Thomasville

History

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.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 14.9 square miles (39 km2), of which 14.9 square miles (39 km2) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km2) (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

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Thomasville has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Thomasville had a population of 18,881. The median age was 38.9 years. 23.9% of residents were under the age of 18 and 18.8% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 83.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 79.5 males age 18 and over.

97.2% of residents lived in urban areas, while 2.8% lived in rural areas.

There were 7,849 households and 4,983 families in Thomasville, of which 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 33.4% were married-couple households, 19.4% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 41.6% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 34.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 8,874 housing units, of which 11.6% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.0% and the rental vacancy rate was 5.7%.

Economy

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

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.

Thomasville is home to several historic and cultural organizations, including the Thomas County Historical Society and Museum of History, Thomasville Landmarks, Inc. 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

Thomasville City School District

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. The district has 204 full-time teachers and over 3,107 students.

Thomas County School District

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. The district has 329 full-time teachers and over 5,466 students.

Private schools

Thomasville Christian School (Pre-K - 9)

Brookwood School (Pre-K-12) Independent college preparatory school.

Higher education

Thomas University - Main Campus

Southern Regional Technical College - Main Campus

Media

Newspaper

The Thomasville Times-Enterprise is a semi-weekly newspaper owned by Carpenter Media Group. The newspaper publishes the glossy magazine Thomasville Scene.

Radio

WPAX 1240 AM

WHGH

WSTT

Television

WCTV (channel 6) is licensed to Thomasville and serves the Tallahassee, Florida–Thomasville market as an affiliate of CBS; channel 6.2 carries MeTV, channel 6.3 carries 365BLK, channel 6.4 carries Ion Television, channel 6.5 carries True Crime Network, channel 6.6 carries the independent and MyNetworkTV programming of Live Oak, Florida-licensed sister station WFXU (channel 57), channel 6.7 carries Shop LC.

Infrastructure

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.

Notable people

William Andrews – NFL player for Atlanta Falcons

Lloyd J. Austin – U.S. Army, former United States Secretary of Defense

Stephanie Bentley – country music artist

Mike Bobo – college football coach

Elbridge Bryant – singer and one of the founding members of The Temptations

Joe Burns – running back for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and NFL's Buffalo Bills

Benjamin Butterworth – U.S. Representative from Ohio

Joelle Carter – actress

Robert Carter (born 1994) - basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League

Tashard Choice – running back for Georgia Tech and NFL's Dallas Cowboys

Reshard Cliett – NFL player

Danny Copeland – NFL safety for Washington Redskins (Super Bowl XXVII championship team)

Eric Curry – NFL player for Tampa Bay, Green Bay, and Jacksonville

Henry Elrod – U.S. Marine captain, posthumously awarded Medal of Honor for actions on Wake Island, 1941

Harris English – professional golfer

Mary Lena Faulk – professional golfer, 1953 winner of US Women's Amateur Championship; one of the founders of the LPGA