"No, this is not where
they make the furniture," I told everyone who asked, when I mentioned
I was going to Thomasville, Georgia.
Instead, this compact
and wonderful city of some 20,000 residents is more likely to
be recognized as "the most Northern-like little town in the South."
Located just a 30 minute
car ride north of Tallahassee, Florida, this is a perfect weekend
getaway. Broad Street runs through the center of town where streets
are paved with brick and original buildings bear plaques informing
visitors what businesses they housed in the mid-1800s. Prepare
to shop within the town, as stores are filled with lovely items;
I found a wonderful outfit for my little grandson Max.
It was to Thomasville
that wealthy Northerners came after the Civil War, enjoying the
pine-scented air, abundant fishing and hunting, and fashionable
social life of the late 1800's. They initially stayed in luxuriously
appointed hotels but soon built elaborate 'winter cottages' patterned
along the lines of the Lapham-Patterson
House.
The Lapham-Patterson
House, owned by a prosperous Chicago shoe merchant Charles W.
Lapham, was constructed in 1885. Lapham had suffered lung damage
during the Great Chicago fire of 1871 and came to Thomasville
in order to regain his health. This elegant Victorian home, open
to the public, is known for architectural eccentricities. There
are no right angles in any of the 19 rooms and there are 45 doors—24
opening to the outside— in case of fire. Located on Dawson
Street, it can't be overlooked with bright yellow shingles and
a dusty-rose- colored roof.
Just down the road
is the Dawson Street Inn, where I stayed for three nights. Owned
by Dan and Alice (Randy) Mitchell, this B & B is a treat for many
reasons. First, it's filled with wonderful antiques making it
both elegant and comfortable. Second, breakfast here is so delicious
that you'll linger over that meal, reluctant to leave. Randy's
baking talents make each morning meal quite special. Lastly, the
house has so much history, it tells the story of Thomasville's
past.
The Dawson Street Inn
was built in 1856 by local slave trader, Ephraim G. Ponder, who
built an exact replica of the house three years later in Atlanta.
It is this replica that can be seen in photos of the Battle of
Atlanta. Mr. Ponder owned a slave named Festus Flipper, a skilled
shoemaker and carriage repairman who, by earning extra money,
was able to purchase freedom for his wife and five sons before
the Civil war. His oldest son, Henry Ossian Flipper, was the first
African-American to graduate from West Point and his grave (and
that of his parents) can be seen in Thomasville.
The house had other
owners after Ponder including Elijah R. Young. Young built the
adjacent Young's Female College using the house as a dormitory.
In the late 1920s and early 1930s, two sisters each owned a share
in this property. Locals say it might have been a man or money
that caused the sister's to feud, but the consequences were that
they didn't speak, dividing the house into two equal parts. Two
staircases led to the rooms above. Two kitchens, two main doors,
two driveways, two halves of the basement, two front parlors became
the layout of the house.
Today, the house is
on the National Register of Historic Homes and open to the public
for tours. Approximately 71 plantations in this immediate area
were purchased by northerners after the Civil war. Pebble Hill
Plantation, built in 1820, was purchased in 1896 by Howard Melville
Hanna, a wealthy Cleveland businessman. Almost completely destroyed
by fire in the 1930's, it was rebuilt under the direction of architect
Abram Garfield, son of our 20th president.
Places to dine in
Thomasville run the gamut from elegant to finger-lickin' good.
I had dinner at Melhana, a plantation resort, and it was a night
to remember. I enjoyed fried green tomatoes, plantation salad
with a maple-pecan dressing and a rack of lamb with black eyed
peas. At Praline's, located in the heart of town, the mood is
young, the noise level energetic and the food is excellent. At
Fallin's Bar-B-Q, I made a mess of myself with a plate of ribs
the size of Texas.
I stopped to see 'The
Big Oak' at the corner of North Crawford and East Monroe Streets.
A Thomasville landmark since approximately 1685, this granddaddy
of a tree has a limb spread of 162 feet and is 24 feet wide 'round
the trunk. The resurrection fern that grows on its branches looks
like a lovely green shawl. And I visited the Birdsong Nature Center
with its 565 acres of wildflowers meadows, butterfly gardens,
and amazing bird window located inside the main house. This wall
of glass allows visitors to sit and watch some of the 160 species
of birds that are attracted to the pool and garden here.
I found the Nature
Center a relaxing way to end the weekend before leaving Thomasville
to return to the frenzy of everyday life.
The Dawson Street
Inn — www.dawsonstinn.com
Pebble Hill Plantation — www.pebblehill.com
Melhana — www.melhana.com
Birdsong Nature Center — www.tfn.net/birdsong/
Lapham-Patterson House
— www.gastateparks.org/dnr/parks/ppage2.cgi?linkval=lapham
Susan Purdy is a freelance
writer specializing in travel, food, and lifestyle. She is a member
of the American Society of Journalists and Authors and her work
has appeared in many publications including the Saturday Evening
Post, Brides, Good Housekeeping, Woman’s Day, Meridian, Ms., Woman’s
World, First for Women, Country Accents, and Country Inns. Susan
Purdy can be emailed at Suepur@aol.com
for comments and questions.
