilson, Earl (November 27, 1969).
"Small Towns Have Produced Many Big Stars"
.
The Milwaukee Sentinel
. pp. A33
. Retrieved
May 22,
2015
.
External links
[
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]